Masters of Library and Information

Course: Information Behaviour

Course Code: MLIS 6102

Semester long assignment/project

Weight of project: 60

Aim of assignment

·      To carry out an empirical study on “Library research support services in Malawi: Perspectives from senior library staff” 

·      Students to independently carry out research in their research areas of interest.

Expected outcomes

·         Students to write a short proposal; consisting all parts of a proposal as follows: 

o   Introduction (conceptual and contextual)

o   Preliminary literature review

o   Problem statement

o   Research objectives

o   Significance of the study

o   Methodology

·         Students to present a proposal to members in the LIS Department

·         Develop data collection instrument

·         Collect data

·         Analyse data

·         Write an academic paper from the findings

·         Present the findings to members in the LIS Department

·         Choose a journal for publishing the paper

·         Submit the paper for publication

Resources to read

Students to read the following articles to familiarise themselves with the topic under study.

Coombs, J., Thomas, M., Rush, N., & Martin, E. (2017). A Community of Practice approach         to delivering research support services in a post-92 Higher Education Institution: A         reflective case study. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 23(2-3), 159-170.

Sheffield, M. (2017). Research Support Services in Agriculture at Clemson University:      Survey Results From Faculty With Implications for Library Services. Journal of      Agricultural & Food Information, 18(3-4), 189-199

Meadows, K. N., Berg, S., Hoffmann, K., Martin Gardiner, M., & Torabi, N. (2013). A    needs-driven and responsive approach to supporting the research endeavours of          academic librarians. Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information           Practice and Research, 8(2).

Keller, A. (2015). Research support in Australian university libraries: An outsider   view. Australian academic & research libraries, 46(2), 73-85.

Johnson, L. M., Butler, J. T., & Johnston, L. R. (2012). Developing e-science and research            services and support at the University of Minnesota Health Sciences        Libraries. Journal of library administration, 52(8), 754-769.

Haddow, G., & Mamtora, J. (2017). Research support in Australian academic libraries:      Services, resources, and relationships. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 23(2-     3), 89-109.

Cox, J. (2017). New directions for academic libraries in research staffing: A case study at National University of Ireland Galway. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 23(2-   3), 110-124.

Coombs, J., Thomas, M., Rush, N., & Martin, E. (2017). A Community of Practice approach         to delivering research support services in a post-92 Higher Education Institution: A         reflective case study. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 23(2-3), 159-170.

Brown, S., Alvey, E., Danilova, E., Morgan, H., & Thomas, A. (2018). Evolution of Research      Support Services at an Academic Library: Specialist Knowledge Linked by Core     Infrastructure. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 1-12.

Visintini, S., Boutet, M., Manley, A., & Helwig, M. (2018). Research Support in Health    Sciences Libraries: A Scoping Review. Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries          Association/Journal de l'Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada, 39(2),   56-78.

Sitnicki, M. (2018). DEVELOPMENT OF A MODEL OF DIGITAL RESEARCH             UNIVERSITIES. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies, 4(1), 311-318.