Lisa M. Given, PhD

Professor of Information Sciences

Director, Social Change Enabling Capability Platform

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Trends, Megatrends, and LIS Research: Positioning Our Profession for What’s Next

@lisagiven

http://lisagiven.com

lisa.given2@rmit.edu.au

CRICOS provider number: 00122A | RTO Code: 3046

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and �Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University.

RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present.

RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

Information Behaviour & Methodology

• Research practice – in LIS & other disciplines
• Interdisciplinarity – collaborative teams with nursing, ecology, wine sciences, medicine, architecture, digital humanities… among others
• User experience design & technology use
• Qualitative/mixed methods & societal impact

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• Australian Research Council, College of Experts
• Past President, Association for Information Science & Technology
• Past Director, International Institute for Qualitative Methodology

@lisagiven

Research Futures – What’s Next for LIS?

@lisagiven

Revisiting Relevance 2020 (c. 2017)

Seven barriers to research and collaboration (between academics and practitioners):

• awareness and perception;
• connection and relationship;
• funding;
• passion and enthusiasm;
• research culture and support;
• research expertise;
• shared understanding and interest

@lisagiven

Thirty-seven enablers for research and collaboration, including:

• funding;
• time;
• mentoring;
• research training;
• institutional support

Revisiting Relevance 2020 – Recommendations

1. Libraries and librarians should change the perception of their roles to include research as part of their role specification. This would be a powerful catalyst for a more dynamic, evidence-based profession.
2. LIS schools and academics should be active players in fostering collaboration between academia and practice. Applied research should not be regarded as less important than research of a more theoretical nature.
3. More consideration might be given by LIS academics to some of the priority areas for their practitioner counterparts, such as information services and the promotion of these services.
4. ALIA should continue to play a role that bridges the gap between academic and practitioner needs. Consideration should be given to a central database of research ideas and experts, and to strategically providing further funding opportunities to members.

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@lisagiven

Nguyen, L. 2017. Relevance 2020: LIS Research in Australia. ALIA: Canberra. https://read.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/documents/alia-relevance-2020-lis-research-in-australia-online.pdf 

• Practitioner Survey – completed
• Research Assistance & Development for Australian Researchers (RADAR) (“Project within a Project”) Interviews – completed
• Employer Survey – completed
• Framework to Foster Research Culture – under development

This ARC Linkage Project, for the first time, builds an evidence base on research culture in Australia's library and information profession.

Our research findings establish a framework that can be used by library and information professionals to build a research culture that enables the adoption of "practitioner-researcher" as an approach to professional practice.

@LISResearchAu @lisagiven

@lisagiven

@lisagiven

@lisagiven

@lisagiven

RADAR Program

@lisagiven

Provided small-scale funding for LIS academics and practitioners to co-design and implement a practice-informed research project.

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Applicants were supported by facilitated meetings, webinars, and end-to-end project support (e.g., reading drafts of ethics applications). Paper discusses:

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• Best practices for collaborative LIS research
• Need to move beyond rhetoric to tangible supports & recognition
• LIS associations have a role to play in fostering (collaborative) research
• A research culture is emerging in Australia – but is not yet clearly defined

Given, Lisa M., Helen Partridge, and Katherine Howard. 2022. “Supporting collaborative research in information science: The RADAR program as a model for academic-practitioner team engagement.” Library and Information Science Research 44(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2022.101152

Research Data Futures (2022) – Aspirations

Aspirations:

• effectively apply data/research tools to solve social problems;
• embed social systems thinking into research & policy analysis;
• ensure socially-responsible use of research data commons;
• give value back to communities through an increase in collaborative research and provision of data-enabled, community-oriented online services and applications

@lisagiven

https://socialsciences.org.au/data-enabled-reseach-future/

Research Data Futures (2022) – Challenges

Research data infrastructure

• adapting qualitative methods to work with big data capabilities;
• increasing funding to support social sciences capabilities

Workforce

• increasing awareness & use of research data commons;
• embedding data literacy into uni curricula & researcher training

Governance

• ensuring effective access, privacy, ethics, etc. policies & practices

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@lisagiven

https://socialsciences.org.au/data-enabled-reseach-future/

CSIRO Megatrends (2022)�https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/data/Our-Future-World

@lisagiven

CSIRO Megatrends (2022)�https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/data/Our-Future-World

@lisagiven

#1 Adapting to a Changing Climate

This megatrend speaks to the new ways of operating that organisations and communities will need to adapt to in the face of a changing climate.

#2 Leaner, Cleaner and Greener

This megatrend explores the opportunities pushing us towards a more sustainable horizon and the importance of science, technology and innovation in helping organisations to operate within much tighter envelopes.

CSIRO Megatrends (2022)�https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/data/Our-Future-World

@lisagiven

#3 The Escalating Health Imperative

This megatrend highlights the opportunities provided by preventative health and precision health in supporting better health outcomes for all Australians.

#4 Geopolitical Shifts

This megatrend explores the implications of emerging geopolitical shifts relating to science, technology, trade, supply chains and defence strategy. 

CSIRO Megatrends (2022)�https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/data/Our-Future-World

@lisagiven

#5 Diving into Digital

This megatrend details the next wave of digitisation for organisations and the opportunities enabled by digital and data technologies.

#6 Increasingly Autonomous

This megatrend unpacks how AI and related science, research and technology capabilities are helping to boost productivity and solve humanity’s greatest challenges and the socio-economic considerations of these technology developments.

CSIRO Megatrends (2022)�https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/data/Our-Future-World

@lisagiven

#7 Unlocking the Human Dimension

This megatrend highlights the social drivers influencing future consumer, citizen and employee behaviours.

LIS Research Futures – Key Focus Areas�

@lisagiven

1. Misinformation, disinformation, and trustworthy sources – health, climate change, geopolitics
2. Supporting adaptation to technological innovations – autonomous, human dimension (e.g., vulnerable populations)
3. Greening library spaces and places – greener, climate change, human dimension, health (e.g., ergonomics design)
4. Supporting diverse and evolving communities – greener, geopolitics, human dimension, climate change
5. Research data access, use, infrastructure, and governance – digital, autonomous, human dimension, geopolitics

Where to Next for LIS Research?

@lisagiven

1. Develop deeper partnerships for research impact
• Co-design research (impact) agenda – nationally
• Implement research strategies – locally
2. Extend capacity for practitioner engagement
• Advanced research training – including PhDs
• Partnering and co-designing research projects
3. Extend interdisciplinary reach in academe
• Foster relationships in megatrend-related areas
• Position our expertise related to data futures
4. Collaborate and co-design for societal change
• Between academics and practitioners
• Within LIS & across other areas of expertise/practice

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"Australia is at a pivotal point. There is a tidal wave of disruption on the way, and it’s critical we take steps now to get ahead of it.”

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CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall

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A Few Final Words – LISRA’s RADAR Project

@lisagiven

“While the published literature suggests an ongoing research-practice ‘divide’ in the discipline, the outcomes of the project demonstrate that bringing academics and practitioners together to co-design and implement research projects can be positive and productive…

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Academics and practitioners need opportunities to develop meaningful relationships; each group brings complementary skills and expertise to research, making them ideal partners to generate knowledge and inform practice change”

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Given, Lisa M., Helen Partridge, and Katherine Howard. 2022. “Supporting collaborative research in information science: The RADAR program as a model for academic-practitioner team engagement.” Library and Information Science Research 44(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2022.101152

�Thank you – Q&A

Contact me at:

Twitter: @lisagiven

http://lisagiven.com

lisa.given2@rmit.edu.au

Interdisciplinary PhD in Human Experiences of Technology – recruiting now!

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Seeking students to engage in interdisciplinary projects exploring the design, development, and/or critical assessment of digital technologies used in social, educational, health, work, and personal contexts. Projects will examine technology design and use, focusing on the intersections of people/society and digital computing technologies.

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https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/careers-opportunities/scholarships/research/interdisciplinary-phd-scholarship-in-human-experiences-of-technology