👉 If you register then you will be sent a link to the recorded video to watch later at a more suitable times
👉 These are not run by ALIA or HLA
1️⃣ Open Science & Evidence Synthesis Thursday, October 23, 2025 @ 15:00 UTC/11 am EDT Register here
In this webinar, attendees will learn about the importance of Open Science principles in evidence synthesis and how adopting Open and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) workflows are vital for maintaining rigour in evidence synthesis. The session will cover both theory and practical advice, indicating the tradeoffs and cost implications of each component of Open Synthesis. We will discuss examples of good and bad practice, as well as becoming aware of tools to support open practices.
2️⃣ Framing the Research Question & Managing Search Volumes Monday, November 24, 2025 @ 16:00 UTC/11 am EST Register here
We’ll cover the importance of question framing in evidence synthesis as the foundational step in any review project. Attendees will learn about what types of questions can be answered with evidence synthesis and see examples of diverse types of questions. We will cover the theory of question formulation and practical examples of questions formulated for real-world review projects. We’ll discuss the practicalities of the implications of question framing – namely, the volume of evidence we then have to screen for relevance. The session will discuss how to manage this tradeoff of sensitivity (getting everything) versus specificity (staying manageable), and show examples of the time needed for different breadths and types of question.
3️⃣ Adaptive Approaches to Reviewing Evidence & Diverse Workflows Thursday, December 11, 2025 @ 16:00 UTC/11 am EST Register here
What happens if your review isn’t quite standard practice? How can you ensure you finish your review if time runs out? This webinar will focus on real-world application of evidence synthesis methodology best practice and give practical suggestions of ways to ensure you finish your review if resources, time or staff are limited. We will cover the nooks and crannies that lie between standard review types, not the traditional systematic review and meta-analysis but the more unconventional types of review – part-map, part framework. These often more exploratory methods are vital for maintaining rigour and allowing for ongoing work whilst still producing a high-quality, publishable output. We will cover what to do and what to call them. We will also cover practical ways in which you can plan for limitations in your workflows, ensuring you still have a rigorous product even if you run out of time.
About the Speaker
Neal Haddaway is an independent interdisciplinary researcher working in the field of environmental and social policy, but with a particular interest in agri-food supply chains. He has been working as an evidence synthesis methodologist since 2012 and has authored almost 200 publications, including methodology articles, systematic reviews, systematic maps and other forms of syntheses. He has contributed to best practice guidance for systematic reviews and maps. He has worked with the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence as Centre Director and Trustee, the Campbell Collaboration as Co-lead of the Climate Solutions Coordinating Group, and within the Cochrane Climate-Health Working Group. He established the Evidence Synthesis Hackathon and Evidence Synthesis and Meta-Analysis in R Conference, and has personally produced a suite of free online tools, including PRISMA2020 flowcharts and citationchaser. He has been teaching evidence synthesis methodology for 13 years and provides methods courses and training workshops across the world.
This was due to an ALIA HLA submission to the NHMRC in 2024 and will significantly increase the profile of health librarians in biomedical research
Some of the statements include:
“Appoint qualified librarians to advise and support researchers across a range of topics including the scholarly information life cycle, research metrics, open science practices and data management” – p16
” Provide infrastructure for supporting responsible research practices, such as appropriate library services to provide access to a curated collection of information resources and evidence based information collections” – p27
“How does the institution ensure that all researchers have access to support services as needed (for example, statistical advice, library services)” – p29
Following on from the consultation message further below, we hope people have had time to ponder what they want the NSQHS Standards to look like and how library services might be embedded in them.
To encourage participation and to ensure that the ALIA HLA submission covers off areas of interest, we invite you to come to a Zoom meeting to discuss:
📅 When: Thursday September 4th at 1pm (NSW, Vic, QLD, ACT, Tas); 12:30pm (SA, NT); 11am (WA).
The Commission is undertaking broad public consultation to inform the development of the NSQHS Standards (third edition), in collaboration with the healthcare system and community representatives. Submissions close 30 September 2025
ACSQHC is seeking to understand health system needs to ensure the next edition of the standards is relevant, evidence-based, responsive to emerging challenges and innovations in health care, outcomes focussed and integrated within health service organisations by:
Engage health service boards, leadership and clinical teams on the systems, structures, actions and improvements needed to provide high-quality care
Incorporate new and emerging evidence-based practices, and contemporary approaches to clinical governance
Strengthen clinical governance at the health service level to create resilient and scalable structures and systems
Align and adapt to evolving changes in the healthcare system
Develop and mature health service organisations to become high performing learning organisations that focus on outcomes and impact
Evolve the actions to improve cultural safety and eliminate racism in health care
Drive greater integration of care.
The Commission will consult with key stakeholders nationally, including health services, clinicians, clinical experts, consumers, peak bodies and Australian Government, state and territory health departments.
Join ALIA HLA – we encourage all health libraries to reply to the Commission’s invitation
You have 3 avenues to respond – 20-minute survey; focus group participation; a written submission.
Why? We need to speak up and be counted!
Health Libraries in Australia actively demonstrate they contribute and support accreditation. We have created open access resources:
live searches and accreditation aligned examples with ready-to-fill templates.
The NSQHS (National Safety and Quality Health Service) Standards Live Literature Searchesare a collection of PubMed searches developed by Health Libraries Australia to provide updated evidence related to the NSQHS Standards. These searches are designed to be used by health professionals to find relevant research and information to support best practices in Australian healthcare.
This Value Checklist has been developed to help health librarians systematically* collect evidence to demonstrate the success and value of their services
Full details and access to the checklist are available here
This session is being delivered in collaboration with HLI and ALIA Research Advisory Committee.
Focus groups can be a great way for health librarians seeking to explore attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of their patrons. They can also be used as a brainstorming session to help bring in to focus the issue at hand, which can then be followed by more targeted data collection using a questionnaire or semi-structured interview. This session will outline the pros and cons of using focus groups in a health library context. Whether you’re new to focus groups or looking to refine your approach, this session will provide useful insights to support your evidence-based practice!
Presenter: Katherine Howard
Dr Katherine Howard is Intersect Australia’s Digital Research Analyst for UniSA. She supports UniSA researchers by providing expertise in various digital tools and technologies, facilitating access to NCI’s HPC (Gadi), and coordinating Intersect’s training program for UniSA staff and students. Katherine’s background is in Information Science and she has extensive national and international experience as a researcher and academic. Katherine was most recently a Research Fellow with the ARC-funded ‘Library and Information Science Research in Australia’ (LISRA) project, aimed at enabling and encouraging research in Australia’s library and information profession. Prior to this, she was an Early Career Development Fellow at RMIT; has held academic positions at QUT and UniSA; and undertaken sessional work with Curtin University and Charles Sturt University. Dr Howard has received many scholarships and research awards. She was awarded a two-year scholarship to undertake the Erasmus Mundus International Master in Digital Library Learning, studying with world-renowned Information Science scholars in Norway, Estonia and Italy. Katherine was the first person outside of North America to win a Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, and her PhD, completed at QUT, was nominated for an Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award. Katherine’s research focuses on new and emerging roles for information professionals, particularly around data science, research data management, and in the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector. She also has a keen interest in the Digital Humanities.
ALIA Competencies C2: Reference and Research Services C7: Health Research
