Penn State University Libraries - Focus on Assessment - Aug 22, 2011

Data analysis assistance available for tenure-track librarians

By Alan W. Shay

In May, I had the privilege of attending the University Libraries annual Promotion and Tenure Workshop. From this
workshop, I learned more about what is required from a librarian going through the promotion and tenure process.
As the University Libraries data analyst, a couple of themes discussed during the workshop resounded with me:

• methodology and
• statistical analysis.

Both of these items were very important during the workshop and brought about a number of good discussions. One
aspect of my position that I am very excited about is assisting librarians with their data collection and analysis needs.
Some of the areas of my expertise that I believe would be of benefit for librarians who are working on assessment
projects include:

• experimental design
• hypothesis testing
• regression analysis (linear and non-linear)
• analysis of variance
• categorical data analysis
• time series analysis
• spatial statistics and
• meta-analysis.

I look forward to collaborating with librarians traversing the promotion and tenure route. I hope to become a valuable
resource for librarians throughout the Penn State University Libraries when it comes time to develop their processes
for methodology and statistical analysis.