PLAN FOR ICA/SAE RESEARCH WORKSHOP

24 September 2:30pm-4:00pm

 

Workshop Leader: Ann Pederson, The University of New South Wales

 

Overall Workshop Objective: To discuss and work meaningfully and productively together to produce a workshop experience and outcome that will build research networks and improve the practice and impact of research conducted within the archives/records discipline.

 

Overview of Workshop Schedule:

 

Times          Activities

2:30pm        Welcome, Introductions and Background - Ann Pederson

 

2:45pm        Deliberation & discussion

 

3:30pm        Reporting & Consolidation of Findings into Outcomes

 

4:00pm        Adjourn for Coffee/Tea Break

 

PREPARATORY THINKING ON RESEARCH FOR PARTICIPANTS - please make notes to use in discussion on 24 -25September

 

Your Name_____________________________ Position _______________________ Institution _____________________________________

 

1.      Estimate what percentage of your workload you ACTUALLY spend on the following activities.

         Teaching preparation & delivery

____ Research & Writing, including supervision

____ Consultancies/Enterprise Activities

____ Professional Leadership & Service including continuing education

____    Program/School/University/Administration

100% TOTAL

 

2.      How many hours a week is your "official" workload as an archival educator? ______hours

On average, how many actual hours do you spend achieving your workload? _____ hours

 

3.      In your teaching, what statement do you use to explain the mission of the archives/records profession to your students?  [Please write the mission statement you use in the space below]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please comment on whether or not the statement you have written above would be widely accepted by

a.       other archival educators;

b.      your professional association;

c.     practitioner colleagues.

d.      the general community

 

 

 

4.      Describe factors in your own institution that ENCOURAGE AND/OR DISCOURAGE research activity by you and/or your students.

                   ENCOURAGE                                                                                      DISCOURAGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.      Some archival educators in North America assert that it is both desirable and feasible for university-based professional education programs to offer a full range of credentials, including a doctoral program in archives/records management. Explain whether you would support or disagree with this view in reference to your own country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.      List and explain the questions or concerns you have about research that you would like to see discussed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  On the next page is a list of the main research competencies and experiences that universities seek to encourage. Enter a "B" in the blank column, for those that students are expected to acquire BEFORE entering your program? Which of the others are specifically developed as part of your curricula? Enter in priority number order those that are included and explain what credential they are associated with in your program i.e. 1 for the most emphasised/developed, 2 for the second most developed, and so on. Provide explanatory notes on how students acquire the knowledge and skills. Enter a 0 for those you do not include and explain why they are absent.

 

Research Competency

General Description of Competency

Samples of Learning Activities/ Outputs That Develop It

Explain How It Is or Is Not Achieved in Your Program  Example: required student assignments or content of [give name of subject or course];  part of examinations, etc.

Research Literacy

Understand and be able to identify appropriate applications of the major research methods and techniques and the extent to which they are appropriate for archival problems;

Find examples in literature and explain the various techniques used; determine which techniques would be appropriate for a particular research need or archival problem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research Criticism

Apply standards and tools of analysis to assess validity of research products or components in management reports

Prepare papers that analyse, compare and/or evaluate of others' research findings or methodology

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Knowledge-focussed Research Analysis

Apply text-based research methods and techniques to plan, execute, present/defend findings in study of existing knowledge on an archival theory or management practice/problem/issue

Plan and prepare papers that identify key features, influences, themes, conflicts, inconsistencies, etc. in the body of existing knowledge and make conclusions or recommendations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Record-focussed Research Analysis

Apply archival principles, analysis and research methods and techniques to plan, execute, present/defend findings in bringing a body of archives under full management

Plan, execute and document full archival processing and produce a finding aid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research  Teamwork/ Junior Researcher

Develop research expertise and contribute as a junior member of an academically rigorous research team and/or devise and complete a Masters thesis

Under  the direction of senior team members, execute defined research tasks such as bibliography, investigate focussed research problem; Masters thesis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Researcher

Initiate and execute a n academically competent individual research project

Undertake Ph.D.  and/or regular success in obtaining funding for own research;

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lead or Master Researcher

Extend research expertise and take leadership via new initiatives, collaborations and applications

Sought after collaborator in research teams;  leader or co-leader of research initiatives; development of new directions, content and applications for research

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please share your views on the validity and/or usefulness of having a tool like the above Typology of Research Competencies:

DRAFT TYPOLOGY OF RESEARCH COMPETENCIES FOR ARCHIVISTS

 

Research Competency

General Description of Competency

Samples of Learning Activities/ Outputs That Develop It

Research Literacy

Understand and be able to identify appropriate applications of the major research methods and techniques and the extent to which they are appropriate for archival problems;

Find examples in literature and explain the various techniques used; determine which techniques would be appropriate for a particular research need or archival problem

Research Criticism

 

Apply standards and tools of analysis to assess validity of research products or components in management reports

Prepare papers that analyse, compare and/or evaluate of others' research findings or methodology

Knowledge-focussed Research Analysis

 

Apply text-based research methods and techniques to plan, execute, present/defend findings in study of existing knowledge on an archival theory or management practice/problem/issue

Plan and prepare papers that identify key features, influences, themes, conflicts, inconsistencies, etc. in the body of existing knowledge and make conclusions or recommendations

Record-focussed Research Analysis

 

Apply archival principles, analysis and research methods and techniques to plan, execute, present/defend findings in bringing a body of archives under full management

Plan, execute and document full archival processing and produce a finding aid

Research  Teamwork/ Junior Researcher

 

Develop research expertise and contribute as a junior member of an academically rigorous research team and/or devise and complete a Masters thesis

Under  the direction of senior team members, execute defined research tasks such as bibliography, investigate focussed research problem; Masters thesis

Senior Researcher

 

Initiate and execute a n academically competent individual research project

Ph.D.  and/or regular success in obtaining funding for own research;

Lead or Master Researcher

Extend research expertise and take leadership via new initiatives, collaborations and applications

Sought after collaborator in research teams;  leader or co-leader of research initiatives; development of new directions, content and applications for research

 Ideas for Future Research Activities, Tasks and Proposed Outcomes: Number in priority order [ 1 - highest - 9 - lowest ] at the left of the following research promoting activities you would recommend ICA/SAE should pursue in future.

 

1.       List key obstacles to research that seem to be common to most programs, examine them closely to determine what lies behind them and brainstorm creative ways to minimise them.  Outcome:  Draft of document entitled Obstacles to Research and Strategies for Overcoming Them

 

2.       Identify educational programs [like Marburg] that have thriving research cultures and analyse the factors that make them successful with a view to identifying elements that can be developed in other settings. Outcome:  Draft of document entitled Characteristics of Successful Research Regimes

 

3.       Identify un- or under-exploited potential research resources out in the community and discuss how these might be utilised Outcome:  Draft of document entitled Community Research Resources for Archival Education

 

4.        Analyse factors such as funding, time and practitioner perceptions and their influences on the development of a research culture with the aim of achieving positive influences. Outcome:  Draft of document entitled Optimising Factors Influential in Building a Research Culture

 

5.       Identify current methods used by various educational programs to disseminate the results of their research projects and devise a prototype reporting regime that interfaces with the ICA/SAE Research Database and that is effective and easy for researchers to implement and use. Outcome:  Draft of document entitled Researchers Guide to Reporting and Disseminating Current Research.

 

6.        Develop a typology of research competencies with activities linked to levels of professional education [certificate, diploma, master degree, Ph.D., certificate of advanced study] Assumption: such a tool would assist educators to integrate research training into various educational products. Activity:  Participants refine draft typology and add examples of suitable tasks and curricula to develop them.  Outcome:  The completed typology could then be placed on the ICA/SAE website, along with the Research Agenda and the Reporting of Current Research as part of a new website segment entitled "Fostering a Research Culture".

 

7.        Develop an agreed upon priority agenda for research that can be a resource for educators and students searching for suitable research topics and questions. Assumption: Research topics and questions chosen by consensus of educators and/or practitioners as important and especially useful to the profession might be given priority consideration and also might inspire collaboration. Activity:  Participants refine draft agenda [format and content] in order to make it as useful as possible and add examples of suitable tasks and curricula to develop them.  Outcome:  A version of the draft agenda that can be marked up for access via the ICA/SAE website.

 

8.       Demonstrate and promote the ICA/SAE Research database as a standardised and centralised "clearinghouse" for presenting the research agenda and for reporting research achievements of educators and students, including completed research products and research-in-progress.  Assumption: Educators and students will see the benefits of having access to an up-to-date listing of new topics, research-in-progress and completed via the database and will regularly report to and use it as a resource. Activity:  Participants provide feedback on the database and on the methodology for access and reporting to it.  Participants prepare individual data input sheets for the ICA/SAE Research database.  These will be keyed in as soon as possible by willing students so that the new information can be viewed "live" and checked by participants.  Outcome: progress towards a critical mass of data to animate the ICA/SAE database.

 

9.      Other Project[s]: Please describe in similar words and format to above:

 

FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION DESIRABLE TO BE OBTAINED LATER FROM EACH PARTICIPANT

 

Please provide a list of research products on archival topics completed by you or students in your program between 1996 and 2001 in the following categories: choose an appropriate category header and enter individual student and archives/records specialist faculty research products[published and unpublished] using full bibliographic citations. We hope to enter this information onto the new ICA/SAE research database. Please complete and return via email to <A.Pederson@unsw.edu.au> or by post at SISTM, The University of NSW, Sydney, Australia 2052 by Oct. 30, 2001

CATEGORY

FULL BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS

 in the style of the American Archivist

*S or *F

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Research-based articles or conference

papers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding Aids

Administrative Histories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reports of Research Project Findings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MA Theses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ph.D.s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Others - please describe/

Explain in column 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*S = student;  *F = archives specialist faculty member