5th Rizal Library International Conference
Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
October 25-26, 2012

THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIESIN FACILITATING STUDENTS’ RESEARCH

Diljit Singh
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Outline of Presentation• The importance of research• Students as researchers• Requirements for successful research• Role of academic libraries in facilitating research• Implications for libraries and librarians
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Importance of Research• Research is important– New products– New services– New understandings• The buildings blocks of knowledge

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Importance of Research• Importance of research is evident in the increase in
spending by Governments on research and development(R&D)• Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research andDevelopment (GERD) in Europe increased by 43.5%
between 2000 and 2010
• Global R&D spending is expected to grow by about 5.2%
to more than US$1.4 trillion in 20124

Importance of Research• Research is conducted at a variety of institutions,
including universities• Universities use the outcomes of research to publish
papers, commercialize their products, improve thequality of teaching-learning, and train future researchers• Research outputs from universities lead to patents,
publications and citations, which have become importantcriteria in the ranking of universities and a matter ofnational pride
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Students as Researchers• Within universities, students are significant
producers of research– Capstone project during undergraduate degree– Senior year project– Students working as research assistants to faculty
members– Graduate level students• Masters level (usually required)• Doctoral level (mandatory)

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Students as Researchers• Graduate student populations are increasing• Number of degrees awarded are increasing– USAYear2010/2011

Bachelors
1,715,000

Masters
718,000

37.8%
2000/2001

Doctoral

1,244,171

168,200
51.6%

473,50240.7%
119,585– Malaysia
Year
2011/2012

Bachelors
66,372Masters
11,332

48.1%
2004/2005

43,826

Doctoral
1,527
86.6%

6,074

240.8%
4487

Students as Researchers• Many graduate programs require students tocarry out a research project and write a report as
fulfillment of their degree program• These students need support to conduct theirresearch– Relatively inexperienced in research– Lack of guidance due to faculty time constraints– Lack of experience in finding and using resources8

Students as Researchers
Stages in research

Source: Drawn to Science Education. Available at9
http://www.drawntoscience.org/educators/action-research/classroom-action-research-1.html

Requirements
for Successful Research• Successful research requires– Knowledge– Skills– Attitude– Guidance– Use of appropriate resources

10Requirements
for Successful Research
Characteristics that facilitate research productivity
IndividualSocialization
Motivation
Content knowledge
Research skills
Simultaneous projects
Orientation
Autonomy andcommitment
Work habits

Institutional
Recruitment andselection
Clear goals
Research emphasis
Departmental culture
Positive group climate
Mentoring
Communication withprofessional network
Resources
Rewards

Leadership
ScholarResearch orientedFulfills critical leadershiproles
Participative leader

Source: Bland, C. J. et al. 2005. A Theoretical, Practical, Predictive Model of Faculty and Department Research
11Productivity. Academic Medicine. 80(3): 225-237.

Requirements
for Successful ResearchBland, C. J. et al. 2005. A Theoretical, Practical, Predictive Model of Faculty and Department ResearchProductivity. Academic Medicine. 80(3): 225-237.

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Requirements
for Successful Research• Libraries have a critical role to play in successful
research• Traditional role of the library has been to provide
collections of resources, supplemented byprograms in helping users find the resources,e.g. information literacy programs, 1-to-1
reference services,• Is that enough?

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Role of Academic Libraries
in Facilitating Research• Is that enough ?
– Environment is changing– New technologies and communication are being used
– Information is available any time, anywhere (for a price)– Increasing demands of users• Question of not only “what services do we offer?”
but also “how do we move all services to an eplatform in order to support scholars in theresearch life cycle”?
14Role of Academic Libraries
in Facilitating Research• Research Life Cycle

Source: Joint Information Systems Committee. Available at
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/campaigns/res3/jischelp.aspx

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Role of Academic Libraries
in Facilitating Research• What support can be provided at the “zones ofneed” in the research life cycle?
– Resources and services that are most likely to assist
in making the research tasks more efficient, or bysupporting new methods of research– Resources and services that provide economies ofscale across genres of information, disciplines ofresearch, and/or across institutions
16Role of Academic Libraries
in Facilitating Research• Need to think and work beyond traditional librarymodels• Need to re-examine certain assumptions– The Google generation can find information– More choices are better– Advisors are up-to-date– Traditional search approaches (author, title, subject,keyword) are adequate– Traditional hours of service are sufficient17

Implications for
Libraries and Librarians• Libraries and librarians have to take on newroles• Providing collections and services for learning
will continue• But success will be measured by ability to meetthe needs of researchers at the various stagesof research18Implications for
Libraries and Librarians• Understanding the research process– Closer links with researchers– Conducting research themselves• Understanding students’ research behavior,needs and existing services– From enrolment to graduation• Develop appropriate policies and proceduresthat meet the needs of research students
19Implications for
Libraries and Librarians• Study by Rasul and Singh (2010) on Perceptions ofPostgraduate Students on the Role of Academic
Libraries in Facilitating their Research• Survey of 375 graduate students in 4 research
universities in Malaysia• Main findings– Students perceive that academic libraries are playing a relevantrole in their research activities– Students were generally satisfied with the resources andservices which were available at their libraries

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Implications for
Libraries and Librarians• Study by Rasul and Singh (2010) (contd.)• Main findings (contd.)– Electronic resources had the highest value for research, lowrating on theses collections and print resources– There exists a gap between what students perceive as being
important, and their level of satisfaction with existing resources
and services– Overall satisfaction level was lower than students’ expectations

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Implications for
Libraries and Librarians• Study by Rasul and Singh (2010) (contd.)• Main recommendations from the study– Libraries should continue to provide a comfortable physicalenvironment with longer opening hours– Academic libraries need to continually enhance their electronicand print collections– Academic libraries need to conduct research themselves tounderstand researchers’ needs, and then provide services
according to the requirements– Libraries should provide support at appropriate “zones of need”
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To Summarize• Research is important• Universities are among the bigger producers ofresearch• Students are increasing producers of research• Academic libraries need to support students in
the research process23

To Summarize(contd.)• Success is measured not by provision ofresources and services, but use and value
placed by researchers• Libraries need to understand students’research behavior and services needed• Libraries should provide assistance at appropriate“zones of need”
24Thank you !
diljit@um.edu.my
diljit_singh@hotmail.com

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