Competency L

As any information professional will tell you, research is an integral part of the library and information science (LIS) field. It is critical that any information professional have a basic understanding of research methodology. By understanding the research methodology, they can conduct further research in the LIS field and better help patrons in pursuit of their own research. Additionally, research is necessary when making any major decisions within an organization. Decisions are not made on a whim, there is exhaustive research that accompanies any proposal. Regardless of the type of research being conducted, it is important that a clear research question is present. What is it you are interested in answering? What is the topic of your research? Once this is established, a literature review must be done on existing research, followed by a detailed discussion based on their methodology and research.

Literature Review

When conducting research, an important aspect to consider is literature review. A literature review is just that, you review the literature currently available on your topic of interest. Okoli (2015) highlights that a literature review is "the section of a journal or paper that gives the theoretical foundations and context of a research question and helps to bring the question into focus" (p. 883). It will allow you to understand what has already been written on your chosen topic and further focus the direction of your research. In a sense, it can help guide your research by examining what has already been discussed and what is still to be addressed.

Research Methodology

There are a variety of methodologies that can be used to conduct research and they can be broadly categorized as quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Quantitative. Quantitative research involves numbers and statistics to support the research question. Murshed and Zhang (2016) state that "this approach is numerically oriented, requires precise measurements of constructs and often involves statistical analyses to test pre-specified hypotheses" (p. 438). This comes in the form of surveys, questionnaires, and controlled observations. You are looking for patterns that can help answer a question and explain causal effects. McLeod (2019) argues this helps researchers "establish general laws of behavior and phenomenon across different settings/contexts. Research is used to test a theory and ultimately support or reject it" (Quantitative Research section). It provides the basis for the conclusion to a hypothesis, and the data gathered and analyzed can help summarize results and describe patterns, as well as identify significant differences between groups of data. Because of the number of variables involved in statistical analysis, the researcher must remain unbiased, and most research is conducted in controlled environments.

Qualitative. This type of research relies more on spoken or written text. McLeod (2019) states that a "qualitative approach is exploratory and seeks to explain ‘how’ and ‘why’ a particular phenomenon, or behavior, operates as it does in a particular context" (Qualitative Research section). It considers people's surroundings and how they act in society. Murshed and Zhang (2016) highlight that this approach "generates a depth of understanding when little is known about a phenomenon, exploring dynamic reality through immersion in context and direct interaction with people under study, and reports rich narratives" (p. 438). Qualitative data is descriptive, which means that it can be observed, but not necessarily measured. This method of research collection would include open-ended questionnaires and participant interviews. The researcher is an integral part of the research. Whereas quantitative researchers aim for objectivity and controlled environments, qualitative researchers are active in the research and have a high interaction process with the studied population.

Both research methods carry their own strengths and limitations. Quantitative research is useful for providing objective and rational data, since it is based on mathematical statistics, and allows for replication and easy cross-checking of data. However, though the results may be analytical and unbiased, results may be misleading. In answering surveys or questionnaires, some respondents may be susceptible to "courtesy bias", where they answer based on what they think the interviewer wants to hear (Lakshman, et.al, 2000, p. 370). Additionally, some answers may be too clinical and not allow respondents to explain their answers. This could potentially cause research to overlook or misrepresent some data or conclusions. Qualitative research is useful for identifying possible relationships and processes that are often overlooked. However, due to its biased and subjective nature, problems of validity and reliability can arise. In contrast to quantitative data, it is not easy to replicate the qualitative data due to its reliance on the environment of the population.

A more semantic approach to the types of research is an analytic method versus a holistic method. Analytic thinking relies on an objective view of things, where behaviors can be predicted. In contrast, holistic thinking is more about the relationship between objects and the context in which they belong (Murshed & Zhang, 2016, p. 438). Thus, analytic thinking is best suited for quantitative research, where on tries to identify conclusive knowledge and evidence to prove a hypothesis. Holistic thinking, on the other hand, aligns with qualitative research, where tentative knowledge is preferred and relationships among different elements in the environment are explored.