Libraries hold large amounts of data, which can contribute to improvements in the quality of library services. Data resources of modern library have the characteristics of big-data, where library can use big-data methods to achieve reform and innovation, including resource transferring, resource utilisation, social identity, thinking innovation.…

Background: Decisions related to the development and implementation of public health programmes or policies can benefit from more effective use of the best available knowledge. However, decision makers do not always feel sufficiently equipped or may lack the capacity to use evidence. This can lead them to overlook or set aside research results…

Background: Brokers, intermediaries, and boundary spanners (BIBS) bridge research and policy or practice, and can elevate the role of evidence in decision making. However, there is limited integration of the literature across different sectors to understand the strategies that BIBS use, the skills needed to carry out these strategies, and the…

Background: Infectious disease outbreaks require decision makers to make rapid decisions under time pressure and situations of scientific uncertainty, and yet the role of evidence usage in these contexts is poorly understood. Aims and objectives: To define and contextualise the role of scientific evidence in the governance of infectious disease…

Policy agencies are implementing strategies to increase the use of research in policy decisions. This paper examines the evidence about the effectiveness of these strategies. We conducted an extensive search focused on population health policy and programmes. We classified 106 papers meeting study criteria into research type (conceptual,…

Provides an historical background for evidence-based practice and methods for assimilating research into practice. Information searching, systematic reviews, and other decision-making models are discussed using specific questions for establishing policy guidelines. Stresses the need for evidence-based practice implementing the best-known practices…

The basic position taken in this paper is that the data collected under the Title I evaluation and reporting system can be used more effectively than they have been traditionally in making decisions about Title I programs, and that other types of data can and should be used in shaping and improving Title I programs. This paper combines information…

Discusses social science as an aid to decision making, as a source of social technology, and as a tool for understanding innovation and productivity. Identifies factors that limit the utilization of social science in innovation and productivity research. (GC)

A literature review concerning the relationship of institutional research and the institution's decision-making process reveals a wide range of opinion. A recurring theme is the precarious position of the researcher in the unique organization of higher education. Most sources agree that the institutional research office must be perceived as…

This report is among the first to gather data on what really works to increase under-represented students interest and success in quantitatively based occupations. The report also compiles specific recommendations based on that data. Data from a variety of sources show that although African American, Hispanic, and American Indian students who go…

Examines the role of research in assisting library managers to operate libraries more effectively. Strategies for research and for library managers to better create and use research are suggested; conceptual and practical issues that affect research utilization are discussed; and the need for improved efforts by both library managers and…

Film audience research complements institutional research, verifying scholarship on the meanings films have to viewers and providing broad-based explanations of film images. Most important, such research focuses on the decision and motivation processes people use before they set foot in the movie theater, thereby helping to construct a context…

This multidisciplinary analysis identifies how an understanding of information processing and decision making as social processes can determine the effectiveness of educational reform strategies, with a focus on viewing the roles of educational leaders as information processors and policy negotiators. This paper: (1) presents an overview of…

Suggests reassessment of research methods, strategies, and aims relevant to curricular/instructional decision making in the social studies. Limitations include the lack of clear-cut implications of findings for practice and the lack of cumulative findings relevant to the real life of the school. (Author/KC)

The concept of knowledge utilization and the nature of practical decisions are analyzed to investigate how research knowledge and effective teaching practice are related. It is argued that the personal commitments of teachers, common sense, and normative requirements can also be valid bases for action. The author points out that an over-reliance…