This document provides an overview of Ann Gillespie's PhD research on how teacher librarians perceive and use evidence-based practice. The research aims to understand what constitutes evidence-based practice for teacher librarians and what types of evidence they use within this context. Previous studies on evidence-based practice in other fields are discussed, noting a shift from reliance on quantitative research to acknowledging qualitative sources. Interviews with teacher librarians in Australia will explore how they gather and use evidence from local sources to demonstrate their impact on students. The goal is to develop an evidence-based practice framework for teacher librarians based on this research.

1. Ann Gillespie
PhD candidate, QUT
IASL/SLAQ conference, Brisbane, Australia. September, 2010
Diversity Challenge Resilience: School Libraries in Action - The 12th
Biennial School Library Association of Queensland, the 39th International
Association of School Librarianship Annual Conference, incorporating
the 14th International Forum on Research in School Librarianship,
Brisbane, QLD Australia, 27 September – 1 October 2010.

2. How do teacher librarians perceive and use
evidence based practice

3. Background to the
problem
Overview of the
literature
Research method
Proposed outcomes
of the research
What I have learned
along the way

4. Australia wide study of teacher librarians
The education revolution
The role of teacher librarians
What is a teacher librarian?

5. In the school environment Inquiry into school libraries
the focus is on students, and teacher librarians in
teachers, classrooms and Australian schools
learning. With their Over 320 submissions, hearings and
interviews in every state
impact in student This scrutiny makes it
learning largely evident that teacher
unrecognised the flow on librarians need to
effect is that is very easy demonstrate their impact
for the teacher librarian on teaching and learning
and the library itself to and in particular their
be undervalued and impact on student
overlooked (Hartzell, cultural, social and
1997). academic achievement.

6. That evidence based practice has the
potential to demonstrate the value of the
teacher librarian.
Providing meaningful evidence of work
practices that demonstrate contributions to
schools goals and mission statements in
conjunction with contributions to student
social, cultural and academic achievements.

7. EBP is becoming well established in medicine,
health services and education and the wider
librarianship field.
There is no empirically derived framework of
EBP that applies to the library and information
sector or specifically to the teacher librarian.

8. Central objective:
How teacher librarians perceive and use evidence
based practice to demonstrate their contributions to
the social, cultural and academic achievements of
their students?
Specific aims – the research questions:
What constitutes evidence based practice in teacher
librarianship?
and
Within the context of evidence based practice and
teacher librarianship - what is evidence?
The research contribution would be:
To devise a framework of evidence based practice for
teacher librarians which has been developed from a
foundation in research.

9. Evolving nature of EBP
The various understandings of what EBP is
and its place in research and practice
The complexity of the t/ls role

10. EBP from the perspectives of
Medical sector
Nursing & Health sectors
Library & Information sector
Education sector
School library sector

11. Evidence based practice is an
evolutionary story of
adopting, adapting and applying
The origins from the medical sector – A
definition
‘Evidence based medicine is the
conscientious, explicit, and judicious
use of current best evidence in
making decisions about the care of
individual patients. The practice of
evidence based medicine means
integrating individual clinical
expertise with the best available
external clinical evidence from
systematic research’ (Sackett, 1996, p. 71).

12. Define the clinical
question
Retrieve the pertinent
information
Evaluate the literature
Categorise the quality of
the evidence base
Develop conclusion and
recommendation
(Rosenberg & Donald, 1995, p.
1122)

13. Summary:
Reliance on random controlled trials and systematic research
The model is structured and hierarchical
Quantitative approaches to data collection
Reliance on secondary sources of evidence
Disregards and devalues evidence which is derived from social
interactions and observations
EBM relies on external clinical evidence from systematic
research
A question of bias......
Takes an external scientific approach
Can it tell the whole story?

14. An evolutionary trail
Takes a more internal, intuitive
approach
Linear models (Lomas, 1993)
Kitson, Harvey & McKormack
(1998) – placed a value on
facilitation and context
Move from the quantitative,
positivist domain to the
qualitative, Interpretivist domain
Fill the gap between research and
practice

15. Takes a broader, more Summary:
socially orientated Development from
view of evidence. linear to non-
Knowledge can be linear models
generated from four Quantitative and
types of evidence qualitative data
Research sources
Clinical experience Primary sources of
Patients, clients and evidence based on
carers secondary sources
Local context and Context and
environment facilitation are
(Rycroft-Malone et al, 2004) acknowledged

16. Is the human experience really evidence?
Personal experience and experiential
knowledge ‘should be recognised for what
they are and should not be disguised as types
of evidence for them to be deemed of any
value’ (Scott-Findlay & Pollock, 2004, p. 92).

17. Key players are Booth, Booth & Brice,
Crumley & Koufogiannakis,
Eldredge, Watson-Boone.
First adaptations occur in
health sector libraries
Definition
A means to improve the profession of
librarianship by asking questions as
well as finding, critically appraising
and incorporating research from
library science (and other
disciplines) into daily practice. It
also involves encouraging librarians
to conduct high quality qualitative
and quantitative research.
(Crumley & Koufogiannakis, 2002, p. 62)

18. The various models have been summarised by Lyons (2009, p. 64) as:
Define the problem and identify possible contributing factors
Specify a desired state of affairs
Identify and evaluate alternative solutions for reaching the desired
state of affairs
Assess the feasibility and suitability in terms of costs, benefits, and
constraints of each alternative solution
Select the most desirable solution and confirm that its specification
is complete and understood
Prepare a plan to implement the solution, and then implement it
Collect valid data to monitor results, comparing both the
implementation and the results to the specification in step 2 and
step 5
If needed, adjust the implementation plan and repeat steps 6 to 8.

19. Watson-Boone (2000) identifies six approaches that could be used in evidence
based practice as:
Action research (a cyclical process of problem identification and resolution
involving problem identification, planning, acting, observing, and reflecting)
(p. 87).
Case study research (a detailed examination of one setting using documents,
observations, questionnaires and interviews. It is descriptive and interpretive)
(p. 88).
Evaluation research (seeks to verify hypotheses; can be summative when it
seeks to compare actual performance with previously set performance goals
and ti is outcomes focused; or formative where data is collected at the
program under study is being carried out) (p. 86-89).
Experimental research (usually in the form of a pre-test-, post-test on a
control group; for instance in bibliographic instruction) (p. 89).
Secondary data analysis (the statistics or analysis of data done by another
researcher) (p. 89).
Survey research (not to be confused with questionnaires which is an
instrument to collect data; survey research is a research method; can produce
qualitative or quantitative findings) (p. 90).

20. Linear models
Preference for secondary sources of evidence
before primary sources
Quantitative data preferred over qualitative data
sources
Some models include a reflective stage
Question trustworthiness of qualitative sources
especially narrative and anecdote

21. If it works in health it must work in
library and information services??
Evidence based practice has been
adopted and adapted
unquestioned into library and
information services.
The concept is a good one –
it just needs adjusting
Qualitative sources should include
narratives and anecdotes to
provide evidence and information
about the user experience.
(Hunsucker, 2007).

22. Attempts to link research,
practice and policy
The question of trustworthiness
What constitutes valid evidence
in education?
Performance or indicator
measures?
Student evaluation?
National testing?
Serves to perpetuate what gets
measured gets done (Oliver &
Conole, 2003).
Maintain rather than transform
practice

23. Summary: More controversy
Primary sources based on What constitutes evidence and
secondary the nature of research
Some primary sources Action research is the most
Qualitative approaches applied approach
Professional judgement is Reliability or trustworthiness
viewed with skepticism of evidence when the
practitioner is the researcher
Aligning evidence to
performance standards Risk of performance
can be restrictive measures and accountability
– maintains current practice,
rather than transforms it.

24. The focus of evidence based
practice for teacher librarians
has four purposes:
Satisfy a need to verify
contributions to student
achievement
Gain support of school
decision makers
Aid in decision making and
future planning
To take a position of advocacy

25. Summary
Reliance on an action research approach
Strong alignment with student
achievement and pedagogy
Primary sources based on secondary,
some primary sources
Evidence data comes from local sources
Qualitative and reflective
Trustworthiness is questioned

26. Evolution – Revolution – keep
comfortable & asking What
predictable? difference has it
made?

27. The central objective
How teacher librarians perceive and
use evidence based practice to
demonstrate their contributions to
the social, cultural and academic
achievements of their students.
The research questions
What constitutes evidence based
practice in teacher librarianship?
and
Within the context of evidence based
practice and teacher librarianship -
what is evidence?

28. Aim is to make a fit between my own
background and the research questions
Qualitative
Theoretical underpinnings of Information
horizons (Sonnenwald, 2005), & EBP
Interpretive, ECIA, elements of case study
Participatory, using interviews & observations
Henri, Hay, Oberg Rubric for an information
Literate School (2002, p. 89)
Presented as Narrative, bricolage, matix &
model

29. Critical Incident Technique
(CIT) developed by
Flanagan in 1954.
Answers what style
questions
A critical incident could be
activities or actions that
result from an event which
could be a major turning
point.

30. ECIA seeks to represent the human
experience by identifying critical
incidents and recording critical
behaviours to answer how and why
aspects.
Holistic focus
Crosses the social science disciplines of
education and library science
Gains insights through actions, thoughts
and feelings
(Hughes, 2007)

31. Takes an Australian perspective and interviewees
will be drawn from qualified and practicing
teacher librarians
The demographics
all states in Australia (where possible)
rural, urban and regional centres
primary, secondary and multi-campus schools
schools with large and small student
populations
government, Catholic and independent sector
schools
schools where teacher librarians operate in
isolation and schools with more than one
teacher librarian and additional support staff

32. accessibility to schools,
time and distance,
reliability of interview information
Ethics: all ethical requirements will be met
Reliability: interviews will be recorded,
transcribed and verified

33. They had built good relationships with their principal,
staff and students.
They were addressing user needs in their actions for
change
They held strong convictions that their work was for
the benefit of the students and teachers at their
schools
Their actions and interventions would impact on the
whole school, not just the library
They had attitudes that were proactive, supportive,
and positive and were able to negotiate
They were all providing timetabled relief time for
class teachers and therefore were not working as
collaborative teaching partners

34. They were relying on primary based on secondary
sources of evidence; that is they were using local
data generated from their own work practices or
library database
They were reflective of their actions constantly
striving to do things better
They were most successful when the school
principal actively supported the interventions
They were well skilled in the use of ICTs and the
applications to learning
They were leaders of professional development
They were leaders of learning innovations and
users of ICTs in learning
The culture of the school governed how they
worked with students and teachers

35. They were collaboratively planning though not
always on a regular basis with class teachers
Through their teaching interactions they were
working to build strong links between the
learning in the library and the learning in the
classroom
Lack of access to staff was a barrier to successful
interventions
They had an awareness of pedagogies for student
learning
They were adapting teaching and learning
strategies to suit the culture of their school

36. A use of primary sources, or original research
where they conducted their own research as
the foundation of evidence building

37. This qualitative approach provides rich
and in-depth data
The true voice of the teacher librarian
will be heard by using excerpts of
transcripts and vignettes.

38. Objective 1: Raise awareness of the role of the
teacher librarian and their impact on students’
social, cultural and academic achievement.
Objective 2: Gain insight into teacher librarians’
perceptions and use of evidence based practice.
Objective 3: Add to the body knowledge about
evidence based practice
Objective 4: From the insights, observations and
artefacts, develop a framework of evidence
based practice for teacher librarians
Object 5: Add to the research in the use of new
methods to explore evidence based practice.

39. Ann Gillespie
BEd (CIAE), GradDipEd(TeachLib), MInfMgt,
MInfTech, AALIA.
Share on delicious ann_g
am.gillespie@qut.edu.au

40. Images from:
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Footage
Royalty Free Images
For other references see the full conference
paper.