I just attended the Research panel discussion “Setting your Sights on Research: Its Easier than you Think”. Three panelists: Barbara Wildemuth, Lois Culler and Sheila Snow-Croft reflected on their own research processes and answered questions. Quite a lot of audience discussion was generated by this topic and the personal reflections of the panelists. The use of clickers allowed for audience participation and provided a great tool to analyze the data.
So what are some of the take- home messages that I got from this session?
- The word “research” sometimes causes panic for librarians who might be interested in going down this path but research is “just” the process of answering our questions
- Also, answer the questions that mean something to you…you are really interested in finding the answer. Don’t be intimidated by the research process used in medicine …find the research model best for you in your field
- Collaborate with others and find “research partners” and mentors
- Set deadlines to keep on task
- Publish or make your research available to others
- Research does take time..so structure it in to your work and break the steps down into more manageble tasks
These are just a few of the tidbits that made this session so stimulating.