CSU Documentation Study: Methods
From RG-Bibliowiki
Contents |
Design of Research
I intend to focus on a subset of knowledge management practices -- internal documentation practices, including tools and resources -- in academic libraries. The initial study will be limited to CSU libraries and their departments. While this is a relatively small sample, I feel it is significant in this setting to allow us to gain knowledge and insight on the documentation needs and practices regarding academic libraries. My findings may provide libraries and their individual departments with possible models of best practices in creating and maintaining documentation and institutional memory. While older models are still valid and may be in use at some libraries, the changing nature of the tools and resources available to librarians and paraprofessionals to manage knowledge in their libraries mean opportunities to ensure that institutional knowledge remains vital and accessible.
Sampling Procedures
The population is CSU librarians and staff. The sampling frame is the list CSU libraries and their departments. This study will use availability sampling, a form of non-random sampling. In this type of sampling, a researcher selects subjects on the basis of their availability. In this study, the subjects are available because they are employees of the CSU libraries and their library director has consented to forward the survey invitation to them. This form of sampling was chosen for two reasons. First, the study is exploring the practices of a very specific population, and second, it is a less expensive method than random sampling.
Once the survey and follow-up interviews are approved by the SSU IRB, the researcher will administer the survey through an online survey site. The dean of each library shall be sent a letter inviting them to ask their librarians and department managers to participate. For those participating libraries, the individuals shall be sent a followup letter detailing the study. The participants shall give their consent by agreeing to participate. Briefly, the two stages are outlined:
- Stage 1
The libraries of the twenty-three CSU campuses will be asked to complete a survey that details, by department, the types of practices, tools and resources employed by their staff and administration, as well as how those tools and resources are utilized. - Stage 2
A random cross-section of 5 to 10 departments will be selected for follow-up interviews. These interviews will allow for a more detailed analysis of practices, tool and resources utilization, clarification of issues revealed by the surveys.
Timetable
The initial survey is intended to take place over the course of one month, with interviews intended to take place over an additional month.
Sample description
The sample will be the twenty-three CSU libraries and their individual departments. Each library includes three or more departments, covering functional areas ranging from access services to reference services. The total number of departments is ???
Human Subjects
This study will follow the University's Human Subject protocol and has been approved by the Institutional Review Board. Prior to administering the surveys, all librarians and staff participating in the study shall provide consent.
Data Collection
- Stage 1: Online survey site will provide a report for all completed surveys. Data will include codes not linked to subject names except for those subjects who have consented to follow-up interviews
- Stage 2: The researcher will record information gathered in the interviews for analysis
Survey instrument
The 42+ (varies depending on participant answers) questions on the survey are broken down into a number of broad categories:
- Personal profile
- Objectives:
- Identify personal characteristics of respondent
- Correlate documentation practices with area of library
- Correlate documentation practices with approximate age and experience of respondent
- Objectives:
- Library profile
- Objectives:
- Identify characteristics of library
- Correlate documentation practices with size of library
- Objectives:
- Identify degree, type and focus of documentation efforts
- Identify responsibility for creating and maintaining documentation
- Objectives:
- Documentation use
- Objective:
- Identify primary uses of documentation
- Objective:
- KM Tools
- Objective:
- Identify tools and resources used
- Objective:
- KM tool training
- Objective:
- Identify how staff are trained and who is responsible for training
- Objective:
- Impact of KM resources and tools on library
- Objective:
- Determine how documentation tools and resources affect library operations
- Objective:
- Follow-up Questions
- Objective:
- Consent and contact information for follow-up interview
- Objective:
Data analysis
Data from each survey will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. In general, measures of central tendency and measures of variability will be applied to the data. Measures of central tendency include mean, median or mode. Standard deviation and interquartile range are measures of variability. The descriptive statistical tests applied to a particular set of data will be selected based on two factors: the shape of the frequency distribution (e.g., skewed or bimodal) and the type of data (e.g., nominal or ordinal). For example, if the frequency distribution for a set of data were very skewed at one end, then applying the mean, or arithmetic average would not be a good choice to measure the central tendency. In this case, a better measure of central tendency would be to determine the median. Inferential statistics will not be applied to this data because it will be collected using a non-random sampling method.
