Basic Research Methods for Librarians (Library and Information Science Text Series) » (4th Edition)

RONALD R. POWELL is a professor in the Library and Information Science Program at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. Prior to becoming a library and information science educator he served as a university librarian and college library director. Dr. Powell has taught, conducted research, and published in the areas of research methods, collection development, bibliographic instruction, academic libraries, the measurement and evaluation of library resources and services, and education for librarianship. His other books include Basic Reference Sources (with Margaret Taylor), Qualitative Research in Information Management (with Jack Glazier), and The Next Library Leadership (with Peter Hernon and Arthur Young).

LYNN SILIPIGNI CONNAWAY is a Consulting Research Scientist at the OCLC Office of Research. Her current research projects include the identification and comparison of circulation and interlibrary loan patterns and library collections and WorldCat data mining to facilitate library decision making. Dr. Connaway is the co-investigator on an IMLS-funded project to investigate the information-seeking behaviors of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates from forty-four central Ohio colleges and universities. She was formerly the vice president of Research and Library Systems at netLibrary, a Division of OCLC; served as the director of the Library and Information Services Department at the University of Denver, and was on the on the faculty of the School of Library and Informational Science at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Powell (library and information science, Wayne State U.) and Connaway's (OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Office of Research) text is designed for practicing librarians and other information professionals who need to conduct research and publish, librarians who must read and evaluate research reports and assist others with research, and graduate library and information science students. Focusing on basic research methods, the text covers the role of research in librarianship, major steps in developing a study, and four major methodologies. The text has been generally revised and reorganized for the fourth edition, with expanded sections on ethics in research and focus group interviews, a section on sampling in- library use, an appendix on getting published, and additional material on utilizing electronic technology. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR