Microsoft Word - ART_Martina.doc
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
26
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice
Article
Employing Evidence: Does it have a Job in Vocational Libraries?
Cecily Martina
Liaison Librarian, Southbank Institute
Briabane, Queensland, Australia
E‐mail: Cecily.e.martina@det.qld.gov.au
Brad Jones
Liaison Librarian, Bremer Institute of TAFE
Queensland, Australia
E‐mail: Bradley.jones@det.qld.gov.au
Received: 15 December 2005 Accepted: 6 March 2006
© 2006 Martina and Jones. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Objective ‐ Evidence based librarianship (EBL) springs from medical and academic
origins. As librarians are tertiary educated (only occasionally with supplementary
qualifications covering research and statistics) EBL has had an academic focus. The EBL
literature has significant content from school and university perspectives, but has had
little, if any, vocational content. This paper suggests a possible Evidence Based
Librarianship context for vocational libraries.
Methods ‐ A multidisciplinary scan of evidence based literature was undertaken,
covering medicine and allied health, librarianship, law, science and education. National
and international vocational education developments were examined. The concept and
use of evidence in vocational libraries was considered.
Results ‐ Library practice can generally benefit from generic empirical science
methodologies used elsewhere. Different areas, however, may have different concepts
of what constitutes evidence and appropriate methodologies. Libraries also need to
reflect the evidence used in their host organisations. The Australian vocational librarian
has been functioning in an evidence based educational sector: national, transportable,
prescriptive, competency based and outcome driven Training Packages. These require
a qualitatively different concept of evidence compared to other educational sectors as
they reflect pragmatic, economic, employability outcomes.
Conclusions ‐ Vocational and other librarians have been doing research but need to be
more systematic about design and analysis. Librarians need to develop ‘evidence
literacy’ as one of their professional evaluation skills. Libraries will need to utilise
evidence relevant to their host organisations to establish and maintain credibility, and
in the vocational sector this is set in a competency based framework. Competency
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
27
based measures are becoming increasingly relevant in school and university (including
medical) education.
Librarians: generic and specialist
evidence skills?
Whilst evidence based philosophies have
been with us for some time, the current
evolving debate over the nature and
practical application of evidence in
librarianship is relatively recent.
In Australia, librarians are tertiary
educated and for the most part move in
generalist circles (public, vocational and
university for example). Sectors such as
health and law have a history of speciality,
and there are even areas like teacher
librarianship where the library
qualification is secondary. Some librarians
hold additional qualifications including
research components (Partridge and
Hallam “Developing a Culture of
Evidence Based Practice”), but library
education itself has only relatively
recently increased its focus on research
methodology and statistics.
After moving into the library workforce it
is reasonable to suggest that librarians
absorb something of the culture and skill
set of their host organisations due to the
sharing of goals, collaboration with non–
library colleagues and the information
with which they deal. In some cases this
involves research and statistics. This may
in part explain the emergence of interest in
evidence based librarianship (EBL) in
health and academic libraries, both of
which exist in research rich environments.
The medical fraternity is often critical of
the evidence base behind work done in its
own area, due to factors such as the
quality of the work itself, the
interpretation of evidence, or
contamination by vested economic
interests (Ioannidis; Smith). Evidence
Based Medicine (EBM) itself has not been
universally or uncritically accepted in
medical & allied areas (Straus and
McAlister; Grahame‐Smith).
There is also an argument that, contrary to
the simplified view that some areas have
failed to capitalise on more advanced
research methods, different “evidence”
may apply in different fields. One
significant difference, for example, has
been a comparison with the legal concept
of evidence ‐ particularly the challenges
posed by the Daubert decision and ‘good
science’ implications (Berger; Wagner).
The countering of scientific argument to
serve vested interests reminds us that
evidence has its place – often behind
political and economic interests. Given
the adversarial host culture, legal
librarians may have different views of
evidence.
Educators also have different perspectives
on evidence. Groundwater‐Smith goes so
far as to “argue that education can lay
claim to a broader and richer
understanding of [evidence based practice]
growing out of a tradition of action
enquiry and practitioner research.” Todd
raises the relevance of the host
organisation when he suggests that
evidence must demonstrate the
contribution of the library to the school’s
learning goals, through a constructivist,
inquiry based framework, at the local level.
It may also be argued that evidence varies
not only between disciplines, but within
different sectors of the same basic
discipline, such as education. Outside the
school setting, Partridge and Hallam
(“Developing a Culture of Evidence Based
Practice”) examined the University level
training of professional librarians. Their
preferred educational outcome favoured
the evidence based “reflective
practitioner” rather than researcher
(except at Research Masters and PhD
levels). They noted difficulties in keeping
courses relevant to employers’ needs,
increased curriculum congestion, ongoing
review of the curriculum at their
institution, and invite “other teaching and
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
28
learning models (to be) presented and
critically discussed.”
The Partridge and Hallam study did not
include the views of Vocational Education
and Training (VET) librarians. This sector
does not have as significant a research and
publication culture as medicine and
academia. The post‐compulsory
vocational education sector reflects a
different and increasingly relevant
teaching and learning model, with a very
different perspective on what constitutes
evidence.
It is important to move beyond medicine
and academia to more accurately reflect
reality. Table 1 displays the significance of
the VET sector in Australia While not
having the profile of medicine and
academia, VET qualifications are held by
nearly a third of the Australian working
age population, and it has a participation
rate almost twice that of the tertiary sector.
The pervasiveness of VET training seems
to give it a degree of invisibility. As the
training sector underpinning the economy,
the authors believe that this area, and its
concept of evidence, warrants attention
and also has a considerable amount to
offer.
VET librarians train at University and are
familiar with academic assessment.
However, they work in the same sector
that trains paraprofessionals according to
a very different competency based regime.
Professionals and paraprofessionals,
however, often do quite similar work.
Teece (quoted in Partridge and Hallam
“The Double Helix”) notes that
paraprofessionals are now “routinely
doing quite complex work formerly seen
as exclusively the province of professional
librarians” (1). Carroll states “one of the
key dilemmas that has faced the library
industry…has been the degree to which
the two sectors of library employment
converge” (117). VET sector librarians
must live with the discomfort of differing
emphasis on serving goals related to
supply‐driven liberal holistic education
ends (as with their own training) and
demand‐driven pragmatic employability
outcomes (as with paraprofessionals).
While there are international variants, the
competency based approach is the
preferred vocational education option in
competitive economies. In Australia, the
VET sector differs from other educational
sectors in that:
• ties with industry needs are built into
the system, as curricula are
determined and regularly reviewed by
industry (via Industry Skills Councils);
• curricula are not developed in
individual institutions. Instead, highly
prescriptive, nationally consistent
Training Packages are used; and,
• assessment is not on the basis of
holistic measures, but on explicitly
defined competencies using “evidence
guides.
How significant is Vocational Education and Training?
Qualifications held 2004
(15‐64 age group)
Bachelor degree or above
Adv Diploma or below (VET)
18.9%
31.3%
Participation rates
(2003)
University
VET
930,000
1.7m
(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)
Table 1: Significance of VET in Australia
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
29
The authors are of the view that relevant
evidence reflects the generic / discipline
based skills debate (Partridge and Hallam
“The Double Helix”; Smith and Martina).
In this sense, generic scientific
methodologies, research strategies and
statistical analyses applied in areas such as
agriculture, psychology and medicine
might also be directly applied in
librarianship. Many disciplines, however,
may also have their own unique
perspectives on what constitutes evidence,
and these may require different
approaches to be taken by libraries
servicing these areas.
EBL may need to consider both a
“generic” science based perspective, as
well as a “host discipline” relevancy
approach to evidence. EBL relies on the
argument that up until now librarianship
has lacked a sophisticated “generic”
science base, relying instead on lower
levels of evidence. “We often espouse the
deficiency of our usersʹ information
literacy yet we too have deficiencies and
particularly with regard to research”
(Macauley). Eldredge laments “that
librarianship does not offer a better
representation of the more rigorous
methods at the higher levels of evidence”
(298). “Librarians place a great emphasis
on anecdote and experience” (Brice, Booth
and Bexon 16), with approaches such as
case studies resulting in an
“overwhelming positive‐outcome bias”
(Eldredge 297). EBL should result in “an
increased number of research projects
conducted at the higher levels of evidence
that are capable of facilitating practical
decisions” (Eldredge 298).
Library practitioners outside medicine and
academia may find this empirical science
basis unfamiliar, with a resultant tendency
to fall back on a rebadging of literature
research and traditional library
approaches as evidence. This misses the
primary point of EBL: that more
sophisticated methodological and
statistical analysis of what goes on in
libraries is required.
The “discipline” based approach within a
host organisation is a different concept. In
educational libraries, evidence should
reflect the accepted evidence in education,
particularly attending to the forms of
assessment used in each sector. To this
end, school and university levels are
primarily holistic, while VET has for some
time been shifting to highly prescriptive
economic approach measures. Further,
this approach has been widely accepted
globally (Kearns) and aspects are moving
into other educational and professional
development arenas. This is a pivotal
development for the concept of evidence
across all educational sectors and,
consequently, for librarians in these
educational areas.
A brief history of vocational education in
Australia
It may be helpful to provide a brief
historical background of VET, examine the
current VET structure, touch upon some
recent library examples, and reflect upon
the potential role of evidence in the
vocational context.
The male–trade stereotype of the
Australian VET sector dominated until the
1960’s and 70s. While the stereotype
persists, the reality faded due to
international social and economic changes,
with its Australian variant appearing in
the landmark 1974 Kangan report, which
effectively combined the various state VET
agencies into a new national educational
sector. “For the first time, TAFE
[Technical and Further Education] was
regarded as part of the tertiary education
sector” (Employment and Skills Formation
Council, quoted in Australian Education
Union).
In the late 1980s, with vocational
education also receiving much attention
overseas, there was a significant shift from
liberal education goals to a solid
economically driven agenda, though again
with an Australian flavour. The Australian
National Training Authority (ANTA) was
established in 1992 with heavy industry
involvement. User choice saw private
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
30
businesses supplement the public TAFE
system. Globalisation, with international
movements of capital and skills,
encouraged pragmatic vocational
education and various countries
repositioned their training systems for this
new environment.
The late 1990s brought the National
Training Framework, a national approach
to qualifications through industry‐defined
competencies and the development of
Training Packages. ANTA was abolished
and its functions subsumed by the
Department of Education Science and
Training (DEST), with a new direction
outlined in DEST’s Skilling Australia
paper. This builds on the competencies
and Training Package concept, with
training policies, priorities and delivery
driven by industry and business needs, as
well as greater flexibility emphasising
employability skills and a revision of
quality control measures.
The current basis of vocational education
The vocational sector, while still retaining
liberal holistic goals relating to the
development of individual potential, has
had a significant international shift in
primary emphasis back to pragmatic
economic outcomes. Mammon effectively
drives vocational education. There is little
doubt about potential conflicts of interest,
or motivation for evidence to be doctored.
Educational qualifications in Australia are
detailed under the Australian
Qualifications Framework (see Table 2).
This framework connects the schools, VET
and higher education sectors in a single
framework, and details qualification titles
and guidelines. While assessments at
school and university tend to the holistic,
the VET sector takes on an approach based
on ‘competence’ within a ‘Training
Packages’ context. The content agenda is
driven by business and industry via
Industry Skills Councils.
The Australian Training Package
arrangements are detailed on the National
Training Information Service’s website
. Training
Packages are highly prescriptive in that
they outline all the competencies
considered relevant to a particular
industry grouping. Qualifications can be
at different levels; each qualification is
made up of a package of competencies;
each competency is made up of a number
of elements; each element is assessed
according to an evidence guide
AQF Table of Qualifications (by sector of accreditation), March 2005
Schools Sector
Accreditation
Vocational Education and
Training Sector Accreditation
Higher Education Sector
Accreditation
Senior Secondary
Certificate of Education
Vocational Graduate Diploma
Vocational Graduate Certificate
Advanced Diploma
Diploma
Certificate IV
Certificate III
Certificate II
Certificate I
Doctoral Degree
Masters Degree
Graduate Diploma
Graduate Certificate
Bachelor Degree
Associate Degree, Advanced Diploma
Diploma
Table 2: The Australian Qualifications Framework
Reproduced with permission of the Australian Qualifications Framework Advisory Committee
http://www.ntis.gov.au/
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
31
(acceptable observable evidence that
complies with specific auditable criteria).
Thus, the educational evidence is already
defined. Industry requires a particular
predetermined set of competencies to be
available. Individuals may have existing
skills acknowledged by recognition of
prior learning (RPL). Learners are
assessed as either “competent” or “not yet
competent”. They then work on the
remaining competencies until they can
demonstrate evidence of achievement. The
competencies may be sequenced. If
competencies are not achieved, efforts
concentrate on bringing individuals up to
the specified level. When the packaged
requisite set of competencies has been
evidenced, a qualification is issued.
This competency based approach has
extended to overlap with other sectors.
Many students now begin vocational
studies in the post‐compulsory years of
high school, with these studies recognised
upon subsequent entry to the VET system.
At the higher end, VET has articulation
into university courses.
Educational outcomes aside, the entire
sector is subject to heavily measured
outcomes, accountability and quality
assurance processes, and subject to
ongoing review. Employer surveys,
specific client target groups, student
retention and completion rates, student
outcomes and earnings, and economic
input/output measures all feature. This
approach has been described as evidence
based education (McDonald). While
similar pressures exist in most sectors, in
VET they are housed within a competency
based context.
The VET experience
Within the Queensland TAFE sector,
Southbank Institute has had considerable
involvement with the massive redefinition
of skill sets expected of library
practitioners. Current and recent library
staff have published or presented on a
broad range of topics that provide a
credible record, irrespective of EBL
limitations, for any institution: metadata,
the establishment of eLearn centres, the
evolving collaborative relationship
between librarians and teachers in
working towards national VET objectives,
digital repositories, information literacy,
digital video and free / budget practical
software.
Of particular note is a paper by Smith and
Martina, which targeted the ‘information
literacy’ needs of bakers. Surveys and
other evidence were collected from
teachers, business and industry. The
correlation between VETs prescriptive
evidence based key competencies,
information literacy principles and
industry sourced “employability skills”,
showed the interdependence between
them and it was concluded that
information literacy skills in the
workplace are essential. This preliminary
study recommended that information
literacy should be embedded in training
packages, and that librarians be involved
in the training package review process.
Thus, “by using methods familiar to our
colleagues outside librarianship, librarians
can open doors to future multidisciplinary
collaboration” (Eldredge 292).
Does evidence have a role in vocational
libraries?
The question is, of course, rhetorical, as
evidence has several roles in vocational
libraries. In the “generic” empirical
science sense, all libraries face issues that
can benefit from tighter methodologies
than have been adopted in the past. Some
evidence may come from other disciplines:
information literacy instruction, for
example, could draw upon work done
previously in the broader field of
education. Other aspects are undoubtedly
unique to libraries, including some
specific to vocational libraries, and require
original research.
Libraries have faced considerable
pressures and changes for quite some time,
and this situation shows no sign of abating.
To apply higher level scientific
experimental designs and statistical
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
32
analyses would require the acceptance of
yet another new perspective and skill set.
At present there are few signs that this can
be achieved within the bounds of
everyday librarianship. But these are early
days, and efforts may be made toward
raising awareness and developing such an
“evidence literacy” skill set. There are
dangers in yet another brief workplace
training session, but in the short term this
may well be the most likely option to
increase general understanding. It is
unlikely that there will be an employment
market for specialist, scientifically trained,
librarians; and while there has been
increased attention on EBL content
recently, the development of more
structured training electives and research
could be further encouraged. Another
option is to collaborate with research
experts. Ultimately, the application of
more evidence based methods must have
an impact beyond an increasingly
sophisticated audience of professional
librarians.
Turning to the second major aspect of
evidence in vocational (and other) libraries,
their ultimate credibility and possibly
survival may depend upon adopting the
educational variants of evidence used by
the libraries’ respective host institutions.
The evidence used in Australian
vocational institutions is different to that
adopted in school and university
education. At present, and for the
foreseeable future, evidence is based on
the concept of competencies. Vocational
librarians need to be able to dissect the
Training Packages, identify those
competencies where they may be able to
partly or wholly make a contribution, and
examine the evidence guides for
measuring these competencies. Thereafter,
librarians will need to work these into an
analytical, methodological and statistical
framework in order to produce usable,
relevant evidence. They might also be on
the alert for gaps in competencies and
employability skills, and lobby for
inclusions or variation in these areas.
While educational evidence may relate to
competencies, other evidence is also of
critical relevance in VET, though it
remains set in a competency based,
pragmatic economic outcomes framework.
These are the organisational performance
evaluations such as employer surveys,
retention and completion rates, and
economic cost /benefit measures.
Following from McDonald, in 2003 Dawe
(8) made specific reference to the influence
of EBM, and provided advance notice of a
National Council for Vocational Education
Research (NCVER) centralised resource
for VET systematic reviews. In 2005,
Thomson, Anlezark, Dawe and Hayman
advised that they had undertaken “the
first systematic review conducted in a
vocational education and training …
context in Australia” (9), and Anlezark,
Dawe and Hayman concurrently
developed “a replicable framework and
infrastructure for further systematic
reviews of research” (9). As a starting
point, they utilised the Cochrane derived
models of the Campbell Collaboration,
Evidence for Policy and Practice
Information and Co‐ordinating Centre
(EPPI‐centre) and the Learning and Skills
Development Agency.
A search of the aforementioned sites
reveals that librarians are largely not “in
evidence”. As the emphasis is primarily
on higher level evidence, fields with
approaches considered to be lower forms
of evidence tend to be overlooked. Hence,
there is little library related content, and it
appears much of the literature remains
within library circles. The VOCED
database contains library and related
content, but minimal material on
conceptual frameworks for library
evidence in the evolving vocational
context, what it is, or appropriate
methodologies for research. EBL needs a
higher profile, with contributions related
to the host organisation, if libraries are
going to be appropriately recognised in
the increasingly accountable, higher level
evidence, measured, VET environment.
Conclusion
In this paper the authors set out to raise
the profile of vocational libraries in an
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
33
evidence based framework, currently
overshadowed by medical and tertiary
education precedent. Vocational libraries
can undoubtedly benefit from a greater
EBL emphasis. However, there are
benefits in both directions as the
vocational sector has an educational
variant of evidence that may be applicable
to other sectors. University education does
have vocational content, and medicine is,
after all, another vocation.
There is, of course, substantial literature
on medical education with the usual
theoretical / practical spectrum. In 1999,
the Best Evidence in Medical Education
Collaboration (BEME) was formed, using
the Cochrane and Campbell Collaboration
format, though it noted that the idea of EB
medical education had been hampered by
antipathy towards EBM, and that there
were few good models to go on from
general and higher education.
In Britain, in August 2005, the Department
of Health raised some now familiar
themes. Using the same basic argument as
EBM ‐ to ensure “optimum patient care
and safety” and “quality of medical care” ‐
and using evidence in the form of
“standards … set … by senior healthcare
professionals”, “doctors who are starting
their first year after medical school … will
have to demonstrate explicitly that they
are competent in a number of areas
including communication and
consultation skills, patient safety and
teamwork, as well as the more traditional
skills”. This “programme based on the
achievement of competence, rather than
time served” … “is just the beginning of a
much wider ranging change in medical
training”.
Thus, even Hippocrates may be
confronting, at least in part, the
competency based / employability skills
approach that has been the framework of
the vocational sector for some time.
Partridge and Hallam (“Developing a
culture of Evidence Based Practice”) also
note the issue of keeping university
courses relevant to employers’ needs in
their call for other teaching and learning
models to be presented and critically
discussed. At Bonn in September 2005,
UNESCO‐UNEVOC held a seminar,
involving the European Centre for Higher
Education and the International Centre for
Technical and Vocational Education and
Training, which focused on the complex
need for growing vocational content in
higher education. Issues such as evidence
and increased vocational content in
schools and higher education, together
with competencies, articulation, credit
transfer, and lifelong learning issues in the
knowledge based economy, were
significant at this forum.
Rather than being overshadowed by
medicine and university education, it
seems that the evidence that has been
driving vocational education for some
time is now spreading into increasing
vocational prominence in school and
university courses, including medicine.
Accordingly, the authors draw attention to
the competency based evidence model.
Without a strong and pervasive research
culture, librarians in VET have yet to
properly embed library measures in a
competency based and performance
measured evidential framework. As the
education systems further reconcile the
conflict between liberal holistic measures
at one end of the spectrum, and pragmatic
employability goals at the other, the
educational evidence may well be couched
in terms and concepts related to
competencies. Of similar relevance are the
performance evaluation measures used by
vocational institutions. Libraries will need
to employ evidence in such a framework
to prove themselves relevant to their host
organisations and beyond.
Acknowledgement
A version of this paper was presented at
the 3rd International Evidence Based
Librarianship Conference, held in Brisbane,
Australia (October 2005). See:
.
http://conferences.alia.org.au/ebl2005/Ma
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
34
Works cited
Anlezark, Alison, Susan Dawe and Sarah
Hayman. An Aid to Systematic
Reviews of Research in Vocational
Education and Training in Australia.
Adelaide, National Centre for
Vocational Education Research, 2005.
VOCED database. 12 December 2005
.
Australian Education Union, TAFE
Division. Policy on the role of TAFE in
education. (2001). 6 July 2005
.
Australian Qualifications Framework.
2005. 12 Aug. 2005
.
Berger, Margaret A. “What has a decade
of Daubert wrought?” American
Journal of Public Health: Supplement
on Scientific Evidence and Public
Policy 95.S1 (July 2005): S59‐S65. 12
Aug. 2005
.
Best Evidence in Medical Education
Collaboration. 2005. 1 Dec. 2005
.
Brice, Anne, Andrew Booth, and Nicola
Bexon. “Evidence‐based librarianship:
a case study in the social sciences.”
Libraries‐a voyage of discovery.
World Library and Information
Congress: 71th IFLA General
Conference and Council. Oslo,
Norway. 14‐18 August, 2005. 10
August 2005
.
Campbell Collaboration (C2). 2005. 12 Dec.
2005
.
Carroll, Mary. “The well‐worn path.”
Australian Library Journal 51.2 (2002):
117‐25. 7 July 2005
.
Dawe, Susan. “Basing policy and practice
on sound evidence.” Australasian
Evaluation Society International
Conference. Auckland, New Zealand.
18 Sept. 2003. National Centre for
Vocational Education Research.
VOCED database.10 May 2005
.
DefendingScience.org. American Journal
of Public Health: Supplement on
Scientific Evidence and Public Policy
95.S1 (July 2005). 12 Aug. 2005
.
Department of Education, Science and
Training. Skilling Australia: new
directions for vocational education
and training. Canberra:
Commonwealth of Australia, 2005. 6
July 2005
.
Department of Health. “Major shake‐up in
medical training”. Government News
Network. 9 Aug 2005. 10 Aug. 2005
Eldredge, Jonathan D. “Evidence‐based
librarianship: an overview.” Bulletin
of the Medical Library Association
88.4 (2000): 289‐302.
Evidence for Policy and Practice
Information and Co‐ordinating Centre
(EPPI‐Centre). 2005. 12 Dec.2005
.
http://www.ncver.edu.au/research/co
http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Tafe/r
http://www.aqf.edu.au/aqfqual.htm
http://www.defendingscience.org/loa
http://www.bemecollaboration.org/
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla71/papers/
http://www.campbellcollaboration.or
http://www.alia.org.au/publishing/alj
http://www.ncver.edu.au/pubs/confs
http://www.defendingscience.org/A
http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyre
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Det
http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWeb/home
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
35
Grahame‐Smith, David. “Evidence based
medicine: Socratic dissent.” British
Medical Journal 310 (1995): 1126‐27. 8
July 2005
.
Groundwater‐Smith, Susan. “Evidence
based practice – towards whole school
improvement.” Annual Conference
Australian Association for Research in
Education. Sydney. 4‐7 Dec 2000. 7
July 2005
.
Ioannidis, John P.A. “Why most published
research findings are false.” PLoS
Medicine (Pre‐issue), 2.8: e124 (2005):
1‐6. 20 Aug. 2005
.
Kearns, Peter. VET in the 21st century
global knowledge economy: an
overview of international
developments in Vocational Education
and Training. Kambah, ACT: Peter
Kearns and Associates, 2004. 12 Aug.
2005
.
Learning and Skills Development Agency
(LSDA). 2005. 12 Dec. 2005
.
Macauley, Peter. “The doctoring of
evidence based librarianship”.
Evolution of evidence: global
perspectives on linking evidence with
practice. 3rd International Evidence
Based Librarianship Conference, 16‐19
Oct 2005. Brisbane, Queensland. 12
Aug. 2005
.
McDonald, Rod. Towards evidence‐based
vocational education and training.
Adelaide, National Centre for
Vocational Education Research, 1999.
VOCED database. 10 May 2005
.
National Council for Vocational Education
Research. 2005. 12 Dec. 2005
.
National Training Information Service.
2005. 12 Aug. 2005
.
Partridge, Helen and Gillian Hallam. “The
Double Helix: a personal account of
the discovery of the structure of [the
Information Professional’s] DNA.”
Australian Library and Information
Association (ALIA) Biennial
Conference. Gold Coast, Australia. 21‐
24 September 2004. 29 June 2005
.
‐‐‐. “Developing a culture of evidence
based practice within the library and
information profession: the impact of
library science education. A teaching
and learning model from the
Queensland University of
Technology.” IFLA World Library and
Information Congress, Division VII
Management and Marketing Section.
2005. 12 Aug. 2005
.
Smith, Elizabeth and Cecily Martina.
“Keeping the dough rising:
considering information in the
workplace with reference to the
bakery trade”. In Danaher, P.A., C.
Macpherson, F. Nouwens, & D. Orr
(eds.). (2004). Lifelong learning: whose
responsibility & what is your
contribution?: refereed papers from
the 3rd international lifelong learning
conference. Rockhampton, Qld.:
Central Queensland University Press.
Smith, Richard. “Medical journals are an
extension of the marketing arm of
pharmaceutical companies.” PLoS
Medicine, 2.5: e138 (2005): 1‐6. 8 July
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/conte
http://www.aare.edu.au/00pap/gro00
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/
http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyre
http://www.lsda.org.uk/home.asp
http://conferences.alia.org.au/ebl2005
http://www.ncver.edu.au/research/pr
http://www.ncver.edu.au/
http://www.ntis.gov.au/
http://conferences.alia.org.au/alia200
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/archive/000
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2006, 1:1
36
2005
.
Straus, Sharon E. and Finlay A McAlister.
“Evidence based medicine: a
commentary on common criticisms”
CMAJ/JAMC 163.7 (2000): 837‐841
12 Aug 2005
.
Thomson, Peter, Alison Anlezark, Susan
Dawe, and Sarah Hayman. The
Mature‐Aged and Skill Development
Activities: a Systematic Review of
Research. Adelaide, National Centre
for Vocational Education Research,
2005. VOCED database. 12 Dec. 2005
.
Todd, Ross. “Transitions for preferred
futures of school libraries: Knowledge
space, not information place
Connections, not collections Actions,
not positions Evidence, not advocacy”.
IASL Conference. Auckland, New
Zealand. 9‐12 July 2001. 30 March 2005
.
UNESCO‐UNEVOC International Centre
for Technical and Vocational
Education and Training. Vocational
Content in Mass Higher Education?
Responses to Challenges for the
Labour Market and the Work‐Place.
Bonn, 8‐10 September 2005. 10 Oct.
2005
.
VOCED database. 2005. 12 Dec. 2005
.
Wagner, Wendy. “The perils of relying on
interested parties to evaluate scientific
quality.” American Journal of
Public Health: Supplement on
Scientific Evidence and Public Policy
95.S1 (July 2005): S99‐S106. 12 Aug.
2005
.
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perl
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/163/7
http://www.ncver.edu.au/research/co
http://www.iasl%E2%80%90slo%00
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en
http://www.voced.edu.au/index.htm
http://www.defendingscience.org/loa