[Sigia-l] card sorting: dealing with multiple placements

[Derek R]

Michael J. Davis wrote:
>| One of the five required courses in the program
>| is Research Methods and Statistics
>| http://www.fims.uwo.ca/mlis/courses-co-op/504.htm

This course is about "LIS research" Michael ("questions in library and
information science"), and has very little relevance to performing
user-tests and/or conducting user-research (beyond glossing over some
techniques).

This MLIS degree course has, as its primary objective, to offer
instruction toward the end of creating and understanding *the
deliverable* -- systematizing data (statistics). This is consistent with
where I previously indicated the LIS-IA skill level is at.


>| for any sort of proper reference interview
>| ...it is incumbent upon the librarian to understand
>| the user's perspective...for facilitating

Exactly. This is conciliatory behavior, not formal user-research.

Conciliation is not at all useful, in fact detrimental, to formal
user-research, field research, user-testing, etc.

True researchers/testers are not after conciliation. Their goals are
quite different.

You must understand that the goal of MLIS degree programs is to produce
good *librarians,* not good field researchers.