Sunday, November 14, 2010

Research Methods...?

I had an interesting experience this week that I thought I would share with everyone.

One of my friends was asking me about the different courses I was taking to obtain this degree. When I mentioned research methods they were very confused. Why would I need to take a class on research methods when a) I am not doing a thesis, and b) I am in the LIS stream. What do research methods have to do with being a librarian?

My perception is that understanding research methods, their strengths and weaknesses, is important for collection development. Before you add a resource to your library, you want to ensure that it contains research that is valid and reliable. Understanding research methods allows you to evaluate these sources. Also, it is important to have this knowledge if you will be working directly with students at a library. You would want to point them out to the best resources, which are those with the excellent research. You should be able to explain the differences to them, or if they ask why a source is good be able to identify its research methods.

Personally, ever since I have learned about research methods I have been questioning the methodology of academic work more often. I explained all of this to my friend, and she then understood why this was an important class. I thought it was great that she asked, because it was not something I had considered before. A basic question, but an important one!

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