Objectives: Published research on health science librarians use of reflection at work (reflective practice) tends to be results of action research and surveys. The current study fills a gap in the literature, exploring the following questions: As librarians engage in intentional reflection to improve work performance, what are they actually doing? Why do they invest time and energy in reflection in the first place? The purpose of this qualitative study is to better understand how health science librarians experience and understand reflective practice.
Methods: In 2020, 18 health science librarians who use reflection at work were recruited using email invitations sent to medical/health science librarianship email distribution lists based in the US and Canada. There were no limitations on how, to what extent, or how long participants had been using reflection. They were interviewed using a video conferencing platform about their use of reflection at work and what advice they would give to someone new to reflective practice. The interview transcripts were analyzed within a phenomenological framework for themes using MAXQDA 2020 software. (Prior to recruitment, this study was reviewed and identified as exempt research by the University of Toledo Social, Behavioral, and Educational Institutional Review Board.)
Results: Several themes emerged from the analyses: (1) participants reported a variety of benefits from engaging in reflection at work; (2) the importance of intentionality in reflection; (3) the role of emotion in reflective practices; and (4) the wide range of reflective strategies used by participants. The primary themes regarding advice to people new to reflection: (1) start small; and (2) find what works best for you.
Conclusions: This project provides rich detail about the ways that health science librarians engage in using reflection at work. Perhaps the most important finding is that librarians used reflection in ways that work best for them in terms of their workload, work environment, personality, and extent of experience with reflection. Hopefully, this encourages health science librarians to consider using reflection to improve their work performance without fear that they are “doing it wrong.”