Confessions of a Research Nerd

I have a hard time explaining what I do for my career.

It’s been that way for the almost three decades I’ve been a professional corporate library researcher. Sometimes I say I’m a librarian, which is technically correct but too general. If I say I’m a researcher, the puzzled looks start. 

People don’t seem to understand because everyone is a researcher these days, thanks to Google. Essentially, I am a Research Nerd. I didn’t make up the term, but it applies to me.

My research geekiness is illustrated by my personal collection of Arts & Crafts pottery from the early 20^th century to the present. Inside every one of the pots is a little piece of paper with as much information as I can obtain about it, such as what company, where it came from, design name, who worked on it, etc. This is part of the fun for me, digging up the background.

Professional research is underestimated, underappreciated, and not always understood. Yes, Google has made it easier to find things. For trivia buffs like me, it is great to be able to find out what year that old movie was made or who said that quote or even if they actually said it. Wikipedia, citing Special Libraries, provides a fitting overall general description about what “information services” at a corporate library looks like, but a 2019 blog post from PhD Assistance offers a description of research that resonates with me:

“Research is a systematic process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information (data) in order to better understand a phenomenon about which we are interested or concerned. It is a lengthy process, focused, specific, intensive, accumulative, and educational, and is not mere information gathering, transportation of facts from one location to another and rummaging for information.”

What we do on our team covers a breadth of research types, ranging from creating reading lists, providing publicly available points of view on a topic or market, sifting through surveys (if they exist) for a datapoint, advising on the credibility/reliability of a resource, writing a topic paper, and the like. For various reasons, there can be a time limit, which necessitates another, different layer of effort. In all cases, we strive to “connect the dots” to explain the story behind the information and what the main themes are. That is our value add. 

I always have been pretty dogged/tenacious/focused/persistent (take your pick) on solving a problem (sometimes more than I should be). And I can ask a lot of questions, sometimes all bunched together. These attributes don’t always transfer well into certain situations (and can often be pretty annoying) but they have served me well in my career as a researcher. For me, it has helped to have an undergraduate degree in sociology, as research methods were part of the curriculum. It allowed me to understand what is behind the data, numbers, and other information we are asked to find, and if a request is viable – for instance, can a survey even exist to address a question (like, who would ask that?). 

For those of you who really want to get into the weeds of the work, here are some of my basic approaches. I personally tend to start from a large amount of research and then winnow it down. Making note of dates in the findings is important (currency really matters). Once I feel I have researched enough to get started “connecting the dots” – and making that determination is just a gut feeling, after many years – I organize it into topical “buckets” or sections. This means I have learned to skim when I read for work. And I keep winnowing it down by topic. I make a point of taking out inflammatory terms (i.e., aggressive adjectives) or phrases that look like marketing, always keeping things in context. And you have to know when to call it done, which again is a gut feeling for me. 

One of my favorite things is when someone tells me they have looked everywhere for something, not found anything, and then I am able to or at least suggest alternatives. That doesn’t happen all the time, just enough. My least favorite thing to research: updating a datapoint from a presentation where no source is listed. I like digging into things but I haven’t yet learned how to read minds.

It can be a bit tricky to train others, as this type of research is, ultimately, an “art not a science,” as my first manager told me. To address this, the approach I take when training or mentoring someone is to show what I do and then tell them to find their own path – there is more than one way to get to a good answer (notice I didn’t say right answer). It’s important to find creative solutions to challenging research questions, and that’s what keeps me interested. Sometimes people don’t know what they want or what they have asked for isn’t available. Think “around” the topic, in other words what are related threads? How would this information be obtained and who would care (or pay) to do it? Confidently suggesting other ways to look at something matters.

The thing that matters most is knowing your customer, who they are, what they want, and what they need. Thinking about research from their and the company’s perspective. It’s not just what you know it’s how you convey it. Although knowing is helpful in building confidence, you can’t remember everything. 

I was fortunate to be mentored by gifted researchers and I want to pass that on to others whenever possible. Fingers crossed these simple ideas can translate into something of small value for others getting into this same field.