Framework 5, Thing 2: Resource Discovery

Task 1: Summarise the current competency into 40-50 words

Current Competency description (taken from Framework) :

“Developing skills relating to resource discovery leads learners to understand that the search process encompasses both the sources themselves, as well as the means to access those sources. Learners understand that resource discovery is likely to be a non-linear, iterative process where they will engage regularly with finding and evaluating information from a wide range of sources to satisfy their research question. In addition, it entails understanding specific formats and types of information appropriate to the discipline. Resource discovery requires flexibility on the part of learners to pursue alternative avenues as understanding develops.”

My version:

Successful resource discovery is dependent on the context and purpose of the search, the ability to understand the usefulness of content found, and an awareness of the limitations (self-imposed or otherwise) of the search process. Context influences where, what and how ‘search’ may happen.

Task 2 Stories

How I got distracted assuming that because I don’t understand tech stuff, those who do must always be right.

This involved trialing a software system, specifically when I was researching how to download citations into a Word list. Stages of the story went a bit like this:

• Watched as a current user demo’d how to download citations into a referencing tool from a piece of software - we'd been hoping that it would work seamlessly. It didn't.
• Consulted tech expert locally
• Tech expert investigated and comes back with a solution - I accepted the answer although it didn’t solve the problem
• Conversations return to this issue some months later - still not ideal that there is not a satisfactory solution and it may hold up development
• In an idle moment I start searching on google for more information
• I find information from another University and from the software system suppliers – generally decide to trust both sources as University has been using software for some time and supplier owns the product so not entirely sure why they would lie.....
• But can’t understand the supplier tech stuff. CAN understand the University approach as it is a version that is created for students, so look to test their solution
• Ask a current software user to trial the technique
• Bingo......

 

How I got distracted using the internet when face-to-face research discovery was better

• Have a free second hand toddler bed delivered; no mattress
• Find out from previous owner that toddler bed was originally from JLs
• Go onto JL website in lunchtime at work (having successfully remembered to think about needing to buy one) to source mattresses
• Conclusion of initial search - size of bed is important! But I do at least have an idea that costs can range from 60-300 pounds and that there might be other questions I need to ask
• Measure bed and return to website....no better off really
• Resolve to go into JLs and look at REAL mattresses
• Go in, armed with measurement, discuss pros and cons with JL staff, remember to ask mother of toddler if she has any preference/reason for choosing one rather than another; consider cheaper rather than more expensive as will only be used a few times a year.
• Consider options for delivery as opposed to collection depending on my time.
• Sorted - toddler may come and stay whenever he wishes.

Learning points? Persistence vital, definition of 'authority' in the specific instance must always be critically checked out, recognize what the most useful set of information is before beginning searching, and the iterative process may take you in different directions; perhaps also knowing when you have enough information for the task in hand ie when to stop and say enough is enough. 

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NOT a Framework 5 post: Minorities

Currently undertaking a course on inclusivity at work, I have found myself thinking a lot about the topic of minorities and I reckoned that as I was using my blog for Framework 5 reflections, that I would do the same for this course. So here are some thoughts about day 2 of my course.

During day 2 we found ourselves in a section called ‘supporting performance’; as part of this we discussed minorities under the overall heading of ‘how being in a minority can affect our performance’. The little exercise that accompanied this section was very thought provoking and challenged me.

We were asked in the workshop to discuss with our neighbour about a time when we felt we were in a minority and how that made us feel. I was intrigued at the stories I instinctively chose to talk about. Really small scale examples were shared for the most part, and the activity was very reactive (we had no prep time for this). So nothing hugely life changing - although I have wondered since. The benefit of doing this was it made me think that I CAN relate to some of the experiences of being in a minority, although in many ways this also can only be a brief insight. Some of the examples of being in a minority that I used on the day/or I might have used:

• Being one of just a few ‘British kids’ in an all American School
• Living in a country where white British was a minority group, and caught in the middle of a civil war
• One of 30 women students in a student population of 400 in the first year of women at a previously all male Cambridge College
• Being a Christian in the UK today

Each of the above has had/has an impact, not perhaps the impact that ethnic or sexuality minorities might face, and not dismissing any of the experiences that other minorities experience in any way, but still important to acknowledge. They have produced reactions in me which have changed me in some small scale or larger scale way, and in some instances can occasionally become tiring to keep in balance and to maintain a positive view about so that they do not impact the workplace.

It has been said (on the internet) that the word minority is a group of people that differ in some way from the majority of the population. The really interesting part of the workshop discussion on minorities for me however, was about how a whole range of behaviours are experienced and displayed, and just how many of them might be due to a person experiencing being in a minority - and not just the more obvious minorities. I imagine that perhaps in a similar way something about how I behave is related to being part of minorities through my life – as in the examples above. There are both negative and positive behaviours that I think I see in myself that I might attribute to those minority experiences. A key difference being that at least two of my examples were ‘short-lived’, and so different, even if they still had some kind of impact.

I hope that I am more mindful of how being in a minority, any minority, can have an impact on how people react, how they behave in a meeting, how they respond to others. I’m aware too of how my own minority experiences can impact my behaviour and how to respect myself as well as others.  I’m also aware far more than before that there are a multitude of behaviours resulting from being in a minority. 

But to finish my rambling thoughts on this - sometimes the experiences of being in a minority can obviously be problematic, but sometimes they can be brilliantly positive, it doesn’t always have to be challenging and draining, but can also be uplifting and special - and just keeping your eyes on the positive can have a huge benefit.

Framework Five: Thing 1

Types of information I seem to regularly handle: 

There seem to be a lot of forms to fill in during a working week - all sorts and shapes and sizes. Ensuring that the right information is to hand and that I have understood the question is important. If I need a payroll reference then I know I can usually find it in one of two places; if I need to know what an hour of work for a temporary employee on a particular grade is likely to cost us, then I need to know where to find that and to have some numeracy skills (along with my trusty calculator) to establish the cost, knowing that I also need to add that magic thing called 'on-costs'. 

Fluency in this aspect of my work seems to feel like it could be about constant practice bringing a sense of familiarity or speed of action; but there is also that additional nuance about understanding the context of each form and what language or tone, or crucially what specific subset of information, is required for each case. I'm not over-stating it to say that I have churned out many a business case for new staff, replacement staff, temporary staff (it's a function of my role), and with 20 or 30 or more business cases now behind me, I would say I am fluent (and usually successful - I know, I should be careful in what I say) in producing them. I can assess the key points, I understand the broader employment landscape within which to situate my arguments, and the basic facts of what, who, & how much will it cost, are now my daily bread and butter. In other words it really doesn't take very long to spit one of these out. 

My fluency in this task has certainly shifted from moderately inept to moderately good. The changes that I can chart in this process are about becoming comfortable in what, and how, I write; I know where to find the information I need quickly and speedily, I know who to ask for help (the finance division adviser I have is just a perfect star - no question is too basic or unconventional). I have kept and stored some of the examples of cases that I have written in the past, especially the successful ones of course. If I were organised enough I could write notes on the unsuccessful ones marking up what to change for 'next time'. That would certainly be another way to help my future self.....

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay