What factors have the greatest effect on librarians’ success as researchers? While there are many descriptions of supports for librarians’ research, there is little evidence-based understanding of how they affect research output. At the same time, research and scholarship are an increasingly significant part of academic librarians’ professional responsibilities.
This research used an online survey, distributed to Canadian academic librarians at CRKN member institutions, that included demographic questions, questions about the participant’s research output, and questions that explored factors related to three categories: individual attributes, peers and community, and institutional structures and supports. The analysis statistically compared librarians’ reporting of their research outputs with their responses to the questions related to the above factors. These findings will help librarians and administrators to focus on what really makes a difference in order to best ensure librarians’ research success.
Outcomes:
– Participants will understand the range of factors that have been shown to affect research productivity across academic disciplines.
– Participants will be informed about the factors that most closely affect research productivity for academic librarians.
– Participants will be encouraged to adopt an evidence-based approach in delivering research supports for librarians.
