Library & Information Science Research最新文献

Research in the social sciences has shown that there are gender differences in the selection of research methods, with women often opting for qualitative methods while men prefer quantitative methods. However, it is important to consider that research methods are generally chosen based on the research topic. To figure out the influence of gender on research method selection, a study was conducted in the field of library and information science, using a more fine-grained method classification system and an automatic classification model called CogFT, which is based on full-text cognition. The findings showed that women tend to use interviews while men prefer theoretical approaches, across a range of topics. Insights into the specific research design processes that contribute to gender differences in method selection are offered and ways to promote gender inclusivity and equality in academia by considering research method use and guidance are suggested.

Public libraries needed to quickly address the new challenges brought by COVID-19 to continue their services. This study aimed to understand innovative public library services during the pandemic and provide a typology that represent their services. Twitter messages of 12 large public libraries were analyzed to identify library services. A total of 751 Tweets were coded with thematic tags by service types and innovative approaches. Using the social innovation typology by Winberry and Potnis (2021), their typology was revised to show public libraries' innovative services under the emergency circumstances. The findings suggested significant differences within social innovation categories and newly emerged themes. The revised social innovation typology developed from Twitter data during the pandemic includes nine major categories of public libraries' innovative service types and provides updated insights into how public libraries continue to serve as important community resources using innovative approaches. The revised typology will be useful for future research in describing future innovation and assessing the endurance of pandemic-era service innovations.

Participatory archive collection day events depend on the involvement of multiple groups of stakeholders who participate in the archives. However, there is little existing research on participatory initiatives that connect institutions to communities beyond literature that focuses on the logistics of such initiatives, making it unclear how archives can best connect to and serve communities through such initiatives. Using ethnographic field data collection and analysis, the role that the in-person collection day event plays in the construction of communities of records and memory in participatory archives was examined. Analysis of ethnographic observation data and semi-structured interviews shows that for participants, a sense of connection to community and to the archives is dependent on the collection day being an in-person outreach event. Findings also show that the event design can make some participants feel welcome while excluding others, possibly limiting the reach of the archives to diverse communities.

Although research shows that transgender people face information barriers when seeking gender-affirming care, few studies have investigated their experiences of information sharing and evaluation during patient provider interactions. Focusing on information triangulation and cognitive authorities, this interpretive phenomenological study analyzed data derived from interviews with 19 transgender individuals from Finland using qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that transgender people face several information sharing barriers when seeking gender-affirming care. Barriers were categorized to an atmosphere and transphobia, a lack of information, and the healthcare system itself. Transgender individuals use several information sources to gain information about gender-affirming care. Different information sources can have different authority roles. Based on these roles, information sources can be triangulated to gain information with which to make health-related decisions. The findings have important theoretical and practical implications for library and information science scholars attempting to reduce barriers to health information.

In the digital era where “everyone is an archivist,” everyone needs good archival literacy (AL). Without a clear consensus on AL's definition for the public, it is difficult to promote good archival practices. Therefore, an AL Framework for the Public (ALFP) in the context of China was constructed to clarify what type of archival knowledge, skills, and principles the public needs to learn to improve AL. Using the Delphi method, two rounds of consultations with experts were conducted to evaluate the necessity and clarity of a range of indexes. This information was used in an analytical hierarchy process to weight and revise the framework. The final ALFP framework comprises 31 indexes across six AL dimensions. Besides guiding AL programs aimed at the public, the ALFP can help archives and educational institutions design AL education and training programs.

Downloads have been considered as supplemental to citations in reflecting the impact of scientific research activities and scientific output, yet the motivations to download a specific publication has not been fully explored. In scientific evaluation practice, unclear motivations could lead to difficulties for evaluating the impact of academic literature without providing a cogent interpretation of downloads as an alternative metric. To fill this gap, an expanded Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate motivations for downloading academic literature was proposed and the effectiveness verified using questionnaire data containing 480 respondents. The results show that the degree of usefulness of literature to users and the degree of relevance of literature to users were the primary factors that drive users to download specific literature. Due to the consistency between downloading and citing in reflecting the usefulness, downloads is an effective metric to supplement citation metrics in evaluating the impact of academic literature.