The course,”Research as practice,” is one of the mandatory subjects for the Master of Education (Teacher Librarian) course, and well it should be. The recurring thought from start to finish was, “Why am I only encountering this incredibly important understanding now?” This is my second master’s degree following a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English and Religious Studies.
Understanding the principles guiding research, including major paradigms, methodologies, methods and tools has totally changed how I read and evaluate research papers- something I have been doing for decades. Foremost, I am actually reading the sections on methodology, and data collection and analysis now. Previously, if I ever read these sections it was only to look at sample size and selection of which I could only evaluate according to measures of small/big or narrow/wide.
The necessity of understanding principles and practices of research in an undergraduate arts degree may be excused, though I think a degree which is initiating young people into academia owes this to all students regardless of the discipline. The Master of Teaching degree I completed later most certainly should have included direction on research evaluation. We learned, albeit very briefly, of the background and basic structure of action research projects as we were expected to complete one as part of our final practicum. The better I understand action research, the clearer it is that we were not conducting action research and the clearer it is that we should not have been expected to do so. That is a whole other post.
At times, the professional reflection which arose from the learning was quite overwhelming. It is confronting when one considers all the research I’ve previously read and used for various reasons and situations- both academic and professional- without having any substantial understanding of the fundamental premises from which the research was conducted and the methodologies employed. Additionally, it has led to the realisation that when recommending information to high school students or colleagues, I was relying solely on the reputation of the publisher, but not the quality of the research (or, say, the appropriateness of the methodologies to the question) to make recommendations. Certainly, the users can make their own decisions about this, too, but I can now draw attention to aspects of that research which may be important to their evaluation.
I am encouraged by the addition of vital foundation knowledge and skills as someone working as an information professional (ALIA, 2020). This includes increased capacity to both evaluate and recommend research to library users (students), but also conduct research as a teacher librarian and information professional. There is certainly much to learn, but I am aware of my own paradigm affinities, how that will influence questioning and methodologies, and why that is important.
ALIA (2020). Foundation knowledge, skills and attributes relevant to information professionals working in archives, libraries and records management. https://read.alia.org.au/foundation-knowledge-skills-and-attributes-relevant-information-professionals-working-archives-0
