Case Study 6: Online information handling skills for researchers: a collaborative approach

The Midlands Hub is pleased to announce that the collaborative work by librarians at universities in Loughborough, Nottingham, Coventry and De Montfort University will be showcased at the forthcoming Vitae researcher development international conference on Monday 5 September 2011 at the Midland Hotel, Manchester.

The workshop (session B1 - 15.00) entitled "Online information handling skills for researchers: a collaborative approach" will be lead by Wendy Stanton, Library Faculty Team Leader - Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham and Helen Young, Academic Librarian, Loughborough University

Workshop Overview
In response to the constantly changing information landscape, researchers are required to develop their knowledge of the new technologies and to constantly update their information skills. The RIN report, 'Minding the Skills Gap', identified the important role which librarians play in helping researchers to acquire these skills, noting that this provision is frequently uncoordinated and does not always meet the expressed needs of researchers. In January 2009, librarians from the midlands attended an Emalink seminar on this topic. A project group was formed to address some of these issues and to discuss the development of an online tutorial. The participants were Loughborough University (the lead institution), Nottingham, Coventry and De Montfort. This workshop will demonstrate how the four HE institutions, representing different subject areas, worked collaboratively to develop the following modules for the pilot tutorial: journals and journal articles, bibliometrics, other forms of publishing and networking, which could be repurposed by HE institutions. The research methodology, design and technical issues will be discussed and the issues associated with working in collaboration will also be addressed.

Topics covered: A brief outline of the development of the EMRSG project The creation of the research methodology, including the evaluation of current products, surveys and interviews with academic and research staff to determine user needs and preferences An overview of the of the development of the pilot module and the decisions relating to the content and design The evaluation techniques employed for the pilot, including user observation and feedback from focus groups Our experience of working in a collaborative project across four different universities and from different disciplines

Workshop outcomes: Participants will: explore the challenges and opportunities of cross institutional collaboration including the practical aspects of authoring an online tutorial reflect on the different perceptions and needs of researchers from several subject areas at different stages of their career help prioritise the sequence of future modules.

For information about the workshop and the conference please visit the Vitae researcher development international conference pages

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