The Critical Incident Technique and the Qualitative Evaluation of the Connecting Libraries and Schools Project

Abstract

This article describes Flanagan's Critical Incident Technique (CIT) for those seeking guidance in its application. Examples in the library and information science (LIS) fi eld are discussed, including an indepth example of a CIT study conducted as part of a qualitative evaluation of the Connecting Libraries and Schools Project (CLASP) in New York City. The CLASP study analyzed critical incidents from 2,416 fi fth and seventh grade students regarding their perceptions of interactions with urban public librarians and library staff. For both positive and negative critical incidents, the most important factor in these preadolescent's perception of successful library visits is the attitude of the librarian or staff member they encounter.

Scholarly article seeking, reading, and use: a continuing evolution from print to electronic in the sciences and social sciences

“…27 Since the introduction of the critical incident technique, it has been used in a variety of contexts, including library use studies. 28,29 The survey uses the last scholarly reading as a stand in for a 'critical' incident of reading. 30 By asking about a specific most recent reading, respondents should be able to recall that reading more clearly than a number of older readings.…”

Embedded Academic Librarianship: A Review of the Literature

“…Brettle et al (2010) suggested clinical librarians utilize the critical incident technique (CIT) to connect their work to important customer outcomes, which may also be appropriate for programs embedded to a lesser degree. CIT studies can be conducted by collecting in depth customer stories about positive and negative incidents or by presenting specific critical incidents followed by questions about their perceptions and behaviors following the incidents (Radford, 2006). While the stories and perceptions of customers may have enough influence on some institutional stakeholders, CIT is primarily a qualitative methodology.…”

The information environment and information behaviour of the Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) in the context of safety and emergency response: An exploratory study

“…Interviewees were asked what kinds of information they required for their role in terms of health, safety and emergency response and how they shared such information. To facilitate this, a modified version of the critical incident technique was then used to elicit instances of information behaviour in the workplace environment, a method which has been utilised by other researchers to gather examples of information behaviour in relation to work tasks [see for example, 62,63,64]. Additionally OIMs were asked to consider the sharing of best practice with their workforce and the sharing of information with other OIMs, and whether these had taken on increased significance since the Piper Alpha disaster.…”