Identifying Your Research Support Ecosystem
Starting your research journey can feel like an isolating endeavor. You may come across problems or questions you don’t know how to answer or situations you’re not sure how to navigate. Some folks may have a lot of institutional, professional, or social support, while others may not. Whether you have a built-in community or feel like you might be on your own, it can be helpful to truly look around to identify others with whom you can build community.
Building a community can be scary, especially if you’re adapting to a new work environment or academic research culture, but there are several places to turn to in order to find people who can make up a support network as you pursue your research project. Finding your people is a great introductory step before you start the research process so that you know who and where to reach out to for moral, financial, and professional support along the way.
Institutional Support
Start by looking at what resources your place of work has to offer researchers and who there can help you. Many institutions have faculty enrichment or writing centers that offer workshops and training opportunities, while others have research support services. Mentorship can be a helpful and enriching experience, whether your institution has a formal program that will pair you with a mentor or even if you can find a colleague who is willing to mentor you more informally. A mentor doesn’t necessarily have to be someone who is older and much more experienced than you — they can also be a peer. Communities of practice A group of people who share a common interest coming together to learn from each other. This idea was first proposed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger in their 1991 book, Situated Learning. , writing groups, and writing accountability partners are also a great peer-to-peer support system that allows you and your colleagues to learn from one another. Keep in mind that at one point, everyone at your place of work was once new to the research process and most likely had the same questions you do. If you’re struggling with something, chances are someone else has faced it in the past or is also currently struggling. Additionally, it can be a good idea to get outside of the library and meet other staff and faculty who may share similar interests. Are there department-sponsored events that align with your research interests? This could be a great way to forge collaborations across your institution and to learn how to approach research in different ways.
Professional Support
While institutional supports are extremely helpful, sometimes finding community outside of your own place of work and across institutions can open up new learning opportunities. Attending local, regional, and national conferences can be a great way to find colleagues who share similar research directions and are willing to be a part of your network. An affordable and accessible method for finding support in the field is through professional organizations and online communities. The Librarian Parlor offers a Classifieds page where librarians can find and create a support system. Spaces dedicated to Black, Indigenous, and librarians of color, such as We Here and WOC+Lib, are extremely valuable for BIPOC researchers to thrive, especially if they don’t have other colleagues of color at their own institutions with whom they can connect. ALA offers a Library Research Round Table (LRRT) for networking and sharing research, and the Archives, Library, and Information Mentor Base (ALIMB) is an open directory of information and cultural heritage professionals available for connection.
Social Support
Perhaps you have friends or acquaintances who may not work in the same fields or practice that you do but who can still be part of a valuable support system. Sometimes talking through research ideas with people in completely different areas of expertise can be helpful for generating new ideas or approaches. Regardless, it’s always nice to have people who know you on a more personal level in your network to offer encouragement and perspective.
These various members of your community form an ecosystem. In any ecosystem, each of the members contribute, allowing each other to grow and develop. A research support ecosystem is no different; everyone in it can experience mutually beneficial professional growth.
Activity
Complete the following activity in your LPOL Workbook. This activity will help you work toward a final curriculum deliverable, and it will help you develop your overall research plan.
Think through these different levels of support and what’s available for you, then fill out the 1.3.2: Identifying Your Research Support Ecosystem worksheets in your LPOL workbook to start identifying your own research support ecosystem. In Part One, you will identify who and what can serve in a support role and collaborate with you through various stages of your research journey. In Part Two, you will select three core people to reach out to from the three support categories. Then, you will write out more concrete ways you hope that individual can support you.
Who can you be most vulnerable with? Who can offer you support and encouragement? Where can you go for constructive criticism and feedback? Who do you aspire to collaborate with on research? Who could extend your research questions into new domains? By thinking through your needs and identifying who is available, you’ll be able to build a rich and fulfilling network to support you through your research journey and beyond.
Topic 2 References
Douglas, Veronica Arellano. “Growth Through Relationship: From Conversation to Research Project.” The Librarian Parlor. May 2, 2018. https://libparlor.com/2018/05/02/growth-through-relationship-from-conversation-to-research-project/.
Gadsby, Joanna. “ISO Connections.” The Librarian Parlor. July 18, 2018. https://libparlor.com/2018/07/18/iso-connections/.
Heinbach, Chelsea. “Nurturing Patience, Building Community.” The Librarian Parlor. September 20, 2017. https://libparlor.com/2017/09/20/fostering-patience-by-building-a-community/.
Identifying Your Research Support Ecosystem
Starting your research journey can feel like an isolating endeavor. You may come across problems or questions you don’t know how to answer or situations you’re not sure how to navigate. Some folks may have a lot of institutional, professional, or social support, while others may not. Whether you have a built-in community or feel like you might be on your own, it can be helpful to truly look around to identify others with whom you can build community.
Building a community can be scary, especially if you’re adapting to a new work environment or academic research culture, but there are several places to turn to in order to find people who can make up a support network as you pursue your research project. Finding your people is a great introductory step before you start the research process so that you know who and where to reach out to for moral, financial, and professional support along the way.
Institutional Support
Start by looking at what resources your place of work has to offer researchers and who there can help you. Many institutions have faculty enrichment or writing centers that offer workshops and training opportunities, while others have research support services. Mentorship can be a helpful and enriching experience, whether your institution has a formal program that will pair you with a mentor or even if you can find a colleague who is willing to mentor you more informally. A mentor doesn’t necessarily have to be someone who is older and much more experienced than you — they can also be a peer. Communities of practiceCommunities of practice A group of people who share a common interest coming together to learn from each other. This idea was first proposed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger in their 1991 book, Situated Learning. , writing groups, and writing accountability partners are also a great peer-to-peer support system that allows you and your colleagues to learn from one another. Keep in mind that at one point, everyone at your place of work was once new to the research process and most likely had the same questions you do. If you’re struggling with something, chances are someone else has faced it in the past or is also currently struggling. Additionally, it can be a good idea to get outside of the library and meet other staff and faculty who may share similar interests. Are there department-sponsored events that align with your research interests? This could be a great way to forge collaborations across your institution and to learn how to approach research in different ways.
Professional Support
While institutional supports are extremely helpful, sometimes finding community outside of your own place of work and across institutions can open up new learning opportunities. Attending local, regional, and national conferences can be a great way to find colleagues who share similar research directions and are willing to be a part of your network. An affordable and accessible method for finding support in the field is through professional organizations and online communities. The Librarian Parlor offers a Classifieds page where librarians can find and create a support system. Spaces dedicated to Black, Indigenous, and librarians of color, such as We Here and WOC+Lib, are extremely valuable for BIPOC researchers to thrive, especially if they don’t have other colleagues of color at their own institutions with whom they can connect. ALA offers a Library Research Round Table (LRRT) for networking and sharing research, and the Archives, Library, and Information Mentor Base (ALIMB) is an open directory of information and cultural heritage professionals available for connection.
Social Support
Perhaps you have friends or acquaintances who may not work in the same fields or practice that you do but who can still be part of a valuable support system. Sometimes talking through research ideas with people in completely different areas of expertise can be helpful for generating new ideas or approaches. Regardless, it’s always nice to have people who know you on a more personal level in your network to offer encouragement and perspective.
These various members of your community form an ecosystem. In any ecosystem, each of the members contribute, allowing each other to grow and develop. A research support ecosystem is no different; everyone in it can experience mutually beneficial professional growth.
Activity
Complete the following activity in your LPOL Workbook. This activity will help you work toward a final curriculum deliverable, and it will help you develop your overall research plan.
Think through these different levels of support and what’s available for you, then fill out the 1.3.2: Identifying Your Research Support Ecosystem worksheets in your LPOL workbook to start identifying your own research support ecosystem. In Part One, you will identify who and what can serve in a support role and collaborate with you through various stages of your research journey. In Part Two, you will select three core people to reach out to from the three support categories. Then, you will write out more concrete ways you hope that individual can support you.
Who can you be most vulnerable with? Who can offer you support and encouragement? Where can you go for constructive criticism and feedback? Who do you aspire to collaborate with on research? Who could extend your research questions into new domains? By thinking through your needs and identifying who is available, you’ll be able to build a rich and fulfilling network to support you through your research journey and beyond.
Topic 2 References
Douglas, Veronica Arellano. “Growth Through Relationship: From Conversation to Research Project.” The Librarian Parlor. May 2, 2018. https://libparlor.com/2018/05/02/growth-through-relationship-from-conversation-to-research-project/.
Gadsby, Joanna. “ISO Connections.” The Librarian Parlor. July 18, 2018. https://libparlor.com/2018/07/18/iso-connections/.
Heinbach, Chelsea. “Nurturing Patience, Building Community.” The Librarian Parlor. September 20, 2017. https://libparlor.com/2017/09/20/fostering-patience-by-building-a-community/.