4 Methodological designs
4.1 Slides
Click here to open the slides in a new tab4.2 Example of articles using methodological designs
4.2.1 Phenomenology
Garner, J. (2019). ‘A Little Happy Place’: How Libraries Support Prisoner Wellbeing. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 68(4), 343–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2019.1670774
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This article explores the capacity for Australian prison libraries to support the ‘whole person’. Based on a phenomenological study of the experiences of using prison libraries by Australian adult prisoners, the article identifies three ways that prison libraries can reduce stress, and support positive mental health, and thereby serve the ‘whole person’ within their user groups. The study finds that prison libraries can support prisoner wellbeing by providing opportunities for autonomy, by acting as therapeutic spaces, and by supporting positive behaviour management. As a phenomenological study, the experiences of the prisoners regarding their libraries serving them as ‘whole people’ are described in their own words. We can hear the prisoners’ voices as they describe how their libraries contribute to their wellbeing. Through a study of prisoners’ lived experiences and how these experiences are reflected, or not reflected in the extant literature, it is possible to demonstrate that prison libraries do have the capacity to serve the ‘whole person’ and thereby support prisoner wellbeing.
Peuler, M. (2024). Mother librarians on the tenure track: A phenomenological study of their experiences. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 50(3), 102866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2024.102866
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This exploratory qualitative phenomenological research study examines the lived experiences of thirteen academic librarians who identify as mothers of young children and are also on the tenure track or continuous appointment at an academic library in the United States. The qualitative approach of phenomenology is used to both analyze and interpret academic librarian mothers’ perceptions of their experiences. Phenomenology allows the researcher to explore the phenomena in relation to the lived experiences of mother/tenure track librarians while simultaneously seeking to understand these phenomena. This study provides valuable insight into the perceptions of mothers regarding their experiences in balancing their professional and parenting responsibilities. Results from the thematic analysis revealed six major Themes: 1) Specific tenure/continuation process impact factors; 2) Remote and flexible work options; 3) Scholarship challenges; 4) Time; 5) Librarian-manager relationship; and 6) Parental leave. Giving individuals the opportunity to share their experiences benefits not only the individuals but also the profession overall as we gain insight into the world of others through conclusions drawn from the analysis of their responses.
Sean Burns, C., & Bossaller, J. (2012). Communication overload: A phenomenological inquiry into academic reference librarianship. Journal of Documentation, 68(5), 597–617. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220411211255996
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Purpose This study aims to provide insight on the meaning of communication overload as experienced by modern academic librarians. Communication is the essence of reference librarianship, and a practically endless array of synchronous and asynchronous communication tools (ICTs) are available to facilitate communication.
Design/methodology/approach This study relied on a phenomenological methodology, which included nine in‐depth interviews with academic librarians. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using RQDA, a qualitative analysis software package that facilitates coding, category building, and project management.
Findings Seven themes about librarianship emerged from this research: attending to communication abundance, librarians of two types, instruction not reference, twenty‐first century librarianship, user needs, trusted methods: filter not retrieve, and self‐impact. The shared meaning of communication overload among these librarians is that it is a problem when it detracts from or hinders their ability to assist their users.
Practical implications Further research should contribute to an understanding of communication as a problem when it interferes with serving the librarians’ users, or to an understanding of interpersonal communication within the librarians’ organizational structures and in their broader professional networks.
Social implications Research in popular psychology has focused on the negative impacts on productivity and concentration of living in an always‐plugged‐in environment. This research confirms that librarians should have time to work away from digital distractions to maintain job satisfaction.
Originality/value Important work by Radford and Dervin has focused on communication with users. This study focuses on the impact of ICTs on librarians’ work and personal lives.
4.2.2 Ethnography
Ahoketo, P., & Supranta, J. (2024). “This Building is Ours!” Student Activism Against the University’s Neoliberal Policy. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 22(1), 1–43.
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This article is an ethnography of a student protest against a Finnish university’s plans to give up 25 percent of its campus buildings until 2030. The Finnish universities faced financial deficits primarily due to education cuts implemented by Finland’s right-wing government between 2015 and 2019. To balance the budget, Tampere University proposed surrendering some of its buildings, including the Linna, the home of social sciences, and the main library. The students organized the We Will Not Give Up the Linna Building movement (WWGU) to oppose the university’s decision. This article is an ethnography of the movement’s resistance and outcomes and analyzes what the student activists learned and how they changed during the protest wave in 2021. Our analysis uncovered six key insights the student activists learned on democracy, social media in activism, activism’s temporality and persistence, the role of emotions in activism, and the university’s power structures. The study contributes to a general understanding of the student protest movement, the social transformations that student activists undergo, and how they learn to perceive democracy, develop political imagination, and understand power structures. © 2024, Institute for Education Policy Studies. All rights reserved.
Cavanagh, M. F. (2013). Interpreting reference work with contemporary practice theory. Journal of Documentation, 69(2), 214–242. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220411311300057
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Purpose: In an increasingly competitive field of socially mediated information and knowledge available online, the public library’s traditional services are increasingly questioned for relevancy. Drawing on the core premises of contemporary practice theory to ground the methodological and theoretical perspectives, the aim of this paper is to provide the initial “inside” view of traditional public library face-to-face reference work from a practice-based perspective. Design/methodology/approach: The paper includes an ethnographic case study of face-to-face reference service in four branches of one urban public library involving 170 hours of participant observation, 24 hours of unobtrusive observation, 480 reference interactions, and 28 participant interviews and analysis of policy documents. Findings: This analysis highlights the structuring and mediating role of objects in the enactment of reference work. A practice-based typology of reference interactions is introduced which characterizes the types of questions asked, knowledge processes in action, interpersonal communication style and mode of practice. The collective organizing actions of reference work are unpackaged in a non-hierarchical or flattened plane that recognizes the key actors and dynamics of the practice as it endures across time and space. Originality/value: Evidence and an approach are introduced to support re-conceptualizing public library reference work as an epistemic practice. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Tomlin, N., Tewell, E., Mullins, K., & Dent, V. (2017). In Their Own Voices: An Ethnographic Perspective on Student Use of Library Information Sources. Journal of Library Administration, 57(6), 631–650https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2017.1340776
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A medium-sized academic library system conducted a multi-year (2012–2016), large-scale ethnographic study using a survey, observations, and in-depth interviews. The goal of the project was to better understand how students conduct research and study in the library. The analysis of the large pool of data resulted in various reports of theoretical and practical nature. This article addresses one aspect of the findings: undergraduate and graduate student use of library resources. The findings offer an array of considerations for designing effective library services and provide a more nuanced understanding of how student use the library website, libguides, and library databases as well as print and electronic collections. © 2017, Published with license by Taylor & Francis © 2017, © Natalia Tomlin, Eamon Tewell, Kimberly Mullins, and Valeda Dent.
4.2.3 Case study
Bryant, J., Matthews, G., & Walton, G. (2009). Academic libraries and social and learning space: A case study of Loughborough university library, UK. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 41(1), 7–18https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000608099895
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A key area of debate within the public and academic library sectors across the world is use of physical space. Changing ideas about what a library should be, coupled with the growth of digital collections, has raised fundamental questions about how library buildings are used and the role of space in library services. Alongside these drivers is the need for libraries to produce data on services to inform their future development and design. This article is a case study from Loughborough University in the UK to evaluate the use of a large open learning/social space in the library. The investigation employs an ethnographic approach to gather data, a method little used in the field. Findings are explored under the following themes: collaborative study, individual study, social space, intrusions and interruptions, use of technology, diversity, library staff/library materials and spatial organization. The role of ethnographic studies within the library context is considered alongside the broader theoretical considerations of the use of physical space.
Dabner, N. (2012). “Breaking Ground” in the use of social media: A case study of a university earthquake response to inform educational design with Facebook. Internet and Higher Education, 15(1), 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.06.001
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On September 4 2010, a massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Canterbury region in the South Island of New Zealand. The response from the University of Canterbury was immediate and carefully co-ordinated, with the university’s web-based environment and a responsive site developed on the social media platform ‘Facebook’ becoming prominent sources of support for many months. This case study illustrates how the university effectively utilised these environments and their impact within the wider university community. Case study methodology draws upon literature from the fields of social media, social network communities and crisis informatics. The findings propose that social media can effectively support information sharing, communication and collaboration in higher education contexts, in particular in times of crisis, but suggest there needs to be a defined purpose to integrate these within an institution’s communications strategy given the resource implications and range of social media already used by students. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
Vakkari, P., Pennanen, M., & Serola, S. (2003). Changes of search terms and tactics while writing a research proposal: A longitudinal case study. Information Processing and Management, 39(3), 445–463. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4573(02)00031-6
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The study analyses how students’ growing understanding of the topic and search experience were related to their choice of search tactics and terms while preparing a research proposal for a small empirical study. In addition to that, the findings of the study are used to test Vakkari’s (2001) theory of task-based IR. The research subjects were 22 students of psychology attending a seminar for preparing the proposal. They made a search for their task in PsychINFO database at the beginning and end of the seminar. Data were collected in several ways. A pre- and post-search interview was conducted in both sessions. The students were asked to think aloud in the sessions. This was recorded as were the transaction logs. The results show that search experience was slightly related to the change of facets. Although the students’ vocabulary of the topic grew generating an increased use of specific terms between the sessions, their use of search tactics and operators remained fairly constant. There was no correlation between the terms and tactics used and the total number of useful references found. By comparing these results with the findings of relevant earlier studies the conclusion was drawn that domain knowledge has an impact on searching assuming that users have a sufficient command of the system used. This implies that the tested theory of task-based IR is valid on condition that the searchers are experienced. It is suggested that the theory should be enriched by including search experience in its scope. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
4.2.4 Descriptive
4.2.4.1 Simple
Mongeon, P., Gracey, C., Riddle, P., Hare, M., Simard, M.-A., & Sauvé, J.-S. (2023). Mapping information research in Canada. The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science / La Revue canadienne des sciences de l’information et de bibliothéconomie, 46(2), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjils-rcsib.v46i2.15568
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This study examines the Canadian information research landscape through the lens of the eight academic units hosting ALA-accredited programs. We created a citation-based network utilizing the scholarly articles published by the faculty members and PhD students at each academic unit to identify and characterize distinct research clusters within the field. Then we determined how the publications and researchers from each unit are distributed across the clusters to describe their area of specialization. Our findings emphasize how the inter-, multi-, and transdisciplinary nature of the Canadian information research landscape forms a rich mosaic of information scholarship.
4.2.4.2 Comparative
Riddle, P., Simard, M.-A., Gone, P., Li, V., & Mongeon, P. (2023). The state of green open access in Canadian universities. The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science / La Revue canadienne des sciences de l’information et de bibliothéconomie, 46(2), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjils-rcsib.v46i2.15358
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This study investigates the use of institutional repositories for self-archiving peer-reviewed work in the U15 (an association of fifteen Canadian research-intensive universities). It relates usage with university open access (OA) policy types and publisher policy embargoes. We show that of all articles found in OpenAlex attributed to U15 researchers, 45.1 to 56.6% are available as Gold or Green OA, yet only 0.5 to 10.7% (mean 4.2%) of these can be found on their respective U15 IRs. Our investigation shows a lack of OA policies from most institutions, journal policies with embargoes exceeding 12 months, and incomplete policy information.
Simard, M.-A., Ghiasi, G., Mongeon, P., & Larivière, V. (2022). National differences in dissemination and use of open access literature. PLOS ONE, 17(8), e0272730. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272730
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Open Access (OA) dissemination has been gaining a lot of momentum over the last decade, thanks to the implementation of several OA policies by funders and institutions, as well as the development of several new platforms that facilitate the publication of OA content at low or no cost. Studies have shown that nearly half of the contemporary scientific literature could be available online for free. However, few studies have compared the use of OA literature across countries. This study aims to provide a global picture of OA adoption by countries, using two indicators: publications in OA and references made to articles in OA. We find that, on average, low-income countries are publishing and citing OA at the highest rate, while upper middle-income countries and higher-income countries publish and cite OA articles at below world-average rates. These results highlight national differences in OA uptake and suggest that more OA initiatives at the institutional, national, and international levels are needed to support wider adoption of open scholarship.
4.2.5 Correlational
4.2.5.1 descriptive
Hare, M., Krause, G., MacKnight, K., Bowman, T. D., Costas, R., & Mongeon, P. (2024). Do you cite what you tweet? Investigating the relationship between tweeting and citing research articles. Quantitative Science Studies, 5(2), 332–350. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00296
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The last decade of altmetrics research has demonstrated that altmetrics have a low to moderate correlation with citations, depending on the platform and the discipline, among other factors. Most past studies used academic works as their unit of analysis to determine whether the attention they received on Twitter was a good predictor of academic engagement. Our work revisits the relationship between tweets and citations where the tweet itself is the unit of analysis, and the question is to determine if, at the individual level, the act of tweeting an academic work can shed light on the likelihood of the act of citing that same work. We model this relationship by considering the research activity of the tweeter and its relationship to the tweeted work. The results show that tweeters are more likely to cite works affiliated with their same institution, works published in journals in which they also have published, and works in which they hold authorship. It finds that the older the academic age of a tweeter the less likely they are to cite what they tweet, though there is a positive relationship between citations and the number of works they have published and references they have accumulated over time.
4.2.5.2 predictive
4.2.6 Experimental
4.2.7 Quasi-experimental
4.2.8 Mixed-methods
Bowles-Terry, M. (2012). Library instruction and academic success: A mixed-methods assessment of a library instruction Program. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 7(1), 82–95. https://doi.org/10.18438/b8ps4d
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Objectives - This study examines the connection between student academic success and information literacy instruction. Locally, it allowed librarians to ascertain the institution’s saturation rate for information literacy instruction and identify academic programs not utilizing library instruction services. In a broader application, it provides an argument for a tiered program of information literacy instruction and offers student perspectives on improving a library instruction program. Methods - Focus groups with 15 graduating seniors, all of whom had attended at least one library instruction session, discussed student experiences and preferences regarding library instruction. An analysis of 4,489 academic transcripts of graduating seniors identified differences in grade point average (GPA) between students with different levels of library instruction. Results - Students value library instruction for orientation purposes as beginning students, and specialized, discipline-specific library instruction in upper-level courses. There is a statistically significant difference in GPA between graduating seniors who had library instruction in upper-level courses (defined in this study as post-freshman-level) and those who did not. Conclusions - Library instruction seems to make the most difference to student success when it is repeated at different levels in the university curriculum, especially when it is offered in upper-level courses. Instruction librarians should differentiate between lower-division and upper-division learning objectives for students in order to create a more cohesive and non-repetitive information literacy curriculum. © 2012 Bowles-Terry.
Chan, T. T. W., Lam, A. H. C., & Chiu, D. K. W. (2020). From Facebook to Instagram: Exploring user engagement in an academic library. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102229
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It is trendy for university libraries to offer services on social media (SM) platforms. As many millennials prefer to use apps of photo-snapping, libraries unavoidably start to use Instagram to connect with users. This study examines the effectiveness of the use of Facebook and Instagram in The University of Hong Kong Libraries (HKUL), by a mixed-method approach to analyze the posts on the two SM sites of HKUL and user feedback collected from interviews on campus. The content analysis surprisingly revealed that both Facebook and Instagram received very low user engagement, and the most frequently posted contents were library operational news and library events. The interviewees opined that they welcomed HKUL’s use of Facebook and Instagram, but they urged HKUL to change its uninteresting style on the SM sites and make better use of the SM features to attract users’ attention. This study provides insights for librarians for their effective management and adoption of SM, especially for content design and management. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.
Colón-Aguirre, M., & Bright, K. M. (2024). “So, That Would Have Been Useful”: Curriculum in LIS in Support of Liaison Librarian Preparation. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 65(4), 373–389. https://doi.org/10.3138/jelis-2023-0022
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LIS education has historically come under fire for what some perceive as a disconnect between what is taught in the classroom and what the job really entails. This study is part of a larger research study that used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design to investigate liaison librarians’ perceptions of their academic preparation to take on the liaison role, specifically whether and how their LIS program curriculum prepared them for this role. This qualitative strand of the study relied on in-depth semi-structured interviews of survey participants to explore two research questions: What are the perceptions of academic liaison librarians regarding the degree to which their programs prepared them for their current role? And which factors influenced these perceptions? This research identified the main reasons hindering the effectiveness of LIS education for preparing librarians for the liaison role to be a range of complex issues that LIS programs and educators should consider, such as changing career plans among students who did not initially plan to become liaison librarians, students not taking certain courses due to scheduling or course timing issues, and the abstract nature of some course content which obscures connections to real-world practice. Participants also identified courses in collection development, reference, instruction, and research methods as those that should take center stage when preparing liaison librarians. These results have the potential to inform various aspects of LIS program curriculum planning and design and provide course-selection guidance for LIS students considering a career in academic libraries. © Association for Library and Information Science Education, 2024.
Wedlake, S., Coward, C., & Lee, J. H. (2024). How games can support misinformation education: A sociocultural perspective. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 75(13), 1480–1497. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24954
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This study uses a sociocultural perspective, which views literacy as embedded in people’s daily practices and shaped by social contexts, to explore how a misinformation escape room can support learning about misinformation. While the sociocultural perspective has a rich theoretical foundation, it has rarely been used to examine, much less evaluate, information and media literacy interventions. In this paper, we posit that the topic of misinformation makes a strong case for using the sociocultural model and explore a misinformation escape room through this lens. We present findings of a nationwide study of an online misinformation escape room with post-game debrief discussion conducted at 10 public libraries that hosted 53 game sessions involving 211 players. The mixed methods study finds the game and accompanying debrief supported players in reflecting upon social media platform infrastructures, the psychological and emotional dimensions of misinformation, and how their personal behaviors intersect with online misinformation. We discuss how the sociocultural perspective can enrich our understanding of the role played by certain attributes of the game—narrative, debrief, and collaboration—thereby providing insights for the design of media and information literacy interventions. © 2024 Association for Information Science and Technology.