Lynn Westbrook

Qualitative Research Methods: A Review of Major Stages, Data Analysis Techniques, and Quality Controls.

This review examines the basic tenets of qualitative or naturalistic methods in terms of their original grounding in the basic social sciences and their value to library and information science research. Examination of the five key points provides the understanding needed to move from contemplation to use of these methods: the research problem, data gathering, content analysis, theory development, and validity techniques. The past 50 years have seen a strong development of the theories and techniques associated with the naturalistic paradigm and qualitative research methods. Scholars in the field of library and information science (LIS) make increasing use of this approach to address certain research questions. Raya Fidel’s excellent “guided tour through the world of such research” (Fidel, 1993, p. 220) provides an invaluable context for scholars considering the use of these methods. Through the following review the basic tenets of those methods will be examined in terms of their original grounding in the basic social sciences and their value to LIS research in particular. Given the vast scope of thii topic, certain parameters must be set. First, this review is expected to be of particular value to those readers who are knowledgeable regarding general research principles but more interested than experienced in the application of qualitative methods. Second, this review is selective rather than exhaustive. Those methods, theories, and authors that most illustrate the perspective of qualitative work for this audience have been covered. Together, these choices for this audience might support the active exploration of thii research approach. In virtually every area of LIS research, from system design to user education evaluation, the concatenation of factors that finally lead a user to an interaction with some part of an information system is increasingly complex. Naturalistic work seeks out all aspects of that complexity on the grounds that they are essential to understanding the behavior of which they are a part. “It is difficult to imagine a human activity that is context-free” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 114). The flexibility and sensitivity of the human instrument are critical to the effort to understand this complexity.

Mental models: a theoretical overview and preliminary study

Within the socio-cognitive framework of sense-making, this paper explicates the term ‘mental model’ and its associated concepts, analyzes the controversies and connections pertaining to mental model research in information studies, and reports the findings of an exploratory study of the mental models of an academic information system. As one aspect of the process of making sense out of their experiences, individuals develop mental models of the systems and processes with which they interact. These models include (1) key components, (2) relationships between those components, and (3) techniques for interacting with the system or process. The small-scale study discussed here identifies three distinct patterns across the models of information seeking held by graduate students in a reference course.

Chat reference communication patterns and implications: applying politeness theory

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the use of formality indicators in chat reference interchanges within the context of politeness theory, with its corollaries of face‐threat and social relationship development.Design/methodology/approach – This discourse analysis identifies the syntactic and content indicators and patterns of formality levels in a purposive sample of 402 chat transcripts (covering 6,572 minutes) from one academic year at a large, US, public university.Findings – Syntactic formality markers include regular use of contractions, slang, sentence fragments, and non‐standard punctuation as well as limited use of acronyms and abbreviations with rare use of emoticons. Content‐based markers included apologies, self‐disclosure, and expressions of extreme need. Use patterns are related to the level of responsibility assumed by the librarian as well as the interview stages.Research limitations/implications – A limited data source and potential coder bias are the two limitations of thi...

Understanding crisis information needs in context: The case of intimate partner violence survivors

The pervasive, personal crisis of intimate partner violence (IPV) demands community information resources in workforce, health care, mental health, public housing, criminal justice, and social service arenas. Although generally underutilized, public libraries have a pivotal role to play as the only public institution specifically structured to support community information access. In order to provide effective service, however, librarians must understand the information complexities of the IPV context. This study triangulates two populations and two data‐gathering techniques in an effort to provide a deeper understanding of survivors’ information needs. The first segment analyzes the information issues of IPV survivors in an active bulletin board (BB) community; the second segment utilizes in‐depth interviews with fifty‐seven individuals (safe‐house staff, survivors, and police officers) in ten Texas cities. The information experiences were analyzed in the context of public library service and in light of everyday life information seeking (ELIS) theory.

Passing the Halfway Mark: LIS Curricula Incorporating User Education Courses

Many library and information studies (LIS) programs in the United States offer different courses to prepare students for an increasingly educational role. Studies from 1974 through 1996 indicate a gradual rise in the number of courses offered in the areas of bibliographic instruction, information literacy, and user education. Most of these studies were limited by the nonresponse rates of the surveys used. This study, however, examines the public Web sites of each American Library Association-accredited LIS program in the United States, finding that, for the first time, over half of the current programs offer full, regularly scheduled courses in user education.

Digital information support for domestic violence victims

With domestic violence directly impacting over 5 million victims in the United States annually, the growing e-health and e-government networks are developing digitally based resources for both victims and those who aid them. The well-established community information and referral role of public libraries dovetails with this digital referral network model; however, no study of the actual service provided by public libraries is available. This examination of e-mail reference responses to requests for safe-house contact information revealed major gaps in cyber-safety awareness and uneven implementation of professional standards for virtual reference service. Implications for information system design, professional standards, education, and future research are discussed.

Information-based mitigation of intimate partner violence

Compelled Nonuse of Information (CNI) is a model of information behavior developed by Houston (2009, 2011a). CNI posits the existence of nonvolitional mechanisms that force information behaviors beyond the control of the individual. The CNI model consists of six primary CNI types: intrinsic somatic barriers, socio‐environmental barriers, authoritarian barriers, threshold knowledge shortfall barriers, attention shortfall barriers, and filtering barriers. This typology of information interaction limitations functions across a full range of socio‐economic contexts and thus lends itself to analysis of intractable power‐based inequities such as intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV includes physical, mental, financial, and social attacks that, if known, generate socially sanctioned responses of both formal (e.g., law enforcement) and informal (e.g., pastoral) approaches. Using the CNI framework to analyze information factors in distinct facets of the IPV experience, as identified in the cross disciplinary research on this phenomenon, this article provides a practical application of CNI to a complicated, high‐risk phenomenon.

“I’m Not a Social Worker”: An Information Service Model for Working with Patrons in Crisis

Public library patrons rarely reveal their personal crises, but experienced reference librarians quickly recognize the difference between casual and intense questions. Assuming professional responsibility for meeting such information needs, many librarians live with the ambiguity of the librarian/social worker dichotomy. Seeking that delicate balance between the librarian’s customized information service and the social worker’s case management triage, librarians must understand the situated information needs of their in-crisis patrons. For these individuals self-identity becomes a primary factor in any service interaction, including the opportunities and threats that new information generates. This article posits a four-part model of reference service that is centered on self-identity relationships between patrons and their crisis situations. The model incorporates information service guidelines. Intimate partner violence is used as the crisis context with which to explicate the model’s components. Librarians are not social workers, but they are asked to and certainly can provide practical, effective problem-solving information.

Virtual reference training: The second generation

First-generation digital reference training centered on technology, policies, procedures, and basic online communication tactics. Recent research and theoretical developments in adult education, digital communication, cognitive psychology, and human–computer interaction can move digital reference training into its second generation. Synthesizing current interdisciplinary developments, this paper presents four overarching guidelines and essential training principles for each stage of the reference interview.

Intimate partner violence online: Expectations and agency in question and answer websites

This article presents the first situation‐rooted typology of intimate partner violence (IPV) postings in social question and answer (Q&A) sites. Survivors as well as abusers post high‐risk health, legal, and financial questions to Q&A sites; answers come from individuals who self‐identify as lawyers, experts, survivors, and abusers. Using grounded theory this study examines 1,241 individual posts, each within its own context, raising issues of agency and expectations. Informed by Savolainens everyday life information seeking (ELIS) and Nahls affective load theory (ALT), the resultant Q&A typology suggests implications for IPV service design, policy development, and research priorities.