| Research Method | Brief Description | More Information & Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Action Research | Used by practitioners to attempt to solve problems and improve professional practice in their own classrooms, libraries, etc. |
What Is Action Research? | ASCD Example: Action Research in the Library: Method, Experiences, and a Significant Case by Ilaria Moroni |
| Bibliometrics and altmetrics, cybermetrics, or webometrics | Reveals patterns of scholarly communication, the development of a field of study, and impact factors of scholarly publications. |
From bibliometrics to altmetrics | ACRL College & Research Libraries News Example: Bibliometrics example | TIDSR: Toolkit for the Impact of Digitised Scholarly Resources |
| Case Studies | Investigations of an individual, event, program, or other phenomena within a real-life context. |
Project planning: case studies | Study Guides + Strategies Guide: Case Studies | Colorado State University Examples: Library Workflow Redesign: Six Case Studies | Council on Library and Information Resources |
| Content Analysis | The study of recorded communications to determine patterns, themes and infer meaning. | |
| Correlational research | Explores statistical relationships between variables but does not show evidence of causality. | |
| Delphi Study | Used to generate ideas and form consensus from individual communications with experts. |
Delphi Method Definition | Investopedia |
| Ethnography | Participatory research is designed to explore cultural phenomena. |
ERIAL Project | Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries NPS Ethnography: African American Heritage & Ethnography | National Park Service Example: The Librarian-As-Insider-Ethnographer | Journal of Library Innovation Example: Students research the library | ACRL College & Research Libraries News |
| Experimental | Explores relationships between variables and attempts to provide evidence of causal relationships. |
Experimental Design | Research Methods Knowledge Base Example: Using Anticipatory Reading Guides to Improve Elementary Students’ Comprehension by Evan Ortlieb |
| Historical Research | Collecting and analyzing data from the past to test hypotheses and identify causes, effects and trends within the context of historical events. |
Historical Methods of Research by Manu Kumar Example: American Public Libraries in the Great Depression by Charles A. Seavey |
| Surveys | Used to describe the characteristics of, and make predictions about, a population. |
Survey Research | Research Methods Knowledge Base Why is Survey Research so Popular? | SAGE Example: Triennial Survey | UW Libraries |
(From ALA's Librarian Researcher Knowledge Space - http://www.ala.org/research/larks/researchmethods)
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