30 March 2011

Six months in: progress so far

It's now six months since I started my studies, so this seems like a good time to think about how my work has been progressing - and perhaps to talk a little bit about my day to day studies, which I realise I haven't really described much on this blog so far.

On Monday I attended a lecture about research methods - this is the third module I've taken since I've been here, all intended to provide particular skills relevant to my research. For example, last semester, as part of a module about systematic reviews, I studied the literature about library information services for small and medium enterprises in some detail. This is potentially quite relevant to information provision for social enterprises - although there are significant differences between these organisations and other types of business, there is some overlap in the kind of generic financial / legal / management information which may be needed.

Much of the rest of this week so far has been spent reading - I'm currently working on a draft literature review section about social enterprise, having already drafted sections on collection development and management issues. I have also been working on some draft documentation relating to the potential methods I might use when I move on to the practical research stage of my project. I'm hoping to get this finalised over the next month or so, with a view to starting the research proper in early June, if all goes according to plan.

The highlights of the last few months have definitely been my visits to the British Library, and the opportunity to attend relevant events like Footsey and the Digital Curation Centre Roadshow: especially all the conversations with librarians, social enterprise practitioners and others along the way!

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