Focus On: Denise Koufogiannakis

March 20, 2013

Highlighting research by members of the Canadian library and information management community.

Collections & Acquisitions Coordinator, University of Alberta Libraries

What is your research topic?

I’m very interested in evidence based library and information practice, as well as research about research within LIS. My most recent study was about how academic librarians use evidence in their decision making.

What interested you in that topic?

Ever since my first professional job as a health sciences librarian, I’ve been interested in how librarians make decisions in practice, and how we might be able to make better decisions by using research. This has led me to think about how we can make our research better, the dissemination of research within LIS, and the factors that contribute to how and why we use research and other forms of evidence in our decision making.

What impact would you like to see your research have on LIS practitioners?

I’d like my research to help my fellow practitioners have a better understanding of why we make decisions in the way we do, and to understand how we might improve our decision making. Ultimately, this should lead to the provision of better services for our communities.

What emerging topics do you foresee in the future of LIS research?

There are so many! Every day leads to new questions! I’m a very practical person, so I hope that as a profession we will continue to do research that has direct application to how we provide services, but also measures the worth of what we do. It seems that at this point in time, all libraries are being asked to prove their value, and research studies can help with that. Research can also help us to realize when we should stop providing certain services.

What advice would you give to LIS students or practitioners hoping to engage in research?

My advice is to follow what interests you and just get started! Don’t put too much pressure on yourself – your skills will improve over time. Find a mentor who can help guide you, and also look for collaborators. Research always seems to be stronger when done in a group!

Select Bibliography

Denise Koufogiannakis (2012) Academic Librarians’ Conception and Use of Evidence Sources in Practice, 5-24. In Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 7 (4).

Lorie A. Kloda, Denise Koufogiannakis, Katrine Mallan (2011) Transferring evidence into practice: what evidence summaries of library and information studies research tell practitioners. In Information Research 16 (1).

Denise Koufogiannakis, Natasha Wiebe (2006) Effective Methods for Teaching Information Literacy Skills to Undergraduate Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, 3-43. In Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 1 (3).

Denise Koufogiannakis, Ellen Crumley, Linda Slater (2004) A Content Analysis of Librarianship Research, 227-239. In Journal of Information Science 30 (3).