Weapons of Research, Where and How I Learned to Wield Them

August 30, 2009

Over the weekend, I have been busy researching for an ongoing project.  I had some time to kill yesterday afternoon while my companion was busy.  So I rolled into my favorite Louisville Free Public Library Branch, Crescent Hill, and hit the computer station.  I logged into my library account, accessed the EBSCO databases and commenced my searches.

I had no paper, I wasn’t using my computer and I didn’t even have my USB drive.  Before I headed to the library, my companion asked, how will you be able to research?  Until I logged into the databases and realized I could save items to my folders, I wasn’t sure how I would deal with this problem.  The cloud is very beneficial to mobility and research on the fly of an otherwise playful Saturday.

After we spent some time catching up on the print Harper’s and GQ and were driving back, my companion and I reflected on how we used to do research.  We were both history majors in college.  The college we attended was a small private college with a small library.  Both of us used the Interlibrary Loan services heavily.  We definitely knew our librarians by first name and ERIC was like magic.

The old way of research used specific Title/Autho/Subjects access methods.

The old way of research used specific Title/Autho/Subjects access methods.

We used a mixture of print indexes and dedicated databases.  Our library still had the card catalog, but they also had a very simple OPAC.  Our computer lab was full of AB switches and WordPerfect 4.0 was so much better than the electric typewriters.  In my theses course, my professor said there was no way the paper could be written in two nights, (draft and final due dates) but that’s exactly how I did the writing.  My dorm room was full of books, all open to the indexes and out came a great paper, lost along the way, on Women Rulers…(I can’t even remember  the title now.)

Today, the research is easier and more convenient, but I wonder, if I would be as good at it as I am without the experience I had as an undergraduate.  The process was harder, my professors and librarians had clear expectations of following the process and when I spent a semester in the Master’s History program  at the University of Kentucky, I was better prepared than many of my fellow students.

Research requires awareness and intelligence.  Google and other search engines make keyword searching much easier but I think that ease causes some  loss in the research process.  Researchers rarely go beyond the first few results and the game of SEO makes it easy for the the best sources to get pushed to page to 2 or 3.

Index terms were necessary to find the relevant sections of the sources I used when a college student and I still tend to disregard books that don’t have good indexes.  Social tags are not nearly as reliable as structured taxonomies.  I know the value of expert indexing and rely upon that.  Keyword searching is easy but it only takes me so far.  EBSCO provided me the structured terms and Boolean searching I require for my current project.  I’m glad I had the research experience from college and the skills and knowledge I gained as I completed my Masters of Library Science. Without it my research process would be flawed and my projects would not be as accurate and relevant as they should be.

Today’s information users don’t always know what they are missing because they don’t understand the importance of information structure and the research process.  Information literacy is a constant battle in college and universities.  My academic library colleagues work hard to partner with professors so that these important skills can be passed on.  They use innovate methods and mediums such as Second Life to reach the student where the student lives.  The battle goes on and smart information users will arm themselves with the weapons they can learn from their librarians.  I’m glad I still have those weapons.

Constance Ard August 30, 2009

Leave a Comment » | Professional Development | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by answermaven

Call for Information Professionals to Take Charge

June 26, 2009

I may be misinterpreting Stephen Arnold’s words with my headline, but if you read his post here and disagree with my interpretation, the comments field is open.

As a law librarian, I took on the training of summer associates, fall associates and partners.  Their training needs were based upon the fact that they underutilized the power of the commercial databases at their disposal and didn’t use the free resources on the Internet to their greatest advantage.

Librarians are continuously learning and expanding their own knowledge base.  Partnering with vendors to maximize the powerful information collected in commercial services is just one way to win friends and influence users.

Keyword search with Google is so easy because most people are looking for those top indexed terms.  Applying the Google method of search to complex information collections does not assure accurate results.  If you are searching within a specific industry’sdata and that industry serves multiple audiences that use similar terms that talk about vastly different topics,  you will understand that search is more than keywords.

Taxonomies, language structure, database structure and more affect how information is retrieved.  The average user doesn’t think beyond their own interpretation of  a topic and may turn away frustrated or satisfied when they have no information or the wrong information.  And therein lies the danger because the average user does not recognize that the correct information is there, just beyond their keywords.

Without the education provided by information professionals the inaccuracies caused by amateur searchers could have significant impacts on business and research.  Our profession must iterate the importance of information literacy that reaches beyond keyword retrieval.  Verification of sources, currency, accuracy and complex search techniques are critical skills.  No one is better able or placed to teach those skills than librarians.

So my fellow professionals, take up the charge and continue the fight.  We must demonstrate the need, the problems caused by not meeting that need and why we are in the best position to meet the need.  Teach information literacy beyond keyword search.  Teach to cause and effect and champion yourself as the key weapon in the battle for information retrieval.

1 Comment | Professional Development, Search | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by answermaven

Research Power Tools

February 26, 2009

Back in the old days, I thought the most power research tool was the telephone.  In this new social media age, I wonder just what is the most powerful tool?

Don’t get me wrong, I still think the telephone or goodness, forbid a face-to-face conversation are very effective tools.  I”m just beginning to see the power and application of Twitter and other social media tools as powerful too.

Telephone calls take preparation and time.  A Twitter post takes mere seconds to author and sometimes the answers are immediate or soon.  There’s no voicemail and waiting for a call back.  There’s no:  That’s not my department you need to speak to…”  In Twitter there’s a “Here ya go!” and it’s done.

However, as an information professional, I still need to trust my sources and be able to verify the information I receive through Twitter and/or other social media tools.  Research requires attention to details.  The applications of my research results have gone to court, to power presentations by CEO’s and to businesses that are shifting focus in their product lines.   If I’m wrong, those folks are wrong and I can’t afford to be careless.

So my toolbox of Research Power Tools grows.  The telephone and 10 minute face-to face meetings are supplemented by Twitter.  All facts are verified or originate from reliable, trustworthy sources.  The value of experience and the use of new tools make me that much more powerful.  Client who use me have a truly powerful tool in their own Information & Research Tool Box.

Constance Ard February 26, 2009

Leave a Comment » | Research Tip | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by answermaven

Evaluating Websites

October 4, 2008

Hakia, a semantic search engine has put out a call for librarians to help unlock credible websites.  Read more about the announcement here.

This prompts me to offer some advise about evaluating websites. It’s easier than you think to evaluate a site for credibility.  Probably all of you have seen this information at one point or another.  However, I was working on a project early this week and some of the sites I was visiting were no good.  So how did I know they were no good?

First, who is producing the site?  Are the individuals or the organizations providing the content known or qualified to produce information they are sharing.  Who is the author?  How do you know that the Answer Maven is who she states herself to be?  Generally, if information about the author of a blog is offered it can be authenticated.  You should verify the information offered.

How current is the information?  Look for a copyright date on a website or check for the currency of information on a blog.

Is there a way to contact the site about technical problems?  Is contact information provided for the people involved with the organization?

If it is easy to contact folks involved with the site and you verify the information through other reputable sources then you have taken important steps toward ensuring credibility.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by answermaven

Navigation and Searching

September 15, 2008

Thanks to BunHeadKY for alerting me to this report:  How Readers Navigate to  Scholarly Content.  The results of this survey provide some interesting suggestions for publishers to make navigation to the full content easier for the users by promoting the role library collections play.

The report includes some very interesting charts comparing the changes between 2005 and 2008 for scholarly researchers.  If you are interested in how information gets found and used don’t ignore this report.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by answermaven

Research is a Commodity

August 28, 2008

Last night I attended a small networking event attended by professionals in a variety of businesses.  This event combined my efforts for networking on a business and volunteer level.  I served as the past-president of the Louisville Youth Group for several years and we are currently seeking board members, so I plugged that need last night.

As the conversation flowed, one of the members mentioned that he had published a book recently and had a new book coming out soon.  I was on the far end of the table so I missed a lot of the details of that conversation.  However, the thread moved down the table and another member mentioned some research she was doing of a more clinical nature.  She mentioned that she would need some statistics as well as some primary material based upon interviews of the target audience.

The thread of this conversation caused me to wonder, as I reflected upon it during the wee hours this morning, about how research and information analysis is part of every day life.  Math has its place but so do research skills.  New technologies do not change the need for empirical data, it just changes the methodologies.

How do professionals, who must conduct research to accomplish their task, bridge the gap when the methodologies they used 20 years ago have changed by force of technology?  Continuing Education courses in some professions may teach people how to adjust their technique.  Do all professions concentrate on information gathering methods when providing continuing education or do professionals flounder because they haven’t been given the opportunity to learn how to navigate the new waters?

How do you stay ontop, especially as a solo practitioner or self-owned business of the information research trends in your industry?  How do you conduct market research on your own or is it viewed as a line-item expense that you will pay an information professional because your commodity is not research but mine is?

Note:  This post is truly a reflection of intellectual curiosity on my part.  As the Answer Maven conducts market research and searches for topics to write about here and in other publications, I have the luxury of knowing how to do the research.  I hire out for a lot of the complex math associated with owning a business because that is beyond my skill set.  So I truly am interested in knowing how small business owners in any field gather the information they need to conduct business.  Are the skills you learned in college or graduate school enough of a basis to help you bridge the gaps?  Please leave comments with your responses.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by answermaven

Following Directions

August 26, 2008

Tonight I cooked dinner, baked a cake and assembled a new office chair. All of these tasks had distinct instructions that led to the final product.

Sure the cooking has its own subtleties, but ultimately you can follow a recipe precisely and the results will be acceptable.  Research is a mixture of serendipity and precision.

You can follow processes, you can assemble checklists that will allow you to do a comprehensive search for a specific task, but ultimately, research requires its own unique talent.  Talent that allows information professionals to weave their way through a myriad of sources all the while executing queries and analyzing the data in the way that only info pros can.

That is what is so invigorating about research and data analysis.  The chase allows me to review a lot of information, make determinations about its relevance to the problem at hand, and provide recommendations about next actions.  With a complex research problem or a situation that requires determination of the right information solution, I get to create rather than follow.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by answermaven

Deep Thoughts

July 23, 2008

Patience is not one of my best virtues. Perseverance is. I am at heart a country girl. The other evening I watched three deer in the backfield at my grandfather’s house. During my visits over the past several months I have watched these same three deer.

This evening at dusk I walked outside to watch them more clearly. Deer are very patient. They will run, stop, turn to observe the change in their environment and stand stock-still until they are assured the threat is gone.

The silence, the stillness and the observation are far removed from the hectic pace of my life in Louisville. It inspired me to stop and think. Just think.

I wonder sometimes if thinking is given enough credit. Today it is easy to write and publish. I mean, here I am publishing with just  a few strokes of the keyboard.   Are problems better solved by reacting or by thinking and then reacting?

Are answers found by jumping into the deep web and swimming until you find the right pool? I actually think it is easier to find answers when I follow some basic research practices.

Write down the key terms, think about synonyms or alternative phrasing, when using Boolean language structure the search and reedit it before hitting enter. Check your spelling, I mean isn’t Google the best spellcheck ever?  Reflect upon whether or not the query is too broad or narrow. Are you in the right realm or do you need to try the search another way. Are you finding the right stuff? 10 minutes should be enough to let you know if you are in the right realm. Too much, too little? Relevant? Then go forth and find the answer or rethink and reedit until you can find the answer.

Sometimes, the patience to observe and reflect saves time and effort and provides quality results.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by answermaven