1. Making our skills visible through research
HSLG Annual Conference May 2016
“Advancing health library skill sets”
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2. Outline Why research My experience Professional practice
Over to you (tips for publishing)
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3. Research
‘Health Services Research’ is defined as research with the goal of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system through changes to practice and policy. Health services research is a multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organisational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviours affect access to health care, the quality and cost of healthcare and ultimately health and well-being‘ (HRB, 2014)
Basrelief sculpture "Research holding the torch of knowledge" (1896) by Olin Levi Warner. Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. Public Domain
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4. Why carry out research?
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6. Improve understanding of a topic
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7. Problem solving
Whether to invest in ebooks or increase awareness of existing print collection?

8. Add to LIS evidence base
“Health Science librarians should
identify clinical research opportunities in all sectors, and offer their information and knowledge skills to the research team”. (SHELLI report, 2011).
“Establish a body of Evidence” 1 of 3 strategic recommendations of SHELLI report.

9. Create new knowledge beyond LIS

10. Health & Social Care Professionals

15. Complementary skillsets
Table 2 Possible points of correspondence between public health informatics competency domains and MLA essential areas of knowledge (Banks et.al, 2005).

16. Prove/Disprove a theory

17. Enhance your skills

18. Improve practice

19. One good reason..
Increase your visibility!

21. Confidence & Credibility
Modeling behaviour
By becoming a researcher, gain confidence working with other researchers. Lends more credibility to your role.

22. Professional Practice – Research as a Competency
Research, Analysis, and Interpretation (MLA Competencies)
All health information professionals use published research either to provide information services to end users or to improve their practice as librarians. Whether using the published research of others or reporting their own findings, health information professionals require a core set of knowledge and abilities.
Source: Medical Library Association (2007).

23. A question of policy.. MLA Research Imperative (2007) CC BY-SA 3.0
Creator: NY -

24. ..or responsibility? “Members should:
share, where possible, results of  research and development projects they have been involved in to help encourage best practice across the profession and enable colleagues to improve the services they provide.
Carry out and use research involving users (e.g. surveys of needs)” 
(CILIP Code of Professional Practice, 2013)

25. Part of standards User Education Systematic Review Skills
Needs Assessment
LIS Staff Training

26. What is the level of research activity of health science librarians?
USA (Lessick et al, 2016)
17% response rate MLA members
UK (Spring, 2014)
316 usable responses
79% read research articles 1 a month
58% apply research studies to practice
62% reported acting on research had enhanced their libraries
34% authored research articles
55.4% never involved in research related to health librarianship
Hospital librarians less likely than academic librarians to be research active
“Research is an activity that health librarians feel is a large part of what defines their work. Librarians have ..overlooked what it means to them and their own profession”.

27. What skills are needed for research?
Ask an answerable question
Critical Thinking
Enquiry/
curiosity
Literature searching
Comprehension
Critical
Analysis
Underatand research methods
Data Capture
Data Interpretation & synthesis

28. How can I obtain these skills?
Have to set goals for incorporating research into practice
Goal: write a case study about e.g. transition to an e-only journal collection at my hospital library. Submit for publication in September 2016.
Alternatively become a co-authoe & learn OR do a MOOC

29. Options for upskilling
Informal
Join Research Group MLA/CILIP
Shadow
Mentor
Co-author
Formal
MLIS
DBS/UCD/Distance Learning
MOOC
CPD Courses

31. What are the steps involved in getting published?
Clarify your research question (title) = Define stage
Decide publication type (review, research article, case study, systematic literature review, RCT, meta analysis, systematic review, rapid review)
Alison Brettle Define, Design & Do

32. Find co-authors OR Go solo
Peer network (HSLG List)
Researchgate
LinkedIn
LIS Literature
You're in control
Time Management

33. Identify journal Your criteria Open access Peer-reviewed Good quality
Indexed widely
Multidiscplinary / LIS
Journal criteria
Author guidelines
Read previous issues
Check publication types
Audience

34. Ask JANE (Journal/Author Name Estimator)

35. Collect & Design Acquire lit Appraise
Apply it to research question (ID Methods)
Begin lit. review

36. Do Start with an end date/goal in mind.
If collaborating, divide sections & use collaborative tools e.g. GDocs, Dropbox, Trello, Snipe, Skype etc.

37. Waiting Game
Don't fear rejection, learn from it

38. Disseminate

39. Communicate

40. References
Banks, M. A., Cogdill, K. W., Selden, C. R., & Cahn, M. A. (2005). Complementary competencies: public health and health sciences librarianship*. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 93(3), 338.
Lessick, S., Perryman, C., Billman, B. L., Alpi, K. M., De Groote, S. L., & Babin Jr, T. D. (2016). Research engagement of health sciences librarians: a survey of research-related activities and attitudes. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 104(2), 166.
Medical Library Association. (2007). The Educational Policy Statement of the Medical Library Association: Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success. Chicago, IL: The Association.
Spring, H. (2014). An investigation into the barriers to and priorities for research engagement in health librarianship. International Journal of Health Information Management Research, 2(1),

41. Useful Resources JANE http://jane.biosemantics.org/
Academic Writing Librarians Blog
LibFocus
An Leabharlann
CILIP LIRG
MLA Research Section
EAHIL
Grant, M. J., Bonnett, P., Sutton, A., Marshall, A., Murphy, J. and Spring, H. (2016), Are you a budding academic writer?. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 33: 1–6. doi:  /hir.12137

42. Thank you for listening!
ICML/EAHIL 2017 watch this space for call for papers
Any Questions?
@aalawton