Last week I had the pleasure of
going to Doha, Qatar to give a workshop at the Research-based Library Practices
Summit. The Summit was organized by librarians from University College London
and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and attended by librarians from
multiple countries in the Gulf region. My workshop focused on providing an
overview of the frequently used quantitative and qualitative research methods
in library and information science such as survey, focus group interview,
in-depth interview and content analysis, and explaining the process of making a
methodological decision based on the research question. The objective of the
workshop is for participants to gain knowledge and skills to determine which
qualitative and quantitative methods are most appropriate to address their
research questions. I used the following questions to help them analyze their research
question and make the methodological decision:

·
Are qualitative research methods appropriate for
your research question?

a.
How much previous research exists on your topic?

b.
Do you intend to capture a nuanced, in-depth
view of your topic?

c.
Do you intend to describe your observations via
the identification of themes/patterns?

d.
Is there existing qualitative content you can
analyze, or do you have to collect original qualitative data?

e.
Which qualitative data collection method do you
plan to use – focus group interview, in-depth interview or field observations?

·
Are quantitative research methods appropriate
for your research question?

a.
Is your research question a relationship
question or a causality question?

b.
Has there been extensive research conducted on
your topic that the range of Reponses or variations of behavior are already
known?

c.
Do you intend to quantify your observations and produce
generalizable conclusions?

d.
Is there existing statistics you can analyze, or
do you have to collect original quantitative data?

e.
Which quantitative data collection method do you
plan to use – quantitative content analysis, quantitative observations, or
survey?

Overall the workshop went pretty
well. We had a lot of good discussions. I was impressed with the participants’
eagerness to conduct research to improve their practice. This kind of “research-mindedness”
is exactly what we need in the profession.

During my stay in Doha, I had the
opportunity to visit the state-of-the-art Qatar National Library. It’s still
under construction, so we had to wear safety hat and vest on the tour. It’s an
amazing building. I loved the open design and the high level of automation.
There is even a restaurant in the library – a real one with a kitchen, not just
a café where you can only get sandwiches. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to
take pictures inside. But here’s a picture of us in front of the building.

Here are a couple of pictures I
took of a gorgeous corridor in the Education City, where the Summit was taking
place. Gorgeous view, isn’t it?