Realising the value of RiLIES: the Research in Librarianship Impact Evaluation Study

Professor Hazel Hall, Peter Cruickshank & Ella Taylor-Smith

Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland

RiLIES1 project team

• Centre for Social Informatics, Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation, Edinburgh Napier University– Professor Hazel Hall– Peter Cruickshank– Ella Taylor-Smith– Jenny Gebel

Impact in the context of RiLIES

• To what extent do funded research projects in library and information science influence practice in the UK?

• Which factors help/hinder the impact of research findings on those who deliver library and information services?

RiLIES project stages

• February to July 2011• Desk research– Literature review

• Empirical work– Practitioner poll– 5 case studies of “impactful” projects– 3 sector-specific focus groups– Validation survey

5 “Impactful” studies identified from the practitioner poll

1. Open to all (2000)2. eValued (2004)3. Researchers’ use of academic libraries (2007)4. Evaluating clinical librarian studies (2009)5. School libraries in the UK (2010)

Findings: new insight

• Preference amongst practitioners for face-to-face dissemination channels– Much greater than previously reported

• Tailored presentation• Lower incidence of information overload• Addresses issue of fragmented infrastructures

• Social media for raising awareness of research– Immediacy, updates on on-going projects

• Importance of research sponsorship• Links between engagement and reward

Findings: new insight

• Preference amongst practitioners for face-to-face dissemination channels– Much greater than previously reported

• Tailored presentation• Lower incidence of information overload• Addresses issue of fragmented infrastructures

• Social media for raising awareness of research– Immediacy, updates on on-going projects

• Importance of research sponsorship• Links between engagement and reward

Findings: new insight

• Preference amongst practitioners for face-to-face dissemination channels– Much greater than previously reported

• Tailored presentation• Lower incidence of information overload• Addresses issue of fragmented infrastructures

• Social media for raising awareness of research– Immediacy, updates on on-going projects

• Importance of research sponsorship• Links between engagement and reward

Findings: new insight

• Preference amongst practitioners for face-to-face dissemination channels– Much greater than previously reported

• Tailored presentation• Lower incidence of information overload• Addresses issue of fragmented infrastructures

• Social media for raising awareness of research– Immediacy, updates on on-going projects

• Importance of research sponsorship• Links between engagement and reward

Project conception and plans for impact

• Practitioners need to be involved in research design

• Funders need to support research relevant to the needs of the practitioner community– Allied to this, explicit goal of research should be to

influence practice• Research undertaken needs to have high level

support– Steering committees, influential stakeholders

Project conception and plans for impact

• Practitioners need to be involved in research design

• Funders need to support research relevant to the needs of the practitioner community– Allied to this, explicit goal of research should be to

influence practice• Research undertaken needs to have high level

support– Steering committees, influential stakeholders

Project conception and plans for impact

• Practitioners need to be involved in research design

• Funders need to support research relevant to the needs of the practitioner community– Allied to this, explicit goal of research should be to

influence practice• Research undertaken needs to have high level

support– Steering committees, influential stakeholders

Project execution for impact

• Practitioners need to participate in the research from the outset, with appropriate– Methods– Approaches– Dissemination strategies

Project reporting for impact

• LIS research output needs to be accessible to the target audience– Where?

• Best in teaching and community support materials

• Researchers need to take into account practitioner preferences for consuming research output– What and how?

• Explicit recommendations in accessible language, delivered face-to-face

Project reporting for impact

• LIS research output needs to be accessible to the target audience– Where?

• Best in teaching and community support materials

• Researchers need to take into account practitioner preferences for consuming research output– What and how?

• Explicit recommendations in accessible language, delivered face-to-face

Receptive audiences for impact

• Librarians and information scientists from less research-active sectors can learn from those where there is greater engagement– e.g. healthcare librarians

• There is a need for training to support interest in research, and raise awareness of resources

• A CPD requirement related to research would encourage greater participation

Receptive audiences for impact

• Librarians and information scientists from less research-active sectors can learn from those where there is greater engagement– e.g. healthcare librarians

• There is a need for training to support interest in research, and raise awareness of resources

• A CPD requirement related to research would encourage greater participation

Receptive audiences for impact

• Librarians and information scientists from less research-active sectors can learn from those where there is greater engagement– e.g. healthcare librarians

• There is a need for training to support interest in research, and raise awareness of resources

• A CPD requirement related to research would encourage greater participation

http://bit.ly/RiLIES_briefing

Timed to follow on from DREaM conference on 9th July

DREaM Conference – 9th July 2012

http://bit.ly/DREaM5_prog

Further information

• On LIS Research Coalition web pages– Project page http://lisresearch.org/rilies-project– RiLIES1 report at http://

lisresearchcoalition.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/rilies1_report.pdf

– Blog updates at http://lisresearch.org• On Twitter– @LIS_RiLIES

Realising the value of RiLIES: the Research in Librarianship Impact Evaluation Study

Professor Hazel Hall, Peter Cruickshank & Ella Taylor-SmithEdinburgh Napier University, Scotland