I have recently had the opportunity to conduct some research-based practice by undertaking an MA in Academic Practice dissertation in the Learning Enhancement and Development Department at City, University of London.
This gave me the opportunity to combine two of my interests which are teaching/ training and conducting research. I chose a topic which is related to my role of Research Librarian at City. I used this as an opportunity to engage with students individually, conduct a literature review and to combine my research data with the literature to produce a dissertation. One of the most rewarding aspects of my project was to interview students to obtain a deeper understanding of their research needs, lifecycle and challenges. I can then continue to explore to what extent my research findings can be incorporated into my professional practice.
I would say that professionally this was one of the most valuable experiences that I have had in terms of engaging with and learning from students and enhancing my own research skills at the same time . You can read an open access version of my article entitled Communicating through research recently published in the ALISS Quarterly.
