Critical and Alternative Research Methods
While qualitative and quantitative methods are the dominant research approaches in LIS An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings., other methods provide what can be considered critical or alternative perspectives. These methods provide alternatives to the scientific research tradition that has its own boundaries and conceptions of what is suitable or appropriate. In this way, critical and alternative methods expand existing understandings of research and the world by contributing their own theoretical frameworks and offer analyses of various subjects and phenomena, especially as they relate to people, society, and socio-political systems. This section highlights three approaches among many in LIS: feminist research An approach to research that uses feminist values and beliefs to guide research projects. In this framework, the researcher is an active participant in the research., Indigenous research An approach to research that is grounded in Indigenous nations, communities, and knowledge systems. Indigenous research may also be conducted by Indigenous scholars., and ethnographic research.
Feminist Research
Feminist research represents a wide variety of interdisciplinary works and a large set of methods. Feminist research utilizes feminist values and beliefs with the intent of examining and transforming existing gender relations. It centers women’s experiences and foregrounds the researcher as an active participant, positioning lived experience as an important way of knowing. Feminist research embraces all types of methods that illuminate the societal functions of gender and systems of oppression, whether qualitative, quantitative, or otherwise. Methods such as personal narratives, interviews, focus groups, oral histories, discourse analysis, and action research have been used in order to center subjective knowledge and disrupt power dynamics between the researcher and research participants.
Feminist research has many implications within LIS, as it is a female-intensive profession that is subject to the harms of patriarchy in the forms of unequal pay, disproportionate gender distribution at the leadership level, blocked career paths, and other issues that extend beyond the workplace. Feminist research has been applied to areas of librarianship that include instruction, technology, and leadership, among others; for a review of feminist approaches in information science, see Greenshields and Given (2022) in the Concept 3 References. Feminist research methods are effective in investigating all topics that relate to the status of women in some way, which encompass a large number of issues that impact library workers and patrons alike.
Indigenous Research
Indigenous research is any research conducted by or meaningfully grounded in Indigenous nations, communities, and knowledge systems. Indigenous research considers ways of knowing about the world and the nature of reality to be inseparable, and, in this way, has an entirely different approach from that of traditional empirical research. Relationality A central tenant for Indigenous research where everything (people, places, the environment) are inherently connected and intertwined., including interconnected relationships with people, communities, places, and the natural environment, is central to Indigenous research. These relationships invariably affect the methods and processes used. As a result, this way of conducting research recognizes that its processes will always be different because the relationships in any given time and place will be unique. Specific methods and texts may include oral traditions, rituals, folklore, music, and artifacts. It is important to remember that Indigeneity is not a monolith, and every community likely approaches research in different and nuanced ways.
Importantly, the research conducted is meant to benefit all members of the community that are studied and involved. Because Indigenous populations have historically experienced and continue to experience subjugation through colonialism, such research seeks to benefit a community and is conducted in collaboration with that community, thus operating as a moral and politically-aware process. The protection of Indigenous knowledge is a major consideration of the research, which often means that the researcher does not own or have sole responsibility for the data, and it is instead held by all participants. Relatedly, researchers necessarily consider questions at the heart of what it means to research, including why, for whom, to whose benefit, and to what ends research is conducted and produced. For a perspective on Indigenous research in the LIS context, see Bane’s post under Concept 3 References.
Ethnographic Research
Ethnography Originating from the anthropology discipline, these qualitative research methods aim to understand thoughts, experiences, and actions of a culture through observation and interpretation. includes a range of qualitative methods that originate from the field of anthropology. It seeks to understand the thoughts, experiences, and/or actions of a given culture through observation and interpretation. As such, it can allow for detailed description and understanding. Ethnographic methods include participant observation, mapping of experiences, and interviews. Data collection often takes a long period of time, and ethnographic studies purposefully do not establish definitive outcomes or timelines, which allows for the data and ongoing contextualization to influence the research trajectory.
Because of its focus upon social behaviors, ethnography is particularly useful for developing insights into people’s knowledge and experiences. In the library setting, this often translates into seeking a better understanding of patron needs and how users engage with library spaces, services, and collections. Ethnography has been applied to an increasing number of studies in libraries since the mid-2000s and has achieved enough traction that professionals assert that some research projects are better described as “ethnographish” due to being short-term, narrowly-scoped, and entirely or closely replicated from a prior study (Lanclos and Asher 2016). Ethnography is an approach that necessitates a great deal of time as well as comfort with ambiguity, as the project is likely to change over time and may not yield results The section of a research article where researchers share the results from the research. This section takes the results and directly connects them to the research questions or hypotheses posed at the start of the article. Also can be called “Findings.” that are immediately applicable. For more on the use of ethnographic methods in LIS, as well as recommendations before beginning your own ethnographic research project, see Kipphut-Smith’s post under Concept 3 References.
Exercise
Complete the following exercise in your LPOL Workbook. This exercise will help you check for learning, engage with the material, and work through new ideas.
First, on a piece of paper or wherever you take notes, determine the following options:
- I want my research project to: (select all that apply)
- Seek to challenge oppression
- Be based upon scientific methods
- Lead to specific takeaways for my area of interest
- Draw upon studies in fields outside of LIS
- Undecided
- Other:
- My research project will use data that are: (select all that apply)
- Qualitative
- Quantitative
- Mixed Methods
- Not applicable
- Undecided
- Other:
- My research project could be informed by research done in these field(s): (select all that apply)
- Ethnic studies
- Education
- Feminist studies
- Literature and composition
- Information technology
- Other:
Now, using the 2.3.3: Research Approaches and You, Part Two worksheet in your LPOL Workbook, reflect on your research project and goals to consider how it might be informed by other fields and benefit from a theoretical framework The theoretical lens that a researcher uses to ground their research. Examples include critical race theory, critical pedagogy, etc. .
Topic 3 References
Bane, Treasa. “Information Services for Indigenous Communities.” The Librarian Parlor. November 7, 2018. https://libparlor.com/2018/11/07/information-services-for-indigenous-communities/
Greenshields, Mary C., and Lisa M. Given. “Are We There Yet? Feminist Approaches in Information Science.” Information Research 27, special issue (2022). doi.org/10.47989/colis2207
George, Kelsey. 2019. “Community-based Participatory Research in Libraries: Reevaluating the Researcher’s Role in Research.” The Librarian Parlor. April 9, 2019. https://libparlor.com/2019/04/09/community-based-participatory-research/
Kipphut-Smith, Shannon. “Ethnographic Research in Academic Libraries.” The Librarian Parlor. September 12, 2018. https://libparlor.com/2018/09/12/ethnographic-research-in-academic-libraries/
Lanclos, Donna, and Andrew D. Asher. “‘Ethnographish’: The State of the Ethnography in Libraries.” Weave: Journal of Library User Experience 1, no. 5 (2016).doi.org/10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.503
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed Books, 1999.
Critical and Alternative Research Methods
While qualitative and quantitative methods are the dominant research approaches in LISLibrary and Information Science An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings., other methods provide what can be considered critical or alternative perspectives. These methods provide alternatives to the scientific research tradition that has its own boundaries and conceptions of what is suitable or appropriate. In this way, critical and alternative methods expand existing understandings of research and the world by contributing their own theoretical frameworks and offer analyses of various subjects and phenomena, especially as they relate to people, society, and socio-political systems. This section highlights three approaches among many in LIS: feminist researchFeminist research An approach to research that uses feminist values and beliefs to guide research projects. In this framework, the researcher is an active participant in the research., Indigenous researchIndigenous research An approach to research that is grounded in Indigenous nations, communities, and knowledge systems. Indigenous research may also be conducted by Indigenous scholars., and ethnographic research.
Feminist Research
Feminist research represents a wide variety of interdisciplinary works and a large set of methods. Feminist research utilizes feminist values and beliefs with the intent of examining and transforming existing gender relations. It centers women’s experiences and foregrounds the researcher as an active participant, positioning lived experience as an important way of knowing. Feminist research embraces all types of methods that illuminate the societal functions of gender and systems of oppression, whether qualitative, quantitative, or otherwise. Methods such as personal narratives, interviews, focus groups, oral histories, discourse analysis, and action research have been used in order to center subjective knowledge and disrupt power dynamics between the researcher and research participants.
Feminist research has many implications within LIS, as it is a female-intensive profession that is subject to the harms of patriarchy in the forms of unequal pay, disproportionate gender distribution at the leadership level, blocked career paths, and other issues that extend beyond the workplace. Feminist research has been applied to areas of librarianship that include instruction, technology, and leadership, among others; for a review of feminist approaches in information science, see Greenshields and Given (2022) in the Concept 3 References. Feminist research methods are effective in investigating all topics that relate to the status of women in some way, which encompass a large number of issues that impact library workers and patrons alike.
Indigenous Research
Indigenous research is any research conducted by or meaningfully grounded in Indigenous nations, communities, and knowledge systems. Indigenous research considers ways of knowing about the world and the nature of reality to be inseparable, and, in this way, has an entirely different approach from that of traditional empirical research. RelationalityRelationality A central tenant for Indigenous research where everything (people, places, the environment) are inherently connected and intertwined., including interconnected relationships with people, communities, places, and the natural environment, is central to Indigenous research. These relationships invariably affect the methods and processes used. As a result, this way of conducting research recognizes that its processes will always be different because the relationships in any given time and place will be unique. Specific methods and texts may include oral traditions, rituals, folklore, music, and artifacts. It is important to remember that Indigeneity is not a monolith, and every community likely approaches research in different and nuanced ways.
Importantly, the research conducted is meant to benefit all members of the community that are studied and involved. Because Indigenous populations have historically experienced and continue to experience subjugation through colonialism, such research seeks to benefit a community and is conducted in collaboration with that community, thus operating as a moral and politically-aware process. The protection of Indigenous knowledge is a major consideration of the research, which often means that the researcher does not own or have sole responsibility for the data, and it is instead held by all participants. Relatedly, researchers necessarily consider questions at the heart of what it means to research, including why, for whom, to whose benefit, and to what ends research is conducted and produced. For a perspective on Indigenous research in the LIS context, see Bane’s post under Concept 3 References.
Ethnographic Research
EthnographyEthnography Originating from the anthropology discipline, these qualitative research methods aim to understand thoughts, experiences, and actions of a culture through observation and interpretation. includes a range of qualitative methods that originate from the field of anthropology. It seeks to understand the thoughts, experiences, and/or actions of a given culture through observation and interpretation. As such, it can allow for detailed description and understanding. Ethnographic methods include participant observation, mapping of experiences, and interviews. Data collection often takes a long period of time, and ethnographic studies purposefully do not establish definitive outcomes or timelines, which allows for the data and ongoing contextualization to influence the research trajectory.
Because of its focus upon social behaviors, ethnography is particularly useful for developing insights into people’s knowledge and experiences. In the library setting, this often translates into seeking a better understanding of patron needs and how users engage with library spaces, services, and collections. Ethnography has been applied to an increasing number of studies in libraries since the mid-2000s and has achieved enough traction that professionals assert that some research projects are better described as “ethnographish” due to being short-term, narrowly-scoped, and entirely or closely replicated from a prior study (Lanclos and Asher 2016). Ethnography is an approach that necessitates a great deal of time as well as comfort with ambiguity, as the project is likely to change over time and may not yield resultsResults The section of a research article where researchers share the results from the research. This section takes the results and directly connects them to the research questions or hypotheses posed at the start of the article. Also can be called “Findings.” that are immediately applicable. For more on the use of ethnographic methods in LIS, as well as recommendations before beginning your own ethnographic research project, see Kipphut-Smith’s post under Concept 3 References.
Exercise
Complete the following exercise in your LPOL Workbook. This exercise will help you check for learning, engage with the material, and work through new ideas.
First, on a piece of paper or wherever you take notes, determine the following options:
Now, using the 2.3.3: Research Approaches and You, Part Two worksheet in your LPOL Workbook, reflect on your research project and goals to consider how it might be informed by other fields and benefit from a theoretical frameworkTheoretical framework The theoretical lens that a researcher uses to ground their research. Examples include critical race theory, critical pedagogy, etc. .
Topic 3 References
Bane, Treasa. “Information Services for Indigenous Communities.” The Librarian Parlor. November 7, 2018. https://libparlor.com/2018/11/07/information-services-for-indigenous-communities/
Greenshields, Mary C., and Lisa M. Given. “Are We There Yet? Feminist Approaches in Information Science.” Information Research 27, special issue (2022). doi.org/10.47989/colis2207
George, Kelsey. 2019. “Community-based Participatory Research in Libraries: Reevaluating the Researcher’s Role in Research.” The Librarian Parlor. April 9, 2019. https://libparlor.com/2019/04/09/community-based-participatory-research/
Kipphut-Smith, Shannon. “Ethnographic Research in Academic Libraries.” The Librarian Parlor. September 12, 2018. https://libparlor.com/2018/09/12/ethnographic-research-in-academic-libraries/
Lanclos, Donna, and Andrew D. Asher. “‘Ethnographish’: The State of the Ethnography in Libraries.” Weave: Journal of Library User Experience 1, no. 5 (2016).doi.org/10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.503
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed Books, 1999.