AWARENESS AND SATISFACTION OF STAFF, VOLUNTEERS, AND VISITORS OF THE LIBRARY MATERIALS AND SERVICES PROVIDED BY A BOTANIC GARDEN

 

Rationale and Contribution

 Libraries deal with, and in, information. This may be regarded as being similar to a commodity with a value, which may be priced with due regard to costs and market forces. It is an unusual commodity, however. Information exists only through human perception. It can be shared, in that it can be reused and yet still exist for future use. It has the characteristics of a public good. And for this study, it would be regarded as a free commodity readily accessible in diverse locations such as a botanical garden.

When asked why they visit botanic gardens, most people include the words ‘peace and tranquility’ in their response. There is a falsely held perception that, apart from a select few who come to locate a particular plant or two, visitors only come to public gardens to relax and switch off from mental stimulation. One of the commonly held myths about visitors to botanic gardens is that they are not interested in learning. People certainly do visit botanic gardens primarily to socialize with family or friends and to relax in the ambience of aesthetically appealing surroundings. However, this paper will attempt to show that, even though their main purpose is recreational and to ‘switch off’ from the stresses of everyday life, people can still have a meaningful learning experience in a botanic garden provided the information is presented for them in an engaging and easily accessible way through the library facilities provided by the garden.

 Hypothesis

The study would like to test the following null hypothesis:

“The staff, volunteers, and visitors are significantly aware and satisfied of the library materials and services provided by a botanic garden.”

 Scope and Limitations

 The study intends to investigate the level of awareness and satisfaction of staff, volunteers, and visitors of the library materials and services provided by a botanic garden. For this study, primary research and secondary research will be used. Primary research will be conducted using interviews to selected staff, volunteers and visitors of a botanical garden. The interviews will be used to provide qualitative insights into the data collected.

The data will be analyzed and compiled for the correlation of the hypothesis. The data will then be presented by means of graphical representations and illustration and the difference would be highlighted. A negative correlation between the variables would suggest that the hypothesis is null, that is, the staff, volunteers, and visitors are significantly aware and satisfied of the library materials and services provided by a botanic garden.

 Possible Contents of the Dissertation

The dissertation shall be divided into five chapters in order to provide clarity and coherence on the discussion of the level of awareness and satisfaction of staff, volunteers, and visitors of the library materials and services provided by a botanic garden. The first part of the dissertation will be discussing the problem uncovered by the researcher and provide ample background on the topic. The chapter shall constitute an introduction to the whole dissertation, the hypothesis, and the statement of the problem in order to present the basis of the study. Moreover, the chapter shall also have a discussion on the scope of its study as well as the significance of the study to society in general and specific effects on the management of firms.

The second chapter shall be discussing the relevance of the study in the existing literature. It shall provide studies on library evaluation and library user satisfaction. After the presentation of the existing related literature, the researcher shall provide a synthesis of the whole chapter in relation to the study.

The third part of the study shall be discussing the methods and procedures used in the study. The chapter shall comprise of the presentation of the utilized techniques for data collection and research methodology. Similarly, it shall also contain a discussion on the used techniques in data analysis as well as the tools used to acquire the said data.

The fourth chapter shall be an analysis on the tabulated data. After the said tabulation, the data are statistically treated in order to uncover the relationship of the variable involved in the study. With the said data, the chapter seeks to address the statement of the problem noted in the first chapter.

The last chapter shall comprise of three sections, the summary of the findings, the conclusions of the study, and the recommendations. With the three portions, the chapter shall be able to address the verification of the hypothesis stated in the initial chapters of the study.

 

Research methodology and techniques for data collection

 

Research requires an organized data gathering in order to pinpoint the research philosophies and theories that will be included in the research, the methodology of the research and the instruments of data interpretation. In this study, the Research Process “Onion” will be utilized so that the findings of the study can be thoroughly established. The inner part of the onion describes the methodology portion whereas the outer part discusses the strategies that can be utilized in interpreting the results of the findings.

The descriptive research method uses observation and surveys. In this method, it is possible that the study would be cheap and quick. It could also suggest unanticipated hypotheses. Nonetheless, it would be very hard to rule out alternative explanations and especially infer causations. Thus, this study will use the descriptive approach. This descriptive type of research will utilize observations in the study.  To illustrate the descriptive type of research, Creswell (1994) will guide the researcher when he stated: Descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition.  The purpose of employing this method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the cause/s of particular phenomena. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.

The research described in this document is partly based on quantitative research methods. This permits a flexible and iterative approach. During data gathering the choice and design of methods are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This allows investigation of important new issues and questions as they arise, and allows the investigators to drop unproductive areas of research from the original research plan.

This study also employs qualitative research method, since this research intends to find and build theories that would explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements in research. These qualitative elements does not have standard measures, rather they are behavior, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs.

Furthermore, as we define the qualitative research it is multimethod in focus, involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Accordingly, qualitative researchers deploy a wide range of interconnected methods, hoping always to get a better fix on the subject matter at hand.

The primary source of data will come from interviews of the staff, volunteers, and visitors of the botanical garden.  The primary data frequently gives the detailed definitions of terms and statistical units used in the study. These are usually broken down into finer classifications.

The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from social science journals, theses and related studies on library science. Acquiring secondary data are more convenient to use because they are already condensed and organized. Moreover, analysis and interpretation are done more easily.

 

Project time plan

TASK	Months
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
Select topic
Undertake preliminary literature search
Define research questions Write-up aims and objectives
Select appropriate methodology and locate sources of information. Confirm access.
Write-up thesis plan
Undertake and write-up draft critical literature review.
Secondary and Primary Data Detailed Sources Consulted
Research Findings: Analyzed Evaluated Written-up
Discussion: Research findings evaluated and discussed in relation to the literature review
Methodology written-up (including limitations and constraints)
Main body of the report written-up and checked for logical structure
Conclusions drawn Recommendations made
Introduction and Executive Summary written-up
Final format and indexing
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