Douglas Raber

Discourse analysis: method and application in the study of information

Abstract Library and information science (LIS) is a discipline based on communication. Research questions in LIS include those focusing on the retrieval use of information, information services, and information technology. Moreover, the questions asked and the thought relevant to the study of information are communicated formally within the profession, primarily through the literature. This sensitivity to communication suggests that discourse analysis is a valuable method for inquiry in LIS. Discourse analysis has the advantage of being able to address questions regarding both spoken and written communications and so can be applied to matters of articulations of purpose and practice of information study that appear in books and journals in the field. Two key elements of language form the heart of discourse analysis: form (the structure of the language as code, including grammar and semantics) and function (language as a social phenomenon). Applications of discourse analysis to information include investigation of the social, political, and technical uses of the word “information” as they have implications for theory and practice.

Information as sign: semiotics and information science

From the perspective of semiotics, “information” is an ambiguous theoretical concept because the word is used to represent both signifier and signified, both text and content. Using the work of Fernand de Saussure, this paper explores theoretical possibilities that open by virtue of understanding information as sign. Of particular interest is the way semiotics suggests ways to bridge the theoretical gap between information as thing and information as cognitive phenomenon by positing information as a cultural phenomenon.

The cultural state of the Fin de Millénaire library

The writings on the library of today exhibit some conflicts that strike at the purpose of the library. One the one hand, the library is seen as an extension of what could be termed a modern condition whose origins extend back in time about four centuries. On the other hand, it is seen as a reaction to that modern condition and may be reflective of a postmodern condition. This is not to say that the library follows an explicitly postmodernist program but that it embodies some of the characteristics of what observers have labeled as a particular cultural condition. This article is an examination of several writings in the field of library and information science as an effort to explicate some of the apparent discursive conflicts.

Information seeking behavior of Mongolian scholars

This poster presents the preliminary results of the study on information needs and information seeking behavior of Mongolian scholars, which was conducted in the summer of 2006

Social capital and information science research

The concept of social capital has become a popular area of research in many social science fields, including public policy, political science, economics, community development, sociology, anthropology, and education. Increasingly, it has been used as the conceptual framework for research in the area of information studies including such topics as knowledge integration (Bhandar, Pan & Tan, 2007), knowledge sharing (Huysman & Wulf, 2006), access to information by the homeless (Hersberger, 2003), community informatics (Williams and Durrance, in press), and information seeking behavior (Johnson, in press). The concept has an ideological foundation in the theories of Pierre Bourdieu (1980), with two divergent approaches to its study emerging during the last two decades: one focusing on social capital as a collective asset and the other regarding it as an individual asset. The main proponent of the first approach is political scientist Robert Putnam who defines social capital as inhering in the “dense networks of social interaction” which foster “sturdy norms of generalized reciprocity and encourage the emergence of social trust” (Putnam, 1995, p. 66). Social network analysts, on the other hand, view social capital as resources to which individuals have access through their social relationships. Nan Lin, who is the main proponent of this approach, defines social capital as “resources embedded in a social structure which are accessed and/or mobilized in purposive actions” (Lin, 2001a, p. 12). While the concept of social capital may be operationalized differently depending on the point of view of the researcher, its value to information science research is in providing a framework within which to understand the relationship between social structure and information access. Participants in this panel will discuss social capital from various vantage points, including the role of social capital in solidifying power relationships, the effect of recent government policies on reducing social capital, and the relationship between social capital and the use of libraries and information technology. The intent of the panel is to clarify the meaning(s) of social capital and to demonstrate how the concept may be used in information science research.

The Digital Divide: Facing a Crisis or Creating a Myth: Edited by Benjamin A. Compaine. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001. 357 pp.

Technology Electronic Reviews (ISSN: 1533-9165) is a periodical copyright