Research and practice

Abstract

Citation: HEPWORTH, M., GRUNEWALD, P. and WALTON, G.L., 2014.Research and practice: a critical reflection on approaches that underpin research into people's information behaviour.Journal of Documentation, 70 (6), pp. -1053.Additional Information:• Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical discussion on the nature of research into people's information behaviour, and in particular the contribution of the phenomenological approach and the significance of these approaches for the development of information solutions.Design/methodology/approach -The approach takes the form of a conceptual analysis drawing on the research literature and personal research experience.Findings -The paper brings to the foreground the relative value of different conceptual approaches and how these underpin and relate to the development of information solutions.Research limitations/implications -The paper, due to the breadth and complexity of the subject, serves to highlight key issues and bringing together ideas. Some topics deserve further explanation. However, this was beyond the scope of this paper.Practical implications -A conceptual framework is provided that indicates the value of the epistemic spectrum for information behaviour studies and provides support for action research and participative design.Social implications -Taking a phenomenological approach, and consequently either a first person approach and/or a highly participative approach to research, challenges the relationship between researcher and respondent. It also raises questions about why we conduct research and for whom it is intended.Originality/value -The paper makes explicit the underlying philosophical assumptions and how these ideas influence the way we conduct research; it highlights the significance of Cartesian dualism and indicates the significance of these assumptions for the development of information solutions. It supports the view that researchers and developers should be open to respondents leading the exploration of their needs.

Information-seeking behaviours of teacher students: A systematic review of quantitative methods literature

“…This instrumental and quantitative approach to investigate information seeking reflects Lloyd's (2017) information literacy research practical space, where research is conducted from a practitioner's perspective. In addition, it mirrors the positivist/analytical approach to information behaviour research conceptualised by Hepworth, Grunewald and Walton (2014).…”

“…This suggests that more quantitative and mixed methods research from a postpositivist/qualitative (Hepworth et al, 2014) and conceptual/researcher (Lloyd, 2017) perspective are needed. Qualitative factors of non-normative behaviours can be studied even with an exclusively quantitative approach and may, with complementing qualitative methods, provide even more depth and nuance.…”

“…Information-searching behaviour is "a sub-set of information-seeking, particularly From Hepworth, Grunewald and Walton's (2014) summary of the different epistemological approaches, it is reasonable to assume that information-seeking behaviour studies should include affective factors or behaviours. In affective science, which is the study of emotion or affect, there are several competing theoretical approaches to the affective phenomena, and there is no general definition of the concepts.…”

“…UNESCO, 2016; AASL, 2018) they will teach as future teachers was studied as well as their understanding of the school library/librarian as a pedagogical resource. The knowledge and understanding was measured quantitatively as learning outcomes in surveys, not providing any postpositivist/interpretivist (Hepworth et al, 2014) and conceptual/researcher (Lloyd, 2017) depth.…”

Self-Portrait, Selfie, Self: Notes on Identity and Documentation in the Digital Age

“…As Hepworth and colleagues [99] have argued, phenomenological findings are useful for identifying tacit and implicit dimensions that should feed into the design of future information systems. Recall that social computing has been implicated in the creation of a new, troublesome concept of self-identity.…”