The importance of research may vary according to kind, especially whether basic or applied.
Basic research is designed to advance knowledge with no application to existing problems in view. The audience for basic research consists almost exclusively of other scholars or researchers interested in learning more about a phenomene. There is virtually no basic research being done in library science and only a small amount in information science. Basic research in our field is usually borrowed from other subject disciplines. If library science is a science, it is certainly an applied one.
Applied research is designed to help solve particular, existing problems so there is a much larger audience eager to support research that is likely to be profitab le or solve problems of immediate concern. Much medical research on diseases with considerable impact is a good example.
Quite a bit of applied research is survey research or marketing research. This is the art and science of systematically asking questions and observing behavior to obtain information from a population of interest. Although we may envy natural scientists the simplicity of their study of objects or properties, behavioral scientists can observe and ask questions. Survey research hopes to gather evidence which will eventually allow behavior to be predicted and controlled.
Decisions are made by managers every day. Ideally, such decisions would be made on the basis of evidence thoughtfully and appropriately gathered. The more important the decisions and their impact, the more important the research becomes. Some decisions may have consequences resulting in considerable harm to a large number of people.
Consider how we make decisions:
If you use evidence gathered by others, especially those at some distance from your shop, research methods experience and knowledge is useful because it gives you rules or guidelines helpful in evaluating the quality and utility of evidence gathered by another. Often, managers and supervisors are eager to use invalid and unreliable evidence simply because it is easily available.
In some cases, managers want evidence that supports an existing opinion or preference. In other cases, they want evidence with unambiguous findings and conclusions [which is rarely found]. Managers can be impatient with the limitations and qualifications of well-done research.
Evidency gathered by yourself or as part of a local group may be the best solution IF no other appropriate evidence is available. This will be expensive in time and effort and requires some research knowledge and experience. IT will take some time and effort to gather evidence and the results may not be what is needed.
In most cases, managers want the evidence NOW and that creates a variety of problems. Decision-makers must always face the issue of deciding now or waiting until more or better information is available. This is called the problem of sufficiency. There may never be enough evidence to support a difficult decision.
The manager lives in three time dimensions:
Research may be used to provide evidence on the first two which supports decisions that will have an impact in the future.
Consider the risks or consequences of making an important decision with inadequate evidence. How much information is enough? How much information can you afford. It certainly is not true that more evidence or information is always better. "Information obesity" can be a research problem just as it is a problem in everyday life. Research is cost-incurring, but also value-producing so that cost and value must be balanced. Research is of little value if you do not know what evidence is needed or how to get it. You need the "right" evidence and that requires skill, thought,and experience.
In most positions, some sort of research is required to support normal decision-making. We examine circulation records to determine if fund allocations should be changed. We examine head counts to see when the library might reduce hours. We examine attendence at the summer reading program to see if it is cost-effective. Academic librarians may be required to conduct research and publish as a condition of employment [publication is certainly much more important than the research].
Reporting is a crucial element in the conduct of reseach. Research depends on data. In many organizations, a wide variety of data is routinely collected and much of that information may be "mined" by the researcher. For example, circulation data and acquisition data are frequently available in many libraries and information centers.
Often, research is limited by what data is relatively easily available. We need to take advantage of data already available while encouraging managers to see the value in collecting the right information. We need to gather evidence that answers important questions about effectiveness and efficiency rather than just what is easily counted or has always been counted.
"The compilation of statistical information concerning library operations is too frequently a routine operation based on tradition and with an unclear purpose, resulting in poortly collected data utilized at a very unsophisticated level."
Curiousity is a crucial part of the human condition. Many professionals, incluiding information ones, want to know more about something that interests them. Do anthropologists use government information? How many well-know children's authors have personal websites? Where did my family come from? Are weblog sites more likely to be created by men or women? What do teen-aged boys read?. There is an excitement in the discovery of new information and knowing more about some topic than anyone else. There is joy in sharing newly gathered and previously unavailable information. Finally, publishing or sharing information via publication or public meetings provides visibility and recognition.
In an ideal world, research methods would be an integral part of thoughtful management of any information agency. Better reporting would result in better data which would result in better decisions and a much more effective, visibly so, services to the community.
