Search Results

Objective – The objective of this review was to examine research instrument characteristics, and to examine the validity and reliability of research instruments developed by practicing librarians, which measure the construct of patron satisfaction with academic library reference services. The authors were also interested in the extent to which instruments could be reused Methods – Authors searched three major library and information science databases: Library and Information Science Technology Abstracts (LISTA); Library Science Database (LD); and Library Literature & Information Science Index. Other databases searched were Current Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); Education Resources Information Center (ERIC); Google Scholar; PubMed; and Web of Science. The authors identified studies of patron satisfaction with academic library reference services in which the researcher(s) developed an instrument to study the satisfaction construct. In this rapid-review study, the studies were from 2015 and 2016 only. All retrieved studies were examined for evidence of validity and reliability as primary indicators of instrument quality, and data was extracted for country of study, research design, mode of reference service, data collection method, types of questions, number of items related to satisfaction, and content of items representing the satisfaction construct. Instrument reusability was also determined. Results – At the end of the screening stage of the review, a total of 29 instruments were examined. Nearly all studies were quantitative or mixed quantitative/qualitative in design. Twenty-six (90%) of the studies employed surveys alone to gather data. Twelve publications (41%) included a discussion of any type of validity; five (17%) included discussion of any type of reliability. Three articles (10%) demonstrated more than one type of validity evidence. Nine articles (31%) included the instrument in full in an appendix, and eight instruments (28%) were not appended but were described adequately so as to be reusable.  Conclusions – This review identified a range of quality in librarians’ research instruments for evaluating satisfaction with reference services. We encourage librarians to perform similar reviews to locate the highest-quality instrument on which to model their own, thereby increasing the rigor of Library and Information Science (LIS) research in general. This study shows that even a two-year rapid review is sufficient to locate a large quantity of research instruments to assist librarians in developing instruments.

Objective - Over the last decade, many academic libraries have hired data professionals to offer research data services. As these positions often require different types of experience than traditional librarian positions, there is an increased interest in hiring professionals from outside the typical library and information science (LIS) pipeline. More broadly, there has also been an increased interest in academic libraries and higher education to incorporate the principles and practices of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEI&A) into their work. These phenomena allow an opportunity to examine the growing area of data professionals and library hiring practices through the lens of DEI&A. Data was collected from 180 data professional job positions, including education, experiences, and skills, to better understand the evolving and complex landscape of data professionals and to provide evidence based recommendations regarding how the profession can enact meaningful and lasting change in the areas of DEI&A. Methods - The qualifications and responsibilities listed in data professional job postings from 2013 to 2018 were examined. Prior to analyzing the job postings, a codebook of 43 variables was developed. The 177 data professional job postings (corresponding to 180 positions) were independently analyzed, noting the presence of each variable, including the locations and the degrees of complexity sought. After coding, discrepancies were mutually resolved. Overall, the coding process had 94% intercoder agreement, which indicates a high level of agreement. Results - Over one-third of postings (n = 63, 35%) did not use the word “librarian” in the job title. Eighty-eight percent (n = 159) required a Master’s in LIS degree, but 67% (n = 119) also accepted an equivalent degree. Over half of the positions (n = 108, 60%) were also looking for an additional degree, most frequently a graduate degree. The median salary of the positions listing a quantitative value was $57,000; however, this value may not be accurate because only 26% of job positions (n = 47) gave a quantitative salary. From the research data management skills mentioned, general data management (n = 155, 86%), data repositories (n = 122, 68%), and data curation (n = 101, 56%) appeared most frequently. Libraries were also looking for traditional LIS skills and experiences, including instruction (n = 138, 77%), consultation (n = 121, 67%), and a public services perspective (n = 69, 38%). Conclusion - The results show that academic libraries are trying to recruit candidates from outside the traditional academic library pipeline. Research data activities (a non-traditional area for LIS) and traditional LIS areas were both frequently mentioned. Overall, these job positions should be written through a more intentional lens of DEI&A. This would help to make data professional positions more diverse and inclusive, while also helping academic libraries to reach their goal of recruiting outside of LIS. A set of concrete DEI&A recommendations are provided that are applicable for writing all library positions, so that readers can put these results into action and enact meaningful change within the profession.

The central assertion of the article is that the most important mission in the field of education today is to design a new, comprehensive educational concept for schools, without with schools are consigned to an “educational-pedagogical vacuum” that advances extraneous and alienating purposes. The analysis delineates the theoretical foundations and practical consequences of such a new concept called “Education for Meaning.” That concept addresses meaning in two senses: meaning as understanding the world and meaning as significance of and reason for living. The pattern of teaching and learning applied in the creative arts is presented as a pedagogical model upon which such an educational approach can be modeled. The article highlights the urgent educational need to initiate a dialogue that focuses on “big theories” of education in place of the prevailing educational discourse which has become superficial and crassly economy-focused.

Keywords: Teaching for understanding, Arts education, Comprehensive educational concept, Meaning as significance

Critical literacy is a pedagogy that serves to mediate social justice issues and educate for transformative social action. We present a systematic review of how critical literacy has been incorporated in Canada’s provincial/territorial curriculum documents since the late 1990s and integrated in K-12 classrooms in the last decade. Our analysis shows that critical literacy has been addressed with varying degrees of explicitness in curricula, and there is an imbalance of studies on critical literacies among provinces and territories. We discuss implications and encourage stakeholders in education to explicitly embed critical literacy into curricula and promote critical literacy practices in the classroom.

Keywords: critical literacy, literacies, equity, social justice, social action

In this paper, we consider the way that web documents seeking to persuade readers of certain science claims provide information about the sources of the arguments. Our quantitative analysis reveals that web documents in our sample include hundreds of examples in which the reader is provided information regarding the trustworthiness (or lack thereof) of sources. The web documents also contain a large number of examples in which the reader is provided with information about how many individuals hold a particular belief. We discuss ad hominem, ad verecundiam, and ad populum arguments, and the way that the examples found in our sample of documents are related to these argumentation schemes.

Little research has been conducted to examine the participation and persistence of adult basic education students in northern and rural Canada. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was conducted with adult learners to address this research deficit. The study consisted of questionnaire and interview phases. Using thematic analysis, five themes were identified from the participant responses: (a) positive, supportive, personal touch; (b) situational hardships; (c) friendships and community; (d) campus Indigeneity; and (e) program resources. Situational hardships directly affected students’ program participation and persistence. A positive, supportive environment contributed to participation and persistence, while friends, community, and program resources influenced student persistence in the program. Participants identified campus Indigeneity and promotion of the program as areas for improvement.

Keywords: Rural, Adult Basic Education, Upgrading, College, Indigenous, Reconciliation, Northern, Ontario, Canada, Barriers to Education, Participation, Persistence, Place-based Education, Manitoulin Island, Little Current, Literacy, Numeracy