Ethics

Keith Curry lance is best known as having been the lead author in the original Colorado Study on the relationship between good school libraries and students academic success. The first study was published in 1993 and was titled, The impact of School Library Centers on Academic Excellence. The second Colorado study was published in 2000 under the title, How School Librarians Assist Kids Achieve standards. More recent research in 2005 was co-authored with Loertscher, D. under the tile, Powering Achievement How School Library programs make a Difference. The published studies relied on data collected through various means primarily through the use of a questionnaire and occasional interviews with specific target respondents.

The sampling employed was random sampling where schools from different settings were targeted. In one of the interviews based on these studies, Lance asserted that the schools targeted excluded suburban, inner city and rural schools which were considered to have certain extremities not present in a majority of other schools. However, some of those schools participated in responding to the research questions. In analyzing the study findings and conclusions, it would be reasonable to analyze some of the basic findings of the study as well as looking at some of the parameters employed in ensuring reasonable research. To assess whether the results proclaimed by the studies are right or wrong may exceed the scope of this study considering the relativity with which such qualitative studies are interpreted.

In this study, an effort will be done to analyze some of the studies particularly paying attention to the manner in which the study was carried out, the methods of data collection, the manner of data analysis as well as an analysis of some of the conclusions inferred from the studies. The aim of this study will be to analyze and assess the works done by the joint effort of these researchers with an aim of identifying research loopholes, poor judgments, poor methodologies as well as poor correlation of method, data and inferences. Where appropriate, the study will endeavor to offer criticism to the study conclusions by criticizing the methodology, sampling as well as the tools used to collect the information. A fundamental issue that this study will analyze is the quality of the respondents on whom the study findings are made. According to the principal researcher, Keith Curry Lance, there was an always ever present probability that they would only receive credible responses from schools which were well equipped and with librarians with good credentials as compared to schools whose librarians had weak credentials. It was also probable that the researchers would receive weak responses from schools without librarians. As such, the issue of the quality of respondents is of concern since non-librarians who responded to the questionnaire were likely to provide haphazard and shallow information to the research questions.

To start with, the study will endeavor to analyze some of the studies and generally analyze how they were conducted as well as analyze some of the conclusions gathered from the studies. In the Original Colorado study, the major finding and inference from the study was that the library size in terms of its collection and staff is directly proportional to reading scores. The test score variation associated directly with the size of the library cited by this study ranged from 5-15 across the sampled elementary and secondary schools. The range evident in different schools could be associated to a variety of present school and community differences. Apart from the library size, rated as the direct predictor to grades improvement, a host of indirect predictors to the achievement were also considered and these included the presence of a professional librarian who was active in playing instructional roles to learners and who also spent a considerable amount of time within the library. Another indirect predictor included in the study was the teacher-pupil ratio, the average spending per pupil by the school and also on the socio-economic status of the pupils. A good percentage of scores variation was associated with socio-economic characteristics, with students from minority and poor families that had no history in academic excellence being predicted to show low variation in academic performance despite the presence of a professionally run library.

The general conduct of the study was guided by hypothetical questions such as how improvement in school libraries management contributed to student progress or how the presence of a school library manned by interactive librarians impacted on the general academic success of the students. To aid in the investigations, the research had focused on several parameters such as
the level of school library development,
activities within the school that foster information literacy,
the extent to which librarians engage in collaboration and leadership
The extent of utilization of technology to extend the library reaches beyond the physical school library. This parameter mainly gauged the effectiveness of having online libraries within the school intranets.

The parameters applied in the study are analyzed as follows
School Library Development- According to Lance (2001), development of a school library especially as used for the study was defined by the ratio of professional staff manning the libraries to students, a variety of collection per student ratios as well as time spent by students in the library. One basic inference drawn from this parameter was that in school libraries with higher levels of professional staff, more funding and larger collections of electronic and print resources, students generally tended to score high on state reading tests. In this parameter, a developed library is associated not only with the availability of resources but also on the presence of professional librarians who play a lead instructional role to the learners. In the first Colorado study, the report did not indicate or define what a strong librarian instructional role was and therefore offered no guidance on practitioners on how best they could deliver their services. One of the criticisms to the initial study was therefore on the deficiency of the study to clearly define the role of librarians which would effectively contribute to a considerable good performance from the learners.

Librarians Collaboration and Leadership- According to the study, librarians who demonstrated leadership skills and took up responsibility to instructing learners played a pivotal role in improving students performance.  The kind of leadership defined in the study is best described by the activities that the librarians engages in to assist the learners and the teachers succeed in finding research materials. Activities that would indicate leadership in a librarian ranged from frequent meetings with the school principal, attending and participation in faculty meetings, serving and participation on crucial academic committees such as the curriculum development and strategic analysis committees, association and interaction with other librarian colleagues at district and higher levels. In some of the schools where librarians were deemed to be playing effective leadership roles, the librarians admitted to serving in crucial committees such as the school steering committee. In an example, a librarian at Bald eagle Area High located in Wingate, Allison Hutchison asserted that their school librarian is a primary and integral part of the steering committee consisting of school leaders and area coordinators. In meetings held bi-monthly, the librarian is involved in making many policies especially those that concerns curriculum directions.

According to the librarian, participating in school committee meetings was essential since it assisted in understanding areas of great importance in the curriculum process and therefore essential in making collection of resources. Making an inference from this, the study projects that when librarians are given leadership responsibilities within the school, they easily capture essential areas of focus and this guides them in making relevant collections. In another instance where the study analyzed leadership within librarians, a librarian at Urbandale High in Iowa asserted that her active service produced a significant effect on both the teachers and the learners. In an interview, she admitted to being involved by teachers to present book reviews in classes and to occasionally arrange a panel in which teachers could discuss their favorite books in a certain teachers class.

Collaboration and Information Literacy- The collaboration cited in the studies is one that comes as a result of librarians creating an environment that supports their working together with learners and teachers.  According to the research, some of the cited activities that could be regarded as collaboration were identification of useful information and materials for teachers, assisting teachers to plan instruction effectively, provision of in-service training for teachers as well as ability and participation in teaching students in classrooms either in the presence or absence of a teacher. According to the research, positive collaboration between the teachers and the librarians resulted to higher reading scores among students. In one school in Colorado, Eagle crest High School, librarians collaborate with American Literature and History classes in doing their research projects from the beginning to the end.

Technology Parameter- One of the fundamental aspects incorporated in the different researches on this topic has been on the place of technology in the school libraries. The place of the internet library has particularly been explored. In the Colorado research, the inference made on this was that schools that provided students and teachers with remote access to library materials resulted to higher test scores. One of the factors associated with this rise in scores was the fact that learners could access materials at the comfort of their living places and this helped eliminate the boredom associated with formal schools and at the same time retained the curiosity inherent in research work. In Silverton High School, Oregon, the librarian Becky Hickox reported that the she was pivotal in introducing freshmen to the use of internet and all databases licensed by the institution. In an interview, the librarian asserted that freshmen normally are familiar with using the World Wide Web but finds difficulties using the schools licensed databases. The librarian also follows up to ensure that all learners familiarize themselves with making academic searches to ensure that they are covering the relevant content. In a nut shell, the research argues that collaboration of the librarians in introducing students to learning technology contributes to a rise in grades from the learners.

Controlling For schools and community differences-One of the fundamental criteria employed in collecting information for the research was in defining the differences that existed between the different schools under study. In the first Colorado study, little efforts had been put in place to cater for the diversity in which the different schools existed. As such, one of the criticisms to the results was on the studys failure to address the stark socio-economic differences that existed between the schools that were analyzed. Some of the differences accounted and controlled within the research were classified in both school and community differences. Under the school differences, some of the factors put in consideration were the characteristics of teachers such as their experience, their levels of education as well as compensation. In addition, the ratios of teacher-pupil and total amount spent per learner. Some of the community differences analyzed included minority demographics, poverty and adult educational attainment. Notwithstanding the community and school differences, most of the researches established the fundamental assertion that the school library and its management played a pivotal role in the shaping of learners performance in the United States.

Analyzing Methodology
In most of the studies conducted by Lance (2000) and colleagues, the primary tool of study was a questionnaire and interviews which were conducted randomly. The results therefore obtained would contain the inherent weaknesses that are evident in any study utilizing the questionnaire. As such, the overall conclusion that school libraries are key determinants of learners performances may have inferred weaknesses such as
Unequal response from the different schools determined to be used as samples. In an electronic interview conducted between July to October 2005 by Callison, D. (2005), the original researcher Lance admitted that the likelihood of receiving a response from a given target school was dependent on the availability and willingness of a person to go through the questionnaire and respond to it. Chances of the respondents giving wrong information about their schools libraries cannot be overruled and these would affect the quality and reliability of the conclusions made by the studies.

Another major weakness with the questionnaire tool used for study is their low response rate. Low response generally reduces the accuracy of statistical analysis and dilutes the quality of conclusions made. In situations where questionnaires receive a very low response rate, the conclusions made may not reflect the true realities on the ground. In the case of these studies, the possibility of low response was a stark reality considering that the random sampling technique applied targeted respondents from far and remote places. In such cases, the respondents may fail to identify with the rationale behind the questionnaire and therefore end up giving information that may distort the true situation on the ground.

Another weakness in the questionnaires applied is their inability to probe responses. The fact that questionnaires are formally structured implies that respondents are limited to structure their response sin the set format. As such, flexibility is denied and as such, possibility of leaving out crucial information is highly possible. The general conclusions made in the studies could then have been deficient considering that the respondents had to respond in a formal manner predetermined by the researchers.

In addition, questionnaires miss out on almost 90 of communication, considered as visual. In a normal communication discourse, gestures, physical cues and facial expressions are assumed to cover a great deal of communication. This is not achieved in a questionnaire which only relies on written information and therefore may be unable to pick out crucial details especially when probing sensitive issues.

Another inherent weakness in questionnaires is the inaccuracy of assumptions. The researcher assumes that the person who responded to the questionnaire is the actual person who was intended. Considering the geographical and time difference between the researcher and the respondent, there is always the possibility that the respondent was not the intended target. This therefore reduces the reliability of data collected and may affect the quality of the conclusions made. Lastly, there is an associated inefficiency associated with using questionnaires. Respondents are turned off by written questions due to observed misuse and low level seriousness that respondents apply when answering written questionnaires.

Analysis of random Sampling
In a good percentage of the information collected, data was obtained through random sampling of schools and this has a weakness in itself. First, there was no guarantee of obtaining respondents with similar credentials. In the interview conducted by Callison, Lance admitted that rarely did they find librarians with credentials in high schools and virtually no elementary school that responded reported the presence of a professional librarian. As such, the findings reported in the study would in a way represent some inaccuracies based on the variation of respondents skills and experience. In addition, the random sampling employed may have increased the risk of non-targeted respondents responding to the questions and therefore reducing the credibility and validity of the conclusions made. As such, it is the submission of this study that the methodology adopted was not entirely reliable and therefore had a possibility of affecting the soundness of the conclusions made.

Are the conclusions warranted
The aim of any scientific qualitative or quantitative research is to collect data, analyze the data and then make inferences drawn from the data. A fundamental weakness therefore of any scientific method is that the conclusions are made wrong if the data or the methodology was flawed. The major conclusion to the studies conducted by Lance and his colleagues linked the presence of school libraries to a rise in scores among learners. The factors that encompassed a library consisted of a library media program development, presence of information technology and collaboration. However, based on the weaknesses of the methodology addressed above, these conclusions may be a true reflection of the data collected yet fail to be a realistic image of the situation on the ground.

Conclusion
The inferences made by Lance and his team in different studies are crucial in offering a guidance to the way schools ought to prioritize the management of their libraries due to their relational aspect on improved performance. It is to be noted here that the studies, though done in earnest may represent generalizations other than realistic situations on the ground. During the American Library Association yearly conference in San Francisco in 1992, the first Colorado study was criticized for not being conclusive, that is, not establishing a cause-effect relationship. However, it was credited as being a foundational study other than a conclusive one. For instance, the study did not establish the role that other factors would have played in students performances apart from the library criteria. Reviewers would associate poor performance in a school to a majority of factors including the competency and confidence of instructors when delivering content as well as the role the socio-economic variances play in academic performance. As such, though the library is a pivotal tool in the learning process, using it primarily to credit performance would be wrong if all the other factors are not given a thorough consideration. In addition, though the studies made efforts to establish a control for school and community differences, the efficiency with which such a qualitative study can quantify the role of these differences in the performance of students may not be easy to validate.