Identifying Your Struggles & Successes as a Researcher
However you’ve arrived at the start of your research journey, you may be experiencing negative feelings like self-doubt, anxiety, imposter syndrome, or perfectionism along the way, and you are not alone. In fact, LIS An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings. literature and scholarship evidences a strong representation of library professionals across all career stages who feel the same way. A common barrier for librarians conducting research is the feeling that they do not have the necessary research or writing skills. If the hardest part of this process is getting started, it is no surprise that, in particular, graduate students and early career librarians struggle with these feelings while often balancing other job duties, health needs, caregiving, and other common responsibilities. These difficulties are exacerbated for those from historically marginalized communities. As you work through the rest of the courses in LibParlor Online Learning, you may find it helpful to revisit this lesson in order to reflect, reevaluate, and acknowledge what it is you need wherever you are in your research journey.
If you’re new to this topic and would like to read more literature on issues of imposter syndrome and burnout in LIS, refer to the Further Reading section.
Activity
Complete the following reflective activity. You will answer a series of questions, and you can write down your answers in your LPOL Workbook or elsewhere.
Reflective journaling is a great way to identify and address your feelings. Doing this exercise regularly can help you name what you’re feeling, gain perspective, and find new ways to approach your work. The 1.3.1: Identifying Your Struggles & Successes as a Researcher worksheet in your LPOL Workbook includes the following prompts that you can choose to answer directly or rework into your own existing journaling practice:
- What words describe how you’re feeling about your work and research right now?
- What else is happening in your personal life or work that influences your feelings?
- Do you see any patterns or themes emerging?
- What does success look like for you this week, big or small?
- What challenges are you facing this week, big or small?
- What are you learning about yourself from these challenges?
- What can you let go of right now, either to revisit at another time or to leave behind?
Feel free to modify or add to these prompts in your own practice. Get creative and find a practice that works for you!
If you decide to journal regularly using these prompts, look back at your answers after some time has passed. What’s changed in your approach to your research? What’s working better for you now? What have you learned about the way you work that can help you build systems to support you while you pursue your research? Including this reflection exercise into your research practice can help acknowledge feelings you’re struggling with and identify how to move forward. You may still have days where you feel unsure of yourself, but you will also have days where you will figure out something new and continue to build your self-confidence!
Next, you’ll learn about building community as a researcher and how to find and identify your research support ecosystem.
Topic 1 References
Clark, Melanie, Vardeman, Kimberly, and Shelley Barba. “Perceived Inadequacy: A Study of the Imposter Phenomenon Among College and Research Librarians.” College & Research Libraries 75, no. 3 (2014): 255-271. doi.org/10.5860/crl12-423.
Heinbach, Chelsea, Powell, Charissa, Fargo, Hailley, and Nimisha Bhat. “The Librarian Parlor: Demystifying the Research Process through Community.” Paper presented at Recasting the Narrative: The Proceedings of the ACRL 2019 Conference. Cleveland, Ohio, 2019. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/lib_articles/645.
Lacey, Sajni, and M. Parlette-Stewart. “Jumping Into the Deep: Imposter Syndrome, Defining Success and the New Librarian.” Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research 12, no. 1 (2017). doi:10.21083/partnership.v12i1.3979.
Leftwich, Amanda M. “Reflective Journaling: A Daily Practice.” The Librarian Parlor. January 30, 2019. https://libparlor.com/2019/01/30/reflective-journaling-a-daily-practice/
Identifying Your Struggles & Successes as a Researcher
However you’ve arrived at the start of your research journey, you may be experiencing negative feelings like self-doubt, anxiety, imposter syndrome, or perfectionism along the way, and you are not alone. In fact, LISLibrary and Information Science An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings. literature and scholarship evidences a strong representation of library professionals across all career stages who feel the same way. A common barrier for librarians conducting research is the feeling that they do not have the necessary research or writing skills. If the hardest part of this process is getting started, it is no surprise that, in particular, graduate students and early career librarians struggle with these feelings while often balancing other job duties, health needs, caregiving, and other common responsibilities. These difficulties are exacerbated for those from historically marginalized communities. As you work through the rest of the courses in LibParlor Online Learning, you may find it helpful to revisit this lesson in order to reflect, reevaluate, and acknowledge what it is you need wherever you are in your research journey.
If you’re new to this topic and would like to read more literature on issues of imposter syndrome and burnout in LIS, refer to the Further Reading section.
Activity
Complete the following reflective activity. You will answer a series of questions, and you can write down your answers in your LPOL Workbook or elsewhere.
Reflective journaling is a great way to identify and address your feelings. Doing this exercise regularly can help you name what you’re feeling, gain perspective, and find new ways to approach your work. The 1.3.1: Identifying Your Struggles & Successes as a Researcher worksheet in your LPOL Workbook includes the following prompts that you can choose to answer directly or rework into your own existing journaling practice:
Feel free to modify or add to these prompts in your own practice. Get creative and find a practice that works for you!
If you decide to journal regularly using these prompts, look back at your answers after some time has passed. What’s changed in your approach to your research? What’s working better for you now? What have you learned about the way you work that can help you build systems to support you while you pursue your research? Including this reflection exercise into your research practice can help acknowledge feelings you’re struggling with and identify how to move forward. You may still have days where you feel unsure of yourself, but you will also have days where you will figure out something new and continue to build your self-confidence!
Next, you’ll learn about building community as a researcher and how to find and identify your research support ecosystem.
Topic 1 References
Clark, Melanie, Vardeman, Kimberly, and Shelley Barba. “Perceived Inadequacy: A Study of the Imposter Phenomenon Among College and Research Librarians.” College & Research Libraries 75, no. 3 (2014): 255-271. doi.org/10.5860/crl12-423.
Heinbach, Chelsea, Powell, Charissa, Fargo, Hailley, and Nimisha Bhat. “The Librarian Parlor: Demystifying the Research Process through Community.” Paper presented at Recasting the Narrative: The Proceedings of the ACRL 2019 Conference. Cleveland, Ohio, 2019. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/lib_articles/645.
Lacey, Sajni, and M. Parlette-Stewart. “Jumping Into the Deep: Imposter Syndrome, Defining Success and the New Librarian.” Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research 12, no. 1 (2017). doi:10.21083/partnership.v12i1.3979.
Leftwich, Amanda M. “Reflective Journaling: A Daily Practice.” The Librarian Parlor. January 30, 2019. https://libparlor.com/2019/01/30/reflective-journaling-a-daily-practice/