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Monthly Archives

November 2021

    Research Impact at The University of Alberta: A Q & A with Alison Henry

    by Sonya Leung November 30, 2021
    written by Sonya Leung

    The University of Alberta is home to many established and emerging researchers. The Library’s Research Impact Team offers services to convey the impact of the University of Alberta’s researchers.

    I sat down (virtually) with my long time colleague, Engineering Librarian and member of the Library’s Research Impact Team Alison Henry, to talk and learn more about Research Impact at the University of Alberta.

    Screen shot of Alison and Sonya in a virtual meeting.

    What is research impact?

    Traditionally research impact has been used to refer strictly to academic publication counts and looking at the impact factor of journals and the citation counts of articles. Those types of easily countable things only consider one audience — the scholarly audience for this work. The true impact of research goes beyond the academic audience. I think the goal of researchers is to have their research go beyond that audience; to learn more about and improve the world around us. So, we should consider not only that academic impact, but also social and economic impact. 

    This can look different in different fields of research. Perhaps for medicine an important indicator for research would be a change in clinical practice guidelines adopted by one of the medical societies. Maybe you would want to look at the number of inventions being patented by an engineering group; or, contributions to public policy made by researchers in sociology or economics; or changes in learning environments implemented by educators applying research that has been done in the Faculty of Education. There are lots of different ways that the research that has been done at a University can have an impact beyond the walls of that institution. It’s really important to take into account these broader types of impact, but it’s hard to do.

    Why would research impact be important to the University of Alberta?

    Research impact assessments end up being used for lots of decision making: hiring decisions, awarding of merit increments, deciding who gets promoted, who gets an award, who receives research funding. Impact of your previous work comes into play in a lot of these decisions and this happens both within the university and outside the university with funding agencies. So, it is important that these assessments are rigorous and that people have trust in the way in which they are being assessed. It’s also really important that they consider the full range of impact — academic, social and economic.

    Much of our mandate is tied to the fact that we are a public institution and we are supposed to be working for the public good. I think that if we have too narrow an idea of what counts as research impact then we risk some of that relationship with the public. We risk our credibility and sustainability as an institution. A lot of this also comes down to equity issues as well. There are known biases with some of the traditional measures of impact, so that’s another risk if you are relying on some of the old [traditional] measures of impact. You might not be evaluating people fairly.

    What does the Research Impact Team do for the University of Alberta community?

    The work that we do on the Research Impact Team is still relying very heavily on traditional metrics. But, we do try and encourage a responsible use of those metrics — not applying journal indicators to an individual researcher and making sure to use normalized indicators as much as possible. If you’re making comparisons between people in different fields of research there are just certain metrics that aren’t appropriate. So, we try to encourage using the right measure for the right question. 

    Most of our work is in support of groups, and less so for an individual. When we do research impact projects they tend to be for research groups, departments and sometimes for an entire faculty; helping them communicate about the impact of their research. 

    Does the Research Impact Team provide individual consultations for those that just want to learn more about research metrics?

    Yes! We do help individuals for education purposes, and sometimes for grant or award-related applications.

    How can someone learn more about the Research Impact Team?

    Please visit the Research Impact website and the Research Impact Library guide, which has self help tools and links to book an appointment with the team.

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  • RESSOURCES SUR L’APPRENTISSAGE PRÉSCOLAIRE : UNE RAISON DE PLUS POUR OBTENIR VOTRE L-PASS

    by Alèthe K. November 29, 2021
    by Alèthe K. November 29, 2021

    Plus tôt cette année, le Centre de référence en ligne (CRL) de LearnAlberta a cessé d’exister. Cela signifiait la fin de l’accès de l’université de l’Alberta à des ressources telles que Britannica Online School Edition K-12, PebbleGo et Gale Science in Context. Ne craignez point chers éducateurs et étudiants en éducation. Ce n’est pas parce que nous n’avons plus accès à ces ressources qu’il n’y a pas d’autres options disponibles pour les…

  • Le sari et l’Inde

    by Alèthe K. November 26, 2021
    by Alèthe K. November 26, 2021

    J’ai toujours été fasciné par le sari. L’un de mes premiers souvenirs d’une pièce de mode qui m’a fasciné, était la tenue bleu foncé de style sari « adaptée » de ma mère. Avec la célébration de l’Inde durant le mois de novembre et la place que les saris occupent en Inde, j’ai décidé d’en apprendre un peu plus sur les saris et, ce faisant, de partager certaines des ressources que nous…

  • Saris have a unique place in India

    by Alèthe K. November 26, 2021
    by Alèthe K. November 26, 2021

    I have personally been fascinated by the sari. One of my early memories of a fashion piece that mesmerized me, was my mother’s “adapted” sari-styled deep blue attire. With our celebration of India during the month of November, and the place that saris hold in India, I decided to learn a bit more about saris. These are some of the resources that I found on this subject at University of Alberta Library…

  • ZTC (Zero Textbook Cost Program) and the Library

    by Emily Zheng November 22, 2021
    by Emily Zheng November 22, 2021

    As many of us are already keenly aware, textbook costs contribute significantly to the cost of learning for students. The last few semesters have presented additional barriers for getting learning resources into the hands of students, from shipping delays to campus closures.  That’s why we’re so thrilled to see the Students’ Union (SU) and the Registrar’s Office team up for the pilot ZTC (Zero Textbook Cost) indicator in BearTracks, which highlights low-cost…

  • Hello, Bonjour, Tansi, 你好! – World Hello Day

    by Elisabet Ingibergsson November 19, 2021
    by Elisabet Ingibergsson November 19, 2021

    Does it sometimes seem that there are celebration days for just about any topic or interest group? My personal favourites – World Chocolate Day (July 7th), Library Workers Day (April 6th), and International Coffee Day (October 1st) – I tend to celebrate year round… However, when I saw “World Hello Day” coming up in my calendar on November 21st, I thought that this was one date that deserved a closer look and…

  • Library Staff Call-out | Best Study Spaces

    by Junelle Mah November 18, 2021
    by Junelle Mah November 18, 2021

    As a student, finding the perfect study space is as essential to the study process as having the right books, notepads, pens, playlists, extra super-duper large coffee…well, you get the idea. As we shake off the on-campus cobwebs in our brains after a year-and-a-half of COVID-related shutdowns, we were determined to reacquaint ourselves with our beloved library spaces ahead of finals. We reached out to our Library Staff for their insight into their…

  • Introduction to Ismaili Cuisine

    by Meredith Bratland November 16, 2021
    by Meredith Bratland November 16, 2021

    I am in love with Ismaili cuisine. It has been a source of deep comfort for me and my family over the course of the pandemic. My interest in Indian cuisine started in my 20s, where I explored some of the excellent restaurants in Edmonton and then it grew exponentially after moving to an Ismaili community in Nairobi, Kenya for an internship via UAlberta International. Living in the Nairobi neighbourhood of Westlands,…

  • Early Learning Resources: Another reason to get your L-Pass

    by Erin Sanderman November 9, 2021
    by Erin Sanderman November 9, 2021

    Earlier this year LearnAlberta’s Online Reference Centre (ORC) ceased to exist. This meant the end of UAlberta access to resources like the Britannica Online School Edition K-12, PebbleGo and Gale Science in Context. Fear not, gentle educators and education students. Just because we no longer have access to these resources doesn’t mean there aren’t other options available to UAlberta folks. Our friends at Edmonton Public Library (EPL) have many resources related to…

  • Diwali (Deepavali) – Festival of Lights

    by Elisabet Ingibergsson November 4, 2021
    by Elisabet Ingibergsson November 4, 2021

    India is a vast country with an abundance of religious and cultural festivals reflecting the nation’s religious diversity.  Today we are shining a light on Diwali – the Festival of Lights!  Celebrated by more than a billion people from a variety of faiths across India and its diaspora, Diwali is the largest festival in India. Although celebrations occur on the same date, Diwali does not have the same meaning for everyone. Hindus…

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