LIS-S 505 Evaluation of Information Sources and Services
3 credits
- Prerequisite(s): LIS-S 500, LIS-S 507
- Delivery: Online
- Semesters offered: Fall, Spring (Check the schedule to confirm.)
Description
This course is designed to explore evaluation as a tool for the improvement of programs, services, and initiatives in information organizations. Evaluation is a process to explore the needs of users (and non-users) and examine how well information organizations support those needs. We evaluate information sources to help us make evidence-based decisions and take strategic approaches to program and service evaluation design, and we take a human-centered approach to service and program evaluation.
Program Learning Goals Supported
Instructors map their courses to specific LIS Program Goals. Mapped program goals drive the design of each course and what students can expect to generally learn.
- Connect Core Values and Professional Ethics to Practice
- Facilitate Engagement in the Information Ecosystem
- Lead and Manage Libraries, Archives and Other Information Organizations
- Organize and Represent Information
- Conduct Systematic Research to Inform Decisions
- Innovate Professional Practice with Information Services and Technology
- Examine Systemic Inequalities to Improve Library and Information Practices through Equitable and Socially Just Interventions
Learning Outcomes
Instructors develop learning outcomes for their courses. Students can expect to be able to achieve the learning outcomes for a given course after successfully completing the course.
- Analyze qualitative and quantitative methods for evaluating information collections, facilities, services, programs, and staff.
- Assess how to determine which methods are most appropriate for addressing different evaluation questions.
- Determine basic elements for design and critical examination leading to the process to conduct an evaluation project.
- Determine how to critically analyze peer-reviewed empirical literature in the graduate and professional field of library and information science.
- Assess, as defined through professional standards, the role and value of evaluation in managing library and information organizations and programs.
- Analyze qualitative and quantitative methods for evaluating information collections, facilities, services, programs, and staff.
- Assess how to determine which methods are most appropriate for addressing different evaluation questions.
Course Overview
Instruction is in Canvas. Lessons are organized into Modules whose length may vary.
Module 1: Course Introduction
- Comprehend Course Expectations and Guidelines: Articulate course expectations, policies, and procedures.
- Reflect on Evaluation Practices and Knowledge: Analyze and critique existing evaluation practices and knowledge within the context of the ACRL Proficiencies for Assessment in Academic Libraries.
- Discuss the Role and Value of Evaluation: Examine and articulate the significance and impact of evaluation in library settings.
Module 2: Evaluation Questions and Stakeholders
- Differentiate Evaluation and Research: Identify and explain the differences in practices, purposes, and design between evaluation and research.
- Apply Professional Standards to Evaluation: Utilize professional standards and guidelines to shape the focus of an evaluation through process and outcome questions.
- Differentiate Process and Outcome Evaluation Questions: Clearly distinguish between process and outcome evaluation questions in the context of library and information organizations.
- Analyze Stakeholder Needs in Evaluation: Examine how stakeholder needs and experiences relate to evaluation and library services, drawing connections to professional standards and guidelines.
Module 3: Evaluating Information Sources
- Locate Scholarly Research: Identify and retrieve empirical, peer-reviewed scholarly articles in library and social sciences to support the design of an evaluation plan.
- Evaluate Research Literature: Critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of research literature in library and social sciences.
- Analyze Research for Practical Application: Analyze the rigor, adaptability, and transferability of library and social science research literature to practical applications in library and information organizations.
- Apply Scholarly Methods to Evaluation Design: Apply and adapt ideas and methods from scholarly literature to the design of an evaluation plan in a library or information context.
Module 4: Evaluating Methods
- Evaluate Different Methods: Articulate the strengths and weaknesses of various evaluation methods.
- Align Questions with Measures: Match evaluation questions with appropriate measures, instruments, and data analysis procedures.
- Measure Evaluation Questions: Determine the best qualitative and quantitative methods to measure evaluation questions effectively.
Module 5: Evaluation Design
- Design an Evaluation Methodology: Design a comprehensive methodological approach for collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to effectively answer evaluation questions.
- Create Data Collection Instruments: Develop a variety of instruments to gather meaningful data from multiple stakeholder groups, with a focus on emphasizing and capturing human voices in the evaluation process.
Module 6: Final Project and Reflection
- Design Evaluation Procedures: Develop a comprehensive plan that prioritizes qualitative or multi-methods approaches to evaluate a library or information organization service or program.
- Support a People-Oriented Approach in Library Evaluation: Plan an evaluation using a human-centered approach that focuses on utilizing results to drive improvements.
- Reflect on Evaluation Practices and Knowledge: Analyze and critique existing evaluation practices and knowledge within the context of the ACRL Proficiencies for Assessment in Academic Libraries.
Policies and Procedures
Please be aware of the following linked policies and procedures. Note that in individual courses instructors will have stipulations specific to their course.