Dear colleagues,
ACRL Evidence Synthesis Methods Interest Group (ESM-IG) is pleased to announce that our new Peer Mentorship program specifically focused on evidence synthesis (ES) is now accepting mentee applications. Our program will pair experienced librarians/expert searchers with librarians who are new to ES.
Program description
This point-of-need peer mentorship program is intended for librarians or information specialists involved in their first or second Evidence Synthesis project, or involved in an evidence synthesis method that they have no prior experience with, and who require guidance from an experienced peer. The mentors in this program are experienced ES practitioners who have co-authored at least 2 reviews or review protocols.
The goal is for the mentee to have support from someone who is familiar with the messiness and nuances around implementation of ES methodology in practice. As a mentee, you will be able to ask for guidance and have someone to talk you through an approach, as well as any areas of concern or steps which seem challenging to work through alone.
Eligibility: In order to be eligible to apply into this mentorship program, you must:
a. be an information specialist or librarian who has not been involved in more than 2 evidence synthesis reviews, or who is using an evidence synthesis method that they have no prior experience with, and
b. have a project lined up where you are a co-author or collaborator on a team conducting a review
Note: It is not possible for the mentor to teach the mentee everything there is to know about ES from scratch, therefore there is an expectation that the mentee has already taken some training related to ES methods and systematic searching. If you have not, we have provided a list of asynchronous training options below. It is highly recommended that you complete some training before applying to the program. This document has some recommended training options.
Timeframe: The total amount of mentor support available to you over the course of the entire mentorship period is a maximum of 10 hours, typically over the course of 3 months, but this time frame will be negotiated between the mentor-mentee pair at the outset in order to fit the needs of the specific project.
Scope: The scope of the mentorship is limited to: regular or as-needed consultations (via Zoom or other means), email exchanges, PRESS (Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies) of the primary database search. If a PRESS is done, it is expected that the mentor librarian will be acknowledged in the mentee's resulting published work.
Matching process and response time: Matches are made based on discipline and stages of the review requested by the mentee, and mentor availability. The name of the mentee and mentor will be shared with the involved individuals prior to confirming a match, to avoid conflicts of interest. We will aim to find a match for each applicant within 7 days, but this may take longer depending on the specifics of the request, such as disciplines, stages of the review for which assistance is required, and time of year. If matching is taking longer than expected, the applicant will receive communication regarding the status of their application. We cannot guarantee that a mentor will be available for all requests.
To apply as a Mentee: Please fill out this application form: https://forms.gle/8NSLp2BSienzxb1j6
To sign up as a Mentor: We continue to accept mentors on an ongoing basis. Please fill out this application form: https://forms.gle/rxqiiQCW1Q9nFtWt5
Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
Sincerely,
Zahra Premji and Sarah Young (ACRL ESM-IG co-chairs)
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Zahra Premji, PhD MLIS
Health Research Librarian
Advanced Research Services, University of Victoria Libraries
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6899-0528
Pronouns: she/her
I acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.