Training Session for MLA on Research Methods and Statistics

With an increasing emphasis on assessment and demonstrating value in academic libraries – and the importance of publishing for the careers of many academic librarians – the ability to collect and analyze useful data is growing in importance. However, recent research shows that many librarians lack confidence when it comes to conducting research and performing statistical analysis. Does this sound like you? Do you remember taking a research methods class but not what was taught?

 

Whether you are looking for a refresher or starting from scratch, join John Bertot and Paul Jaeger from Maryland’s iSchool to revive your inner researcher. Whether you’re looking to assess library services, demonstrate the value that your library provides, or embark on a research project, this workshop will help you identify appropriate research methods and make sense of all that data you’ve collected.

 

The workshop will progress from reasons for conducting research and identifying research topics to a discussion of the quantitative, qualitative, evaluation, and mixed method approaches appropriate for academic library research. Approaches and software for analyzing data – such as SPSS and Excel – will be highlighted. The potential uses for the data collected will be explored, including improving library services, advocating for library support, demonstrating and evaluating activities, and publishing results.

 

The training session is being conducted on Friday, November 16th from 9AM to 4PM at Loyola Unversity Maryland Graduate Center at the Columbia Campus.  The address is 8890 McGaw Road, Columbia, MD 21045.

 

Directions to the training session: http://www.loyola.edu/department/columbia/about/location-hours.aspx

Register for the session: https://www.mdlib.org/happenings/register.asp