Why, when and how?

Librarian and research writing

JOSEPH M. YAP, MLIS
DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA
SEMINAR-WORKSHOP ON RESEARCH PROPOSAL MADE EASY FOR LIBRARIANS
42
ND
ALAP GENERAL ASSEMBLY
BENGUET STATE UNIVERSITY
LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET
JUNE 25-27, 2014
abstract
Librarians are active in the dissemination of knowledge and
information. In dealing with the daily (re)quest for scholarly
literature, librarians are faced with numerous kinds of
research queries. As an esteemed professional, librarians
should possess the skills of a navigator (searcher) at the same
time researcher. This presentation will provide the librarians
the essentials on why, when, and how should they start
writing their own research. This will give them the
opportunity to expand their 'social' network and contribute
to the wealth of knowledge in the field of LIS.
Outline
What is research?
Types of journals
Benefits of writing/publishing
LIS Journals
Journal rankings
Writing your first scholarly article
Editors expectations (responses)
Process of getting published
Ethics in research writing
Disclaimer
I will not be explaining:
Methodologies, theoretical frameworks
Statistics
Show of hands
Who among you has unpublished
manuscript/s?
http://www.ushistory.org/hope/future/slideshow/showofhands.htm
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/80994493272352591/
http://bethanylebedz.blogspot.com/2011/01/organize-computer-files.html
Show of smiles
Who among you has already published a journal
article, newspaper or magazine article, book
chapter, book, etc.?
http://obrag.org/?p=30143
Librarianship is an information poor
information profession (Neal, 2006).
Whos afraid of research? Why?
http://teenshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/studysmart/writing_papers.html
Rejection
Inadequacy
Success
Exposing Yourself
Only One Book
Too Old to Write
Fear of Research
The 7 Deadly Fears of Writing
http://menwithpens.ca/7-deadly-fears-of-writing/
What is?
https://sphcm.med.unsw.edu.au/future-students/postgraduate-research/how-apply/step-5-prepare-research-proposal
Research is a systematic inquiry that investigates hypotheses,
suggests new interpretations of data or texts, and poses new
questions for future research to explore (UC San Diego, 2014).
Research consists of:
Asking a question that nobody has asked before;
Doing the necessary work to find the answer; and
Communicating the knowledge you have acquired to a larger
audience.
http://urp.ucsd.edu/for-students/what-is-
research.html
What are the two types of research?
Pure / Basic / Theoretical / Scientific: New knowledge
generalization
Applied: Solving of specific problems in real situations
Basic research leads to practical applications
Applied research acts as a foundation for subsequent basic
research.
Lets think!
LIS research areas
Basic research
Applied research
http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-thinking-boy-image25526698
Any journal title you are familiar for:
Librarians
Academic librarians
Special librarians
Agricultural librarians
Wealth or dearth?
Year Author Journal ArticleTitle
1942 - Nature Library of the
Philippines
1951 Argosino, A. Y. Journal of the
Philippine Medical
Association
A brief historical
sketch of the
Medical Library of
the College of
Medicine, University
of the Philippines
1980 Quiason, S. International Library
Review
International
conference of
directors of national
libraries on resource
sharing in Asia and
Oceania, Canberra,
1979 south-east
Asian papers (2)
Some pointers on
resource sharing in
Asia and Oceania:
The Philippines
Year Author Journal Article Title
2005 Caa, M.B., Cueto,
Q.L.G.G., De
Guzman, A.B.,
(...),Manalo,
L.R.T.,Yu, J.C.U.
Journal of
Librarianship and
Information Science
Clientele recognition
of library terms and
concepts used by
librarians: A case of
an academic library
in the Philippines
2007 Borrero, A., Ramos,
M., Arsenal,
A., Lopez,
K., Hettel, G.
First Monday Scholarly publishing
initiatives at the
international rice
research institute:
Linking users to
public goods via
open access
2008 Arlante,
S.M., Lagrama,
E.R.C.
Archiving 2008 -
Final Program and
Proceedings
Filipiniana materials
and the philippine
eLib: The philippine
perspective of
digitizing printed
heritage materials
Year Author Journal/Book Article Title
2009 Ramos,
M.M., Alvar,
L.M., Ferreyra,
C., Shelton, P.
Handbook of
Research on Digital
Libraries: Design,
Development, and
Impact
The CGIAR virtual
library bridging the
gap between
agricultural research
and worldwide users
2009 Ramos,
M.M., Alvare,
L.M., Shelton,
P., Besemer, H.
Journal of
Agricultural and
Food Information
The CGIAR virtual
library: A vital tool
to enhance access to
agricultural research
Year Author Journal Article Title
2010 Dizon, F.R., Sagun,
K.K.A., Alfiler-
Macalalad, A.G.P.
Education for
Information
Quo vadis? LIS
postgraduate education
in the Philippines
2011 Encanto, J.A. International
Information and
Library Review
Factors that influence
the establishment of a
network of medical
libraries in the
Philippines
2012 Ramos, M.S., Abrigo,
C.M.
Library Hi Tech News Reference 2.0 in
action: An evaluation of
the digital reference
services in selected
Philippine academic
libraries
2012 Totanes, V.R. Public Library
Quarterly
Money and Leadership:
A Study of Theses on
Public School Libraries
Submitted to the
University of the
Philippines' Institute of
Library and
Information Science
Year Author Journal Article Title
2012 David, L.T., Sagun,
K.K.A.
Library Management Increasing awareness
and use of the library's
resources and facilities
through relationship
marketing strategies
2012 Perez,
M.J.V.,Templanza,
M.R.
IFLA Journal Local studies centers:
Transforming history,
culture and heritage in
the Philippines
2013 Alayon, S.B., Nemiz,
E.S., Superio, D.L., de
la Pea, J.G.,Pacino,
L.G.
Program The development of an
institutional repository
at the Aquaculture
Department of the
Southeast Asian
Fisheries Development
Center, Philippines
2014 Fresnido, A.M.B.,Yap,
J.M.
Library Management Academic library
consortia in the
Philippines: Hanging in
the balance
Types of Journals
There are three main journal types found in most libraries.
Scholarly, also known as peer-
reviewed, academic or refereed journals.
Trade or Professional Journals
Popular Journals
http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/subjects/jnltypes
Video (Univ. of Washington UL)
http://modernlibrarianmemoirs.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/testchart.jpg
Peer-reviewed
Scholarly journal that requires an article to be subjected to a
process of critical evaluation by one or more experts on
the subject, known as referees, responsible for determining if
the subject of the article falls within the scope of
the publication and for evaluating originality, quality of
research, clarity of presentation, etc. Changes may be
suggested to the author(s) before an article is finally accepted
for publication.
http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_p.aspx#peerreviewed
Refereed (peer review, juried) journals are scholarly journals
where the scholarship of the article has been reviewed by
experts in the same field, before the article is published in
the journal.
The review process can take months but provides some
authority to the article.
Refereed/peer review journals are the most significant of the
scholarly journals.
http://library.wvstateu.edu/pathfind/scholarly.html
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/284219426457336
944/
http://www.uu.edu/library/research/coach.cfm
Ulrichs Web: Global Serials Directory
Ulrichsweb is an easy to search source of detailed
information on more than 300,000 periodicals (also called
serials) of all types: academic and scholarly journals, e-
journals, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines,
newspapers, newsletters, and more.
Ulrichsweb covers more than 900 subject areas. Ulrich's
records provide data points such as ISSN, publisher, language,
subject, abstracting & indexing coverage, full-text database
coverage, tables of contents, and reviews written by
librarians.
Journal ranking
Journal Citation Report
helps to measure research influence and impact at the journal
and category levels, and shows the relationship between citing
and cited journals.
Scopus
abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature.
Impact factor: a measure reflecting the average number
of citations to recent articles.
Top 20 LIS Journals (JCR, 2012)
JCR Year and Edition: 2012 Social Science
Abbreviated Journal Title
MIS QUARTERLY
J INFORMETRICS
J AM MED INFORM ASSN
J INF TECHNOL
INFORM TECHNOL MANAG
ANNU REV INFORM SCI
SCIENTOMETRICS
J HEALTH COMMUN
INFORM SYST RES
J AM SOC INF SCI TEC
GOV INFORM Q
INT J INFORM MANAGE
J COMPUT-MEDIAT COMM
INT J COMP-SUPP COLL
INFORM MANAGE-AMSTER
INT J GEOGR INF SCI
TELECOMMUN POLICY
Journal of Agriculture and Food Information
Agricultural Information Worldwide
More titles from the researching librarian:
http://www.researchinglibrarian.com/journals.html
Benefits
Sharing best practices, case studies
Tenure
Promotion
Contribution to the field & profession
Prestige
Authority
Best benefit: Experiences / Travel
SLA Bibliography
It is always a good feeling to see the end product!
Conference
Journal article
Book chapter
Vanity publishing
a derogatory term aimed at publishers whose main source of
income was derived from the writers whose work they
published rather than any projected sales of their books.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/feb/04/vanity-self-publish /
http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/v/vanity_publishing.asp
Bealls list of predatory publishers
http://scholarlyoa.com/2014/01/02/list-of-predatory-
publishers-2014/
Year Number of predatory
publishers
2011 18
2012 23
2013 225
2014 477
Criteria for Determining Predatory Open Criteria for Determining Predatory Open Criteria for Determining Predatory Open Criteria for Determining Predatory Open- -- -Access Access Access Access
Publishers (2nd Publishers (2nd Publishers (2nd Publishers (2nd edition edition edition edition) by ) by ) by ) by Jeffrey Beall (2012)
1. Complete an analysis of the publishers content, practices,
and websites according to ethical standards established by
membership organizations.
A. Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association
(OASPA) Code of Conduct
B. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct
for Journal Publishers
C. International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical
Publishers (STM) Code of Conduct
2. Complete an analysis of the publishers content, practices,
and websites: contact the publisher if necessary, read statements
from the publishers authors about their experiences with the
publisher, and determine whether the publisher commits any of
the following practices (below) that are known to be
committed by predatory publishers.
Editor and Staff
The publishers owner is identified as the editor of all the journals published by
the organization.
No single individual is identified as the journals editor.
The journal does not identify a formal editorial / review board.
No academic information is provided regarding the editor, editorial staff,
and/or review board members (e.g., institutional affiliation).
Evident data exist showing that the editor and/or review board members do
not possess academic expertise to reasonably qualify them to be publication
gatekeepers in the journals field.
Two or more journals have duplicate editorial boards (i.e., same editorial board
for more than one journal).
The journals have an insufficient number of board members, have concocted
editorial boards (made up names), include scholars on an editorial board
without their knowledge or permission, have board members who are
prominent researchers but exempt them from any contributions to the journal
except the use of their names and/or photographs.
Business Management
Demonstrates a lack of transparency in publishing operations.
Has no policies or practices for digital preservation.
Depends on author fees as the sole and only means of
operation with no alternative, long-term business plan for
sustaining the journal through augmented income sources.
Begins operations with a large fleet of journals, often using a
template to quickly create each journals home page.
Provides insufficient information or hides information about
author fees, offering to publish an authors paper and later
sending a previously-undisclosed invoice.
Integrity
The name of a journal is incongruent with the journals mission.
The name of a journal does not adequately reflect its origin (e.g., a journal with the
word Canadian or Swiss in its name that has no meaningful relationship to Canada or
Switzerland).
The journal falsely claims to have an impact factor, or uses some made up measure (e.g.
view factor), feigning international standing.
The publisher sends spam requests for peer reviews to scholars unqualified to review
submitted manuscripts.
The publisher falsely claims to have its content indexed in legitimate abstracting and
indexing services or claims that its content is indexed in resources that are not
abstracting and indexing services
The publisher dedicates insufficient resources to preventing and eliminating author
misconduct, to the extent that the journal or journals suffer from repeated cases of
plagiarism, self-plagiarism, image manipulation, and the like.
The publisher asks the corresponding author for suggested reviewers and the publisher
subsequently uses the suggested reviewers without sufficiently vetting their qualifications
or authenticity. (This protocol also may allow authors to create faux online identities in
order to review their own papers).
Others
Publish papers already published in other venues/outlets without
providing appropriate credits
Use language claiming to be a leading publisher even though the
publisher may only be a startup or a novice organization.
Operate in a Western country chiefly for the purpose of
functioning as a vanity press for scholars in a developing country.
Do minimal or no copyediting.
Publish papers that are not academic at all, e.g. essays by laypeople
or
obvious pseudo-science.
Have a contact us page that only includes a web form, and the
publisher hides or does not reveal its location
Start thinking, err, writing, now!
Never say die!
Do it when you are prepared, make sure to mind the
deadline.
http://www.researchrockstar.com/a-blatant-sales-pitch-for-market-research-training/
http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2013/10/ick-yuck-eew-our-gross-american-history.html
Read a lot of research papers! Focus on the recommendations for
future research.
Write down speculations, interesting problems, possible solutions,
random ideas, references to look up, notes on papers you've read,
outlines of papers to write, and interesting quotes. Read back
through it periodically.
Know your literature. Read and review. Avoid duplication.
PATTERN
UNDERSTAND
KEEP YOUR MOTIVATION
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/how.2b/how.2b.research.html
Goal
The goal of a research proposal is to present and justify a
research idea you have and to present the practical ways in
which you think this research should be conducted.
http://libguides.usc.edu/content.php?pid=83009&sid=2319840 /
http://www.mommywarriors.com/blogs/?p=10115
Common mistakes to avoid
Failure to be concise; being "all over the map" without a clear
sense of purpose.
Failure to cite landmark works in your literature review.
Failure to delimit the contextual boundaries of your research [e.g.,
time, place, people, etc.].
Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the
proposed research.
Failure to stay focused on the research question; going off on
unrelated tangents.
Sloppy or imprecise writing. Poor grammar.
Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major
issues.
http://libguides.usc.edu/content.php?pid=83009&sid=2319840
Grammar
Find a colleague who is able to proofread / edit your work.
http://www.businessinsider.com/11-common-grammatical-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them-2013-9
https://blogs.library.ucsf.edu/inplainsight/2011/10/07/tips-on-how-to-get-your-research-
published/
Publication process
https://www.mededportal.org/submit/
Editors responses
Reject. At this point, you can read the comments provided, make
changes, and submit it to another journal.
Revise and resubmit. The journal is not making a commitment to
you, but they are willing to take another look if you are willing to
make changes. This is a common response for first submissions.
Accept with major changes. The journal is interested in publishing
the article, but it will require reworking.
Accept with minor changes. You will be presented with a series of
small changes. Some of these might be required and others might
be your choice.
Accept. The article is through the reviewing process and is on to
the next stage.
Nicholson, S. (2006). Writing your First Scholarly Article: A Guide for Budding Authors in Librarianship. Information Technology and Libraries 25(2) 108-111.
Friendly Reminders:
Do not submit your work to multiple journals at the same
time.
Before submitting you might want to consider the journals
bibliometrics.
http://www.123rf.com/photo_16678767_abstract-word-cloud-for-bibliometrics-with-related-tags-and-terms.html
Suggested Topics for Library Science Research and Suggested Topics for Library Science Research and Suggested Topics for Library Science Research and Suggested Topics for Library Science Research and
Publication Publication Publication Publication
http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/ahafner/awh-th-
researchtopics.htm
Google Scholar
In summary:
Research is a studious inquiry or examination; especially:
investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and
interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws
in the light of new facts, or practical applications of such new
or revised theories or laws (Merriam-Webster, 2014).
We need to write more research, for the future of our
profession.
Further reading/sources of information
Organizing Your Social Sciences Research
Paper http://libguides.usc.edu/content.php?pid=83009&si
d=2319840
Pathfinder - Educational Research
http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/library/pathfinder/education/edu
cational_research.asp
Association of College and Research Libraries
Standards for Faculty Status for Academic
Librarians
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/standardsfaculty
Research funding
Invitation to submit!
ASLP Journal
PAARL Journal
PLAI Journal
Journal of Philippine Librarianship (UP SLIS)
http://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/1370
http://newlifejerusalem.org/
http://mydance101.com/ms-emilys-favorite-dance-books/
Thank you for listening!
E: joseph.yap@dlsu.edu.ph