Resources suggested on this page will help to inform your own research and deepen your knowledge of effective methodology.
CSL Toolkit Bibliography
The CSL Research Toolkit makes reference to many valuable resources. The following list compiles those resources and suggest others that will be useful for gaining more detailed insight into conducting research.
Alberta Teachers’ Association (2000). Action Research Guide for Alberta Teachers. Edmonton: The Alberta Teachers’ Association. Available at: www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/Publications/Professional-Development/ActionResearch.pdf
This resource is intended to assist classroom teachers and school administrators in the development, implementation and publishing of action research, helping them to plan a self-guided project.
Arthur, J., Waring, M., Coe, R. & Hedges, L. (ed.) 2012. Research Methods and Methodologies in Education. Los Angeles: Sage.
An exhaustive and authoritative guide to research methods and methodologies, providing insights from a wide range of experts.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2014). Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans. Ottawa: Government of Canada. Available at: www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/pdf/eng/tcps2-2014/TCPS_2_FINAL_Web.pdf
Canada’s authoritative guide for research ethics.
Duke University Mod.U: Survey Research & Qualitative Methods YouTube Playlist
Several of these short videos are embedded throughout the CSL Research Toolkit. They provide concise and understandable explanations of principles in qualitative research.
Flynn, Tara et al (2016). Learning Through Teacher Research: A Guide for Your Action Research Journey. Toronto: Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).
This practical guide is based on the experience of more than 600 teachers and 95 teams from across Ontario as well as 17 researchers who participated in Teachers Learning Together – a four-year collaborative action research initiative led by ETFO.
Irwin, Bill. & Silk, Kimberly. (ed) 2017. Creating a Culture of Evaluation: Taking Your Library from Talk to Action. Toronto: Ontario Library Association. Available at The Library Marketplace.
This book contains chapters written by a variety of contributors. The goal is to give library practitioners the necessary tools to measure the social, cultural, educational, and economic impact of their libraries.
Krueger, Richard & Casey, Mary Anne (2009). Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research (4th ed). Los Angeles: Sage.
A detailed and authoritative guide into conducting research through focus groups.
Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education (2010). Collaborative Teacher Inquiry: New Directions in Professional Practice. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education. Available at: www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/cbs_collaborative_teacher_inquiry.pdf
This monograph provides an excellent foundation for understanding the power of collaborative inquiry, and practical advice in carrying it out.
Lupi, Georgia & Posavec, Stefanie (2016). Dear Data. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
This fascinating exploration of data visualization documents two friends’ year-long postcard correspondence on weekly themes. By exploring aspects of daily life through data collection and representing it visually, they discovered how data uncovers the unknown, and the power of context in understanding that data.
Saldaña, Johnny (2016). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers (3rd ed). Los Angeles.
A detailed and authoritative guide into codes and coding as a method for assessing qualitative data. The book’s companion website is very useful.
Seidman, Irving (2006). Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences (3rd ed). New York: Teachers College Press.
A detailed and practical guide to interviewing, from structure and technique to analysis and interpretation.
Sykes, Judith (2002). Action Research: A Practical Guide for Transforming Your School Library. Greenwood Village, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
The first of Judith Sykes’s two books about action research, this guide documents her own journey through the action research process as she investigated the power of libraries in our culture.
Sykes, Judith (2013). Conducting Action Research to Evaluate Your School Library. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited / ABC-CLIO, LLC.
This book is intended to enable engagement in using action research skills and processes to study issues pertinent to their own professional growth and the school’s student learning goals. “As teacher-librarians become comfortable with the skills, processes, and outcomes related to using action research in their daily practice, they are the ideal practitioners to lead students and teachers through learning these processes to truly create a learning commons perspective in the modern school library environment. ”
Resources from Canadian School Libraries
The Canadian School Libraries Research Archive makes scholarly and practitioner research from all Treasure Mountain Canada research symposiums accessible and searchable. The More Research page provides a comprehensive access point for other research, Canadian and international. The research archive provides an excellent starting point for your research journey, connecting you to what is already known about your area of research, and helping you to discover new ideas.
Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada / L’Apprentissage en tête: Principes relatifs à la transition de la bibliothèque scolaire vers le carrefour d’apprentissage au Canada provides a useful framework for action research.
The Supporting You section of the website provides inspiration and guidance for using Leading Learning as a tool for measurement and growth, professional learning, teacher action research and program implementation.
Treasure Mountain Canada (TMC) is a research symposium and think tank held every other year in locations across Canada, in partnership with provincial school library associations or school districts. The goal of TMC is to collaboratively explore ideas to build collective knowledge about the school library learning commons approach as part of sustainable school improvement. TMC symposiums have provided the impetus into the creation of Leading Learning and extended resources for its implementation, and indeed into the founding of the Canadian School Libraries organization.
The Canadian School Libraries Journal is the only national publication dedicated to school library learning commons practice, with three online editions per year. The online format of the journal accommodates a range of article styles and lengths, and provides a window into current innovations in practice in Canada.
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |