Assessment of the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship (IRDL): Impact on the Research Productivity and Careers of Academic Librarians

Abstract

Objective – This article reports the findings of a survey that is the initial phase of a mixed methods study to assess the first six years of a continuing education program designed for academic and research librarians, the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship (IRDL). The study is designed to assess the effectiveness of IRDL in meeting short-term and long-term programmatic objectives related to the research productivity, job performance, and professional identities of the participants in the program. Methods – In this first part of a two-phase study, the authors surveyed all 124 librarians who completed the in-person Summer Research Workshop and year-long online follow-up program. The authors then analyzed the participant CVs and created research productivity scores as part of the evaluation of research productivity. The results of the second phase of the study, using focus groups and in-depth interviews, will be reported in a subsequent article. Results – Eighty-nine participants responded to the survey, for a 72% response rate. As it relates to research productivity, there is a statistically significant correlation between the participants who began their IRDL projects and then continued to do research, with higher research productivity. Participants chose to publish more in book chapters and share research findings in fewer conference presentations after their participation in IRDL. Regarding the impact IRDL may have had on any job-related factors, over 70% of respondents believed that IRDL contributed to them extending their personal learning networks. A significant proportion of participants also noted a change in their self-identification as a librarian-researcher, before and after participating in the program. This article is unique as one of the first to operationalize the variables that look at librarians as practitioner-researchers and their research persistence, while building on the work of the past literature on research productivity. Conclusion – Two notable findings are that IRDL Scholars persist in their research by continuing to pursue research projects beyond their IRDL project, and that the program had an impact on their self-identification as librarian-researchers. These findings are unique in the evolving literature on librarians and research productivity. In examining a variety of factors, we believe that IRDL is meeting its programmatic objectives as they relate to research productivity, job performance, and professional identities of the academic and research librarians participating in the program.