Proposal

Title of research:

Research Capacity in Health Librarianship: The ReCAP Project

Objectives:

• To identify key priorities and barriers for research development in health librarianship

• To gain consensus on key questions to be included in a national survey for research development in health librarianship

Please give a brief justification of your proposed research project:

The aim of this focus group study is to identify key issues relating to the engagement with research of health librarians with research and in particular, their consideration of research development in the contexts of their professional practice.

The existing healthcare system is based on accountability, cost containment, and quality of care; fundamental to the achievement of these is the integration and application of the results of sound, reliable research and therefore the practice and delivery of evidence based patient care1-3. The latest Government documents which consider the future of the NHS confirms the continued Government prioritisation of this in highlighting the need to develop a strategy for leadership in health related research1-4. The development of research capacity goes hand in hand with research and development activities and the Department of Health proposes that building research capacity will be achieved primarily through the application of collaborative practice models5-6.

Librarians are fundamentally associated with research; their work involves the organisation and management of the knowledge that is generated from research. The recent review of NHS library services7 identifies research as one of the four key areas where librarians have an essential role and recommends that the Department of Health issues formal guidance indicating this. Given this recommendation health librarians will in the future increasingly need to become more engaged with research. Furthermore, as research capacity building is becoming increasingly significant within the...