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Library Faculty Research Fund: Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can I judge the importance of a research question or topic?
Q: Student help would be useful for my project but I cannot fund a GA on
the amount you allocate. What can I do?
Q: If I do not know statistics, can I still submit a proposal?
Q: Would a member of the committee be willing to talk about an idea
or read over a proposal before I submit it?
Q: Can I ask for funds to "buy-out" time, i.e., to get released
time for conducting research?
Q: What research methodology books do you suggest?
Q: What books or articles on writing for library publications do you suggest?
Q: How can I judge the importance of a research question or topic?
Ask yourself the question: "Who cares?" If your answer is only you, or only your library, or only a few persons in the field, then think about how you can expand your research to make the results matter to more people, maybe by asking a slightly broader question. You are going to allocate time and effort and ask for money to do the research - research is an expensive undertaking. The research question should be worthy of all of this in terms of its importance to the field, its potential impact, and the fact that it builds on previous research and will lead to additional, important research questions. It should matter that you did the research. Consider these potential signs of importance:
- You can see it accepted by the best journals in the field or in your area of the field, a sign that referees agree with your judgment about its importance and the quality of your research. Look at the journals you aspire to and read their articles for ideas.
- You can present it at the most prestigious conferences in your field or in your area of the field.
- It is likely to be cited and/or used by others in the field, a sign that others agree with you and sense its worth.
- It will push practice or knowledge farther and in the right direction than it would have gone without your efforts, another sign that your research matters.
Q: Student help would be useful for my project but I cannot fund a GA on the amount you allocate. What can I do?
Consider paying the student on a per hour basis. Check with the Grants Officer for advice about the compensation for student workers. We are trying to establish comparability of compensation for similar work across projects. /p>
Q: If I do not know statistics, can I still submit a proposal?
Not all research has to involve statistics. If you think your project calls for statistics and statistical tests, then consider putting in funds for a statistics consultant and get some advice before you start the project, not after. He or she can sometimes suggest ways of wording questions, or sampling, or whatever to make the analysis more effective. BUT, also consider doing qualitative research. Research of this type often calls only for descriptive statistics or just counts. Consult a good qualitative research text to see if this approach is feasible for your idea, and, if you decide to use it, be sure to follow its guidelines for formulating a good, rigorous qualitative research study.
Q: Would a member of the committee be willing to talk about an idea or read over a proposal before I submit it?
No, we need to remain as uninvolved with competitors as possible to avoid bias in our judgments. We can talk to you about the required portions of the proposal and deadlines. We suggest you ask another published staff member, a previous awardee, or a knowledgeable friend to read over your proposal before you submit it. We try to schedule at least one session per semester in which you can seek advice of a knowledgeable, published staff member.
Q: Can I ask for funds to "buy-out" time, i.e., to get released time for conducting research?
LFRF money may not be used for "buying-out" time. Any allocation of funds for this purpose is an administrative decision and not the responsibility of the LFRF Committee. You may submit a request to the Dean of Libraries after consulting with your supervisor if you have funded research. Upon receiving a request from a librarian and after consulting with the LEC and the librarian's supervisor, the Dean of Libraries may allocate funds for "buy-out" purposes, but only individuals with funded research are eligible to be considered. Receiving such "buy-out" funds should not be considered a certainty. The research (not the buy-out) may be funded by the Library Faculty Research Fund, MITH, or another source that grants funds on a competitive basis.
Q: What research methodology books do you suggest?
- Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A.M. Qualitative Data Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1994.
- Powell, Ronald R, and Connaway, Lynn Silipigni. Basic Research Methods for Librarians. 4th ed. Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
- Strauss, Anselm L. and Corbin, Juliet M. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. 2d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998.
- Case, Donald O. Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information Seeking, Needs and Behavior. San Diego: Academic Press, 2004. Excellent review of user studies of all types; provides a good analysis of research methodology for these types of studies.
Q: What books or articles on writing for library publications do you suggest?
- Gordon, Rachel Singer.The Librarian's Guide to Writing for Publication. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2004.
- ALA's New Writers' Support Ad Hoc Committee maintains an excellent bibliography on this topic, so we suggest you check their web site for additional publications: http://www.ala.org/ala/nmrt/comm/books_articles.htm
- If you are considering publishing a book, other useful resources are publishers themselves. See this list of library and information science-related book publishers (with links to their home pages): http://www.libraryhq.com/publishers.html. On the publisher's homepage, look especially for its guidelines for authors; they usually describe the content and format of book proposals.
