Doreen Bradley Our Library Assessment in Student Learning Lab is undertaking ambitious work this year. We designed, conducted, and coded a student survey in Fall 2019, which had over 500 responses. In Winter, 2020, we designed, conducted and are mid-way through coding 22 individual student interviews. Both of these research efforts provided our Fellows with … Continue reading Adventures in Coding
Unpacking an Interdisciplinary Experience: Reflections from a Data Science Student
Elizabeth Hanley Not too long ago, we had project-wide midpoint check-ins where lab members came together in small groups to discuss our experiences so far in the Library as Research Lab project. Many of the topics had to do with how the skills learned in this project differ from - or augment - our experiences in the classroom at the School of Information. Being a project member who hails from the School of Information Data Science track, I had a lot of thoughts about the value of being an interdisciplinary student that I wanted to continue unpacking after the focus group. Not only has this program been deeply influential in shaping my academic trajectory at UMSI, but it has influenced how I think about my future career as well. More than just a research project, the Library as Research Lab program has helped me better articulate who I want to be as a data scientist.
Research in real life
Jackie Freeman Depending on where (and when) you attended library school, a research methods class was probably a requirement. These types of courses are designed to provide students with theoretical knowledge of research methods – and if they are particularly fortunate – students may have an opportunity to work with a library practitioner on some aspect of that librarians’ research. Due to the length of most library school programs, these opportunities when offered are necessarily brief and often do not allow for sustained engagement with a project from inception to completion and dissemination.