Sharing and non sharing of work related information amongst - - PDF document

2012‐03‐28 1

Sharing and non‐sharing of work‐ related information amongst scholars within the field of design research

• la.pilerot@hb.se

2012‐03‐28 2

COMPILATION THESIS

Where Where is my is my project project located located? ?

Keywords Keywords: :

I f i i I f i i ( Ll d ( Ll d) ) – Information practices Information practices (e.g. Lloyd (e.g. Lloyd) ) – Information Needs Seeking and Use Information Needs Seeking and Use (INSU (INSU) ) – Practice theory Practice theory (Schatzki; Schatzki; Kemmis Kemmis, 2011) , 2011) – Discursive approach Discursive approach (e.g. (e.g. Talja Talja & & MacKenzie MacKenzie, 2007 , 2007) ) – Scholarly work practices Scholarly work practices (e.g. Palmer & (e.g. Palmer & Cragin Cragin, 2008) , 2008) – Sociology of science Sociology of science (e.g. (e.g. Collins; Collins; Shapin Shapin; Merton) ; Merton) – …

2012‐03‐28 3

THE AREA OF DESIGN RESEARCH

Complex F t d Heterogeneous I t di i li Fragmented Interdisciplinary “The primary dimensions of design” Art, Science, and Technology Central and peripheral participants Placeless Dispersed

2012‐03‐28 4

“Each person e “Each person enter terin ing g t the d he di iscu scursiv rsive e complexes of a [ complexes of a [res research] ] fiel field d must ust learn to cope w learn to cope wi ith th th those commun e communicative means and p icative means and proces rocesses t es that mediate at mediate participation w participation wi ith others. / th others. /‐‐‐/ Tho / Though each participa ugh each participant nt in in a discursive field a discursive field need not think need not think alike alike – indee indeed the di d the discursive activitie scursive activities of s of disciplines disciplines lar largely gely rely on people not thinking precisely rely on people not thinking precisely alike alike – each m each must draw on a common ust draw on a common body of resources, cope with the sam body of resources, cope with the same body of mate e body of material and symbolic rial and symbolic y , p y , p y y artifacts, master the same tools, and artifacts, master the same tools, and gain legitimacy gain legitimacy for any new resources for any new resources they want to bring into the field by ad they want to bring into the field by addressing the s dressing the same mechanisms of ame mechanisms of evaluation by which new concepts, to evaluation by which new concepts, tools, or phenom

• ls, or phenomena gain standing in

ena gain standing in the discourse” ( the discourse” (Bazerman Bazerman, 1997, p. 305) . , 1997, p. 305) .

Problem, Aim, Question

• The research problem in brief:

– The area of information sharing is not very much explored, and the contributions that are to be found are to a great extent focused on technological solutions for sharing. Also, the network under study expresses an explicit wish to enhance and improve their routines for information sharing.

• The overall aim of the thesis is to gain increased knowledge

about the information practices – with a particular focus on information sharing activities – of design research scholars.

• The overarching question which certainly is multi‐facetted
• The overarching question, which certainly is multi‐facetted,

is:

– How, where, when, and why do design researchers share (or not share) work‐related information?

2012‐03‐28 5

• The researchers’ activities are perceived of as
• rganised by understandings, material conditions,

rules, and teleoaffective structures, e.g.:

– How to write an article? – With what and where? – In accordance with “instructions for authors”? – For the sake of happiness?

• Bundle – ”an amalgam of activity and materiality”

(Schatzki, 2011, p. 4)

Dimensions of practice

• Cultural‐discursive

– Talk, sayings – Norms and conventions – Norms and conventions – Ways of doing

• Social

– Interactions – Relations – Belongingness – Identity

• Material‐economic

– Stuff, e.g. ICTs – Economy, restrictions and possibilities

The richness and complexity of practice: it is “stretching out from the here‐and‐now of particular episodes of behaviour and action in time and physical, material, cultural, semantic and social space” (Kemmis, 2010, p 27).

2012‐03‐28 6

Research design – a blended strategy

– “[u]nderstanding people’s words for activities and practices / / provides access activities and practices /…/ provides access to the activities and practices that make up their practice‐arrangement bundles” (Schatzki, 2011, p. 11). – “hanging out with, joining in with, talking to and watching, and getting together the people concerned” (ibid) people concerned” (ibid). – The study of relevant documents, such as the network website, personal websites, and documentation from seminars and meetings

LIS research on information sharing activities – people, places, or information

Design/methodology/approach – In order to explore how library and information science explore how library and information science researchers define the concept of information sharing, and how the concept is connected with theory, empirical material and other supporting concepts, a literature review and a conceptual meta‐analysis was carried out on 35 papers and

• ne monograph The analysis was based on
• ne monograph. The analysis was based on

Waismann’s concept of open texture, Wittgenstein’s notion of language games and the concept of meaning holism.

Pilerot, accepted for publication, Journal of Documentation

2012‐03‐28 7

Three possibly interrelated main foci

• On that which is shared; most often, implicitly understood as, and
• ccasionally explicitly described as, “information”, and the flow and

transfer of information transfer of information.

• On those who are sharing, and their social relations, i.e. the people

involved and their commonalities, such as common interests, mutual beliefs, and shared norms (including motivational forces and incentives), which are often seen as a ground for the development

• f information sharing practices.
• On the location or site where the sharing activities take place, on

co‐existence and the material conditions that characterise this site.

2012‐03‐28 8

Information sharing as a means to reach collective understanding

• Information sharing is intertwined with other information‐related activities, such

as writing, reading and the seeking and use of information; embedded in routine work.

• Common (research) interests rather than being colleagues at the same

Common (research) interests, rather than being colleagues at the same department, seem to be the most prominent aspects regarding decisions about whom to share information with.

• Traditional organizational settings, e.g. academic departments, can be substituted
• r at least complemented by rather flexible groups of people. In this process, the

activities of information sharing fill a crucial function.

• The propensity to share information increases when a shared responsibility for the

information needed, created and shared is perceived.

• Objectives for information sharing do not necessarily reside within the actual

information practice; they can also be traced to the comprehensive practices of d i h design research.

• Information sharing contributes to nurture and take care of the common project of

design research.

• Material context impose rules and constraints, as well as affordances for

information sharing.

Pilerot & Limberg, (2011), Journal of Documentation, Vol. 67, No. 2. pp. 312‐333

Information sharing and trust

• Tentatively, a shared frame of mind, or an inter‐subjective space (Crossley,

1996), is crucial for information sharing.

• The way we communicate the information sources we refer to and our
• The way we communicate, the information sources we refer to, and our

sense of a common epistemic culture (Knorr Cetina, 1999), constitute a multifaceted complex that we turn to in order to assess trust in peers.

• “[W]e are not ‘owners’ of our common language, but ‘shareholders’ in it”

(Rommetveit, 2003, p. 214) – In Nordcode, the language shares are somewhat unevenly distributed among the members.

• Even though the creation of inter‐subjectivity is a joint enterprise, there

seem to be a renegotiation going on regarding whose story it is that shall be the main theme for the community.

• Different epistemological stances might be of importance regarding

further explorations of these tensions and of what is of importance in the establishment of inter‐subjectivity and grounds for trust in relation to information sharing

• Social media (e.g. YouTube videos and TED talks) contributes to re‐shape

activities of information sharing

2012‐03‐28 9

Upcoming study

• Get closer to the actual activities of information

sharing

• Conferences are described by the participants

as good opportunities for information sharing

• I will participate in, and present at, an upcoming

conference (cf. “Rhythms of “being” at ISIC”, Anderson & Orsatti, 2008)

• Opportunities both for observing information

sharing activities and getting feedback from the g g g scholars whose information sharing activities I am exploring

• Questionnaire among the conference

participants [?]

References

• Anderson, T.D. & Orsatti, J. (2008). Rhythms of “being” at ISIC ‐ understanding the

place of the ISIC conferences in information seeking research, Information Research,

• Vol. 13, No. 4, paper 381. [Available at http://InformationR.net/ir/13‐

p p p 4/paper381.html]

• Bazerman, C. (1997), Discursively structured activities, Mind, Culture, and Activity,
• Vol. 4, No. 4, 296‐308.
• Kemmis, S. (2011), What is Professional Practice?. In C. Kanes (ed.) Elaborating

Professionalism: Studies in Practice and Theory. New York: Springer.

• Palmer, C. L., & Cragin, M. H. (2008), Scholarly information work and disciplinary
• practices. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Vol. 42, 165‐211.
• Rommetveit, R. (2003): On the Role of "a Psychology of the Second Person" in

Studies of Meaning, Language, and Mind, Mind, Culture, and Activity, Vol. 10, No. 3, 205 218 205‐218.

• Schatzki, T. (forthcoming), A Primer on Practices: Theory and Researchin, in:

Practice‐Based Education: Perspectives and Strategies, Joy Higgs et al. (eds), Rotterdam, Sense Publishers.

• Talja, S. and McKenzie, P. (2007), Editors' introduction. Special issue on discursive

approaches to information seeking in context. Library Quarterly. Vol. 77, No. 2, 97‐ 108.