Doing research to support the value and impact of your service: 10 top tips 18th June 2012

1. Doing research to support the value and impact of your service: 10 top tips 18th June 2012 Hannah Spring Senior Lecturer: Research and Evidence Based Practice Support York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

2. Why bother with research? • NHS reforms • Move towards service commissioning • Can the culture of evidence-based practice in health help? • Evidence-based practice provides LIS practitioners with a platform from which to support both decision making and their accountability within the organisation • Research is a fundamental element which underpins it York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

3. Problems with research • ‘Research’ often associated with academics • Inaccessible and intimidating • Research that is irrelevant to practitioners = a research/practice gap • Barriers to research in practice • Time constraints • Financial constraints • Lack of strategic direction • Lack of support • Lack of skills and confidence York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

4. Familiar thoughts? • “Research? I really don’t feel confident about how to start!” • “I feel very unsure about what skills I need to carry out research in my workplace” • “I would love to be research active but don’t feel I have enough understanding of how to go about it” York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

5. 1. Thinking about it is worse than doing it! York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

6. 2. You are already a researcher! • … you just didn’t know it! • Small projects involving collecting and analysing data and reporting the findings (eg. to evaluate an aspect of your service) are research projects in their own right. • Audit – associated with effectiveness. Applied research within the workplace. Checking that your service meets a set of pre-defined criteria (ie. that it is meeting service standards) • Research – collecting new, original data to find out something new about your service York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

7. 3. Getting started • In getting started, consider the following questions: • What is your aim? • What are your objectives? • What is your research question? • Why does it matter? • Who will benefit from your research? NHS staff, students, patients/service users? The "NHS organisation"? Other health librarians? York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

8. 4. Use the expertise of others • Use a focus group to define terms, identify issues and key concepts, design survey questions • Collaborate in research • With experienced researchers • With others who are new to it • Use your networking skills • Librarians are very good at networking! • Research networks, LIRG, HEALER, Twitter, LIS Discussion Forums (eg. JISC lists), social networks • Find a mentor to support you York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

9. 4. Use the expertise of others (cont’d) • Discuss your ideas with others: • Local library network • SHA Library Lead • Line manager • Tutor or supervisor • Local R&D department • LIS School • Local University Health Faculty’s research staff • Make use of the email discussion lists – e.g. JISCMAIL lists: LIS-Medical, LIS-LIRG, LIS-LINK • Also look at the web sites of LIRG, LIS Research Coalition, HEALER York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

10. 5. Design your study and methods • Careful preparation and design counts for a lot! • Will your approach be qualitative or quantitative? • What methods will you use? • Justify your methods. Is the approach you have taken the best way? • Who or what will your sample be? • Participant involvement • Ethics? • Consent • Provision of clear information • Confidentiality and data protection York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

11. 6. Writing your proposal • No two proposals are the same, but they are likely to contain similar elements. Your project plan should contain: • A rationale (why you believe this is important, what you hope to achieve) • A strategy (including objectives, timescales and milestones, and methodology) • An estimate of resources (time, and material costs) • A demonstration that an assessment has been made of the key factors that will influence the success of the project in terms of achieving its objectives (eg. adequate amount of data, availability of resources, adequate data analysis)

12. 6. Writing your proposal (cont’d) • Proposal should follow a specific structure and include the follow elements: • Title • Abstract/Summary • Background or rationale of the project • Aims/objectives • Design and methods • Ethical considerations • Benefits of the study • Resources, costs and time frame • More available from the HEALER web site York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

13. 7. If doing a survey always pilot it! “Even after years of experience, no expert can write a perfect questionnaire”. “If you do not have the resources to pilot-test your questionnaire, don’t do the study”. From: Sudman S, Bradburn S. (1982) Asking questions: a practical guide to questionnaire design. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. p283 York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

14. Problems with meaning and language • A survey was conducted in the U.N Worldwide. The only question asked was, “Would you please give your most honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?” The survey was a HUGE failure. York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

15. Problems with meaning and language • In Africa, they did not know what ‘food’ meant • In Western Europe they did not know what ‘shortage’ meant • In Eastern Europe they did not know what ‘opinion’ meant • In South America they did not know what ‘honest’ meant • In the Middle East they did not know what ‘solution’ meant York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

16. Problems with meaning and language • And in the USA they did not know what ‘THE REST OF THE WORLD’ meant York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

17. Problems with meaning and language • Lost in translation • Coors put its slogan “Turn it loose” into Spanish, where it was read as “Suffer from diarrhea”. • Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: Nothing sucks like an Electrolux York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

18. Problems with meaning and language • Lost in translation • When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the beautiful caucasian baby on the label. Later they learned in Africa , companies routinely put pictures on the label of what’s inside, since most people can’t read. • Pepsi’s ‘Come alive with the Pepsi generation’ in Chinese this translated into ‘Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave’. York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

19. 8. Time • How do I convince my employers to give me time to do my research project? • Write a persuasive proposal • Your line manager will be interested in how the project will contribute to the service, how long it will take, who will be involved, and what it might cost. • Have a timetable! This will help to avoid an ongoing situation where you never reach an end. • Use a Gantt Chart York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

21. 9. Brush up on your research skills • Consider developing your existing skills before embarking on a live research project. • Quality of LIS research often criticised • Identify networks and organisations that can provide details of learning opportunities: • Workshops • Training courses • Find others interested in collaborating in research York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

22. 10. Disseminate your research • Your research is often valuable to a wider audience than your own organisation • Others can learn from it • Disseminate appropriately according to the target audience • HILJ – regular features (editors will support you and work with you) • Dissemination does not have to be via an academic publication • Conference presentations and posters • Talks at workshops, meetings, seminars, study days or training sessions, organisational professional development meetings. • Online – Web 2.0, esp. Twitter and Facebook York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

23. Where to find support • For sharing information about current research projects, research funding, and providing support for those doing research or wishing to develop their skills consider the following resources: • HEALER Research Toolkit • www.libraryservices.nhs.uk/healer • Book – ‘Research, Evaluation and Audit’ (Facet Publishing) • LIRG • JISC lists • LIS Research Coalition • Higher Education Academy • CILIP • LIS Schools (BAILER) York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk