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Resources: University-Wide Research Grants for Librarians

What is research?

The meaning of “research” can vary from one discipline to another. Some general dictionary definitions include:

Oxford English Dictionary. 2d ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

• Noun: 2. a. A search or investigation directed to the discovery of some fact by careful consideration or study of a subject; a course of critical or scientific inquiry.
• Verb: 1. a. trans. To search into (a matter or subject); to investigate or study closely. Also, to engage in research upon (a subject, a person, etc.).

Random House Dictionary of the English Language. 2d ed. (unabridged). New York: Random House, 1987.

1. diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc.

How do you conduct research?

The way in which research is conducted may also vary from discipline to discipline.

Del Balso and Lewis provide a useful list of basic steps in conducting social research:

• Choose a topic
• Formulate the problem
• Review the literature
• Organize research design
• Gather data
• Analyze data
• Interpret data
• Communicate to others

 (Del Balso, Michael and Lewis, Alan D. First Steps: a Guide to Social Research.

Toronto: ITP Nelson, 1997. Exhibit 1.1 (p. 22), "The Research Process.")

You can get more information about research methods from Bill Trochim’s Center for Social Research Methods website, which covers the following topics:

• Research Methods Knowledge Base
• Navigating the Knowledge Base
• Five Big Words
• Types of Questions
• Time in Research
• Types of Relationships
• Variables
• Hypotheses
• Types of Data
• Unit of Analysis
• Two Research Fallacies

Research Methods in the Social & Natural Sciences provides an interactive tutorial.

Other related websites include:

• General Research Methods

This site is just for fun …

• Annals of Improbable Research

See also books on the topic.   All of these are available at UC Libraries and most may be borrowed via CDL Request:

Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination. London : Sage Publications, 1998.

Barzun, Jacques and Henry F. Graff. The Modern Researcher. 5th edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. (6 th edition just released)

Powell, Ronald R. Basic Research Methods for Librarians. 4th edition. Westport, Conn. : Librarians Unlimited, 2004.

Berry, Ralph. The Research Project: How to Write It. 4th edition. London & New York: Routledge, 2000.

Lewis-Beck, Alan Bryman, Tim Futing Liao, eds. Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, Calif. :  Sage, c2004.   (in reference at most campuses)

LAUC Members -- Which web sites, books and/or articles would you recommend on this topic? [email rheyer@ucdavis.edu]

Additional Research Grant Funding Sources

Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, (202) 358-3041 or (202) 708-5750, e-mail: fipse@ed.gov.

IRIS (Illinois Researcher Information Service)
Provides three services, including the searchable “IRIS Database of federal and private funding opportunities in all disciplines.”

Community of Science Funding Opportunities
The UC campuses are all members of COS and all UC staff can search this database for grants, scholarships and other funding available in all disciplines, including library & information science. Not just for science!

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LAUC Research & Professional Development Committee
Last update:   September 28, 2006