Using scenarios in introductory research data management workshops for library staff

Presented at eResearch Australasia 2014, 28 October 2014.

As awareness increases of the role that librarians can play in facilitating improved research data management, so does
the need to provide university library staff with professional development opportunities. This presentation describes the positive outcomes of incorporating a component of scenario-based learning into introductory research data management workshops for librarians at two Australian universities. An overview of the benefits of scenario-based learning (SBL) will be provided, along with practical advice on how to develop scenarios and use them as part of an institutional staff development program.

Transcript

1. Using scenarios in introductory
   research data management workshops
   for library staff
   Sam Searle
   Manager, Content and Discovery Services
   Information Management, Griffith University
   

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2. • 3 sessions
   • ~30 attendees
   • Team leaders, discipline
   librarians, learning
   advisors, Library & IT
   Helpdesk staff
   • 2 sessions
   • ~40 attendees
   • Team leaders, contact
   librarians, and learning
   skills advisors
   

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3. The scenarios
   ●
   A Higher Degree by Research Student at
   the start of their project
   – Name and a brief biography
   – Her/his motivation for undertaking a PhD
   – Research topic and methods
   – Goals around dissemination
   ●
   Groups asked to identify two potential
   data management issues, one technical
   and one non-technical, and report back
   See http://www.samsearle.net/2014/10/rdm-scenarios.html for links to the
   scenarios and further resources.
   

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4. Observations
   Engagement
   Differences and
   similarities across
   disciplines
   Collaboration
   Connecting
   current knowledge
   with new areas
   

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5. Errington, E., What is Scenario-Based Learning? Available at: http://www.jcu.edu.au/learnandteach/projects/JCU_079355.html
   ...a near-world situation,
   a descriptive set of circumstances,
   a critical incident,
   even a partial life/story narrative.
   …usually contain human actors,
   a storyline or plot (often incomplete),
   an invitation to solve a problem,
   demonstrate an acquired skill,
   explore an issue/concern, and/or
   to speculate on alternative outcomes.
   

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6. 1. Identify the needed skills
   

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7. 2. Identify the best type of scenario
   Solve a
   problem
   Explore an
   issue from
   multiple
   viewpoints
   Speculate
   about the
   future
   

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8. 3. Aim for authenticity
   ●
   A name and a
   backstory (who)
   ●
   Believable topics and
   details about research
   methods (what)
   ●
   Focus on motivation
   and dissemination
   goals (why)
   Not
   like
   this!
   

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9. 4. Don't over-simplify it
   Credit: Complexity 2 by Michael Heiss. CC-BY-NC-SA.
   What librarians want Reality
   

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10. Conclusions and further work
     Partner with learning
    specialists
     Explore the full range
    of scenario types
     Evaluate -
    engagement at the
    time is great, but does
    it lead to action?
    [Skills development should be]
    exploratory, discursive and
    reflective, providing a space in
    which librarians can explore
    developments as they relate to
    their individual / team role
    … hands-on practical activities
    with documents and tools in
    real or realistic scenarios are
    important”
    Cox, Andrew, Eddy Verbaan, and Barbara Sen. 2012. Upskilling Liaison Librarians for Research Data Management.
    Ariadne, no. 70 (November). http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue70/cox-et-al
    

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11. Acknowledgements
     Kathryn Unsworth, ANDS
     Lyn Torres and Leanne McCann, Monash
     All the Monash and Griffith staff that
    participated in the workshops
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
    Unless otherwise attributed, all images have no rights reserved and are sourced from
    Pixabay (http://pixabay.com/).
    

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