School of Information and Library Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Introduction

Session 1, January 11: Frameworks, models, and theories; Scope of this course

• Jaccard, J., & Jacoby, J. (2010). Reading and writing about theories. In Theory Construction and Model-Building Skills: A Practical Guide for Social Scientists. New York: Guilford Press, 331-346. (Read only pages 331-337.) [Davis - H62 .J29 2010 (soon to be on reserve in SILS Library); copy in Sakai resources]
  • This part of this chapter provides some guidance on how to read about theories in two distinct styles of research, one that emphasizes hypothesis/theory testing and one that emphasizes grounded/emergent theory. This should be a review, so you can skim it quickly.
• Jaccard, J., & Jacoby, J. (2010). The nature of understanding. In Theory Construction and Model-Building Skills: A Practical Guide for Social Scientists. New York: Guilford Press, 6-21 [Davis - H62 .J29 2010 (soon to be on reserve in SILS Library); copy in Sakai resources]
  • This chapter is probably the most important reading for today's class session. It introduces the ideas of "concepts" and the relationships among them - the building blocks of any theory.
• Gregor, S. (2006). The nature of theory in information systems. MIS Quarterly, 30(3), 611-642. [Available in UNC libraries]
  • This article follows up on the previous reading by categorizing theories based on the purposes that they can serve, with a focus on theories in the field of information systems (closely related to information science, with a number of overlapping theoretical underpinnings). It's a pretty long article, but read it through; you'll want to return to it as we move through the semester, also.
• Poole, H.L. (1985). Introduction: A problem of long standing. In Theories of the Middle Range. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1-12. [SILS Library - Z669.7 .P66 1985 (soon to be on reserve in SILS Library); copy in Sakai resources]
  • Most of the theories that use in information and library science might be described as theories of the middle range. In the Poole book, skim through the first sections (about defining information science, p1-6) and focus more of your attention on the discussion of the role of theory in claims about information science being a science (p6-12).
• Additional readings of interest

Session 2, January 18: Scientific reasoning; The role of theory in science

• Jaccard, J., & Jacoby, J. (2010). Science as an approach to understanding. In Theory Construction and Model-Building Skills: A Practical Guide for Social Scientists. New York: Guilford Press, 22-36 [Davis - H62 .J29 2010; copy in Sakai resources]
  • This textbook chapter provides an overview of many of the concepts you'll also read about in some of the original sources from Hempel, Popper, and Kuhn, as well as others.
• Hempel, C. (1962). Two models of scientific explanation. In Colodny, R.G. (ed.), Frontiers of Science and Philosophy. Pittsburgh, PA: University of PIttsburgh Press, 9-19. [Davis Library - Q175 .C627 1963]
  • Reprinted in Balashov, Y., & Rosenberg, A. (eds.) (2002). Philosophy of Science: Contemporary Readings. London: Routledge, 45-55. [Davis Library - Q175.3 .P49 2002; copy in Sakai resources]
  • Much of ILS research (and social science research in general) relies on the probabilistics explanations that Hempel describes in section 2.2. Skim sections 2.1 and 2.3, but focus your attention on section 2.2
• Popper, K. (1959). The problem of induction. In Conjectures and Refutations. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 33-39.
  • Reprinted in Balashov, Y., & Rosenberg, A. (eds.) (2002). Philosophy of Science: Contemporary Readings. London: Routledge, 294-301. [Davis Library - Q175.3 .P49 2002; copy in Sakai resources]
  • The problem of induction, as discussed by Popper, is "whether inductive inferences are justified, or under what conditions". In the social sciences, where interpretive approaches often involve induction at some point in the process, this problem is particularly acute.
• Kuhn, T. (1962). Paradigms. In McErlean, J. (2000). Philosophies of Science: From Foundations to Contemporary Issues. Wadsworth, 159-165. Excerpt from Kuhn, T.S. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press, 10-22, 43-51. [Davis Library - Q175 .M4167 2000; copy in Sakai resources]
  • In "normal" science, new discoveries build very directly on previous discoveries and theories. Kuhn is most known for his work on scientific revoluations, or paradigm shifts (as discussed at length in his book). This brief excerpt will give you a flavor of his thinking on this topic, and we'll consider whether ILS has experienced any paradigm shifts during its relatively short history.

Applying a Theory in a Particular Study

Session 3, January 25: Dangers and pitfalls when applying an existing theory

• Sutton, R.I., & Staw, B.M. (1995). What theory is not. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 371-384. [UNC libraries]
• Weick, K.E. (1995). What theory is not, theorizing is. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 385-390. [UNC libraries]
• DiMaggio, P.J. (1995). Comments on "What theory is not". Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 391-397. [UNC libraries]
  • These three articles are a conversation among the authors, about what theory is and what theory is not. Sutton and Staw provide examples of abstractions that some might consider to be theory, but they do not. Weick sees these as "approximations" of theory, and urges us to focus on the process of theorizing. Dimaggio goes on to identify three things to consider when theorizing. While from the field of information systems (in business), these authors' ideas apply equally well to information science theory.
• Truex, D., Holmstrom, J., & Keil, M. (2006). Theorizing in information systems research: A reflexive analysis of the adaptation of theory in information systems research. Journal of the AIS, 7(12), 797-821. [UNC libraries]
  • This article moves us directly into this first section of the course, where we'll focus on applying existing theories in new empirical studies. They propose some best practices for this type of endeavor.
• Rogers, E.M. (1983). Diffusion of Innovations. 3rd edition. Free Press. [Davis Library - HM101 .R57 1983]
  • Chapter 5, The innovation-decision process [In Sakai resources]
  • Chapter 10, Innovation in organizations [In Sakai resources]
  • We'll spend the second half of this session on an example of a theory that has often been applied in information and library science studies: diffusion theory, originally developed by Everett Rogers. To get a general sense of the theory itself, skim these two chapters of his book, paying special attention to Figure 5-1 and Table 10-1.
• Chatman, E.A. (1986). Diffusion theory: A review and test of a conceptual model in information diffusion. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 37(6), 377-386. (Skim.) [UNC libraries]
• Marshall, J.G. (1990). Diffusion of innovation theory and end-user searching. Library & Information Science Research, 12(1), 55-69. (Skim.) [SILS Library; copy in Sakai resources]
• Wildemuth, B.M. (1992). An empirically grounded model of the adoption of intellectual technologies. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 43(3), 210-224. (Skim.) [UNC libraries]
  • These three studies all drew/built on diffusion theory in some way. Look at each study's findings. Consider what the study contributed to the development of diffusion theory.

• Examples of information science theories
• Examples of theories from other disciplines
• Brief description of theory of interest due

Session 4, February 1: Applying existing theories

• Amanda: Hofstede's cultural dimensions
  • Callahan, E. (2005). Cultural similarities and differences in the design of university web sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(1), 239-273. [UNC libraries]
    • This article, from our own field, provides an overview of the theory and shows how it can be formed into specific hypotheses to be tested. Please read pages 239-250.
• Nina: Weick, Sensemaking
  • Weick, K. (2001). Sensemaking as an organizational dimension of global change. In Making Sense of the Organization, p458-472. [Sakai resources]
    • In particular, focus on the sections "The Phenomenon of Sensemaking" and "The Seven Properties of Sensemaking," pages 459-463.
• John: Social cognitive theory applied to technology adoption
  • Straub, E.T. (2009). Understanding technology adoption: Theory and future directions for informal learning. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 625-649. doi: 10.3102/0034654308325896 [UNC Libraries]
    • Straub discusses existing adoption-diffusion theories (Roger's IDT, Hall's CBAM, TAM and UTAUT) using social-cognitive theory as a lens and suggests a synthesis. The article is an overview of how adoption-diffusion theories can and are being reformulated to incorporate fundamental aspects of social-cognitive theory (social learning, self-efficacy, etc.). Focus your reading on pages 625-629 and 641-646.

Session 5, February 8: Applying existing theories, continued

• Ashlee: Cognitive load theory
  • Sweller, J. (1994). Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learning and Instruction, 4(4), 295-312. [UNC libraries]
    • Focus your reading on pages 295-303.
  • Paas, F., Tuovinen, J.E., Tabbers, H., & Van Gerven, P.W.M. (2003). Cognitive load measurement as a means to advance cognitive load theory. Educational Psychologist, 38(1), 63-71. [UNC libraries]
    • Focus your reading on pages 66-70.
• Emily: Zipf, Principle of least effort
  • Liu, Z., & Yang, Z.Y.L. (2004). factors influencing distance-education graduate students' use of information sources: A user study. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30(1), 24-35. [UNC libraries]

Session 6, February 15: Applying existing theories, continued; Discussion of plans for paper

• Angela: Social exchange theory applied to data sharing
  • Emerson, R. M. (1976). Social Exchange Theory. (J. Delamater, Ed.)Annual Review of Sociology, 2(1), 335–362. [UNC libraries]
    • Read pages 335-350.
• Elliott: Wilson, Cognitive authority
  • Sundin, O., & Johannisson, J. (2005). Pragmatism, neo-pragmatism and sociocultural theory: Communicative participation as a perspective in LIS. Journal of Documentation, 61(1), 23-43. [UNC libraries]
    • Pages 31-33 are of particular interest as they deal with pragmatism in ILS, esp. Wilson.
  • Optional: Mai, J.-E. (2010). Classification in a social world: bias and trust. Journal of Documentation, 66(5), 627-642. [UNC libraries]
    • You may find it interesting to skim this one.
• Emily: Big 6 Skills for Information Literacy
  • Eisenberg, M. (2003). Implementing information skills: Lessons learned from the Big6 approach to information problem-solving. School Libraries in Canada, 22(4), 20-23. [UNC libraries]
• Jaccard, J., & Jacoby, J. (2010). Reading and writing about theories. In Theory Construction and Model-Building Skills: A Practical Guide for Social Scientists. New York: Guilford Press, 331-346. (Read only pages 337-345.) [Davis - H62 .J29 2010; copy in Sakai resources].

• Annotated bibliography due

Session 7, February 22: Testing/validating a theory

• Anita: Byström & Hansen, Information activities in work tasks
  • Byström, K., & Hansen, P. (2005). Conceptual framework for tasks in information studies. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 56(10), 1050-1061. [UNC libraries]
• Popper, K. (1963). Science: Conjectures and refutations. In Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 33-39. [SILS LIbrary - BD241 .P65 2002]. Reprinted in Balashov, Y., & Rosenberg, A. (eds.) (2002). Philosophy of Science: Contemporary Readings. London: Routledge, 294-301. [Davis Library - Q175.3 .P49 2002; copy in Sakai resources]
• Lakatos, I. (1970). Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programmes. In Lakatos, I., & Musgrave, A. (eds.), Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Cambridge University Press, 173-177. Reprinted in Delanty, G., & Strydom, P. (eds.), Philosophies of Social Science: The Classic and Contemporary Readings. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press, 78-80. [SILS Library - H61.15 .P48 2003; copy in Sakai resources]
• Two examples of theory validation (Read ONE; we'll briefly discuss both)
  • Fisher, K. E., Durrance, J. C., & Hinton, M. B. (2004). Information grounds and the use of need-based services by immigrants in Queens, New York: A context based, outcome evaluation approach. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 55(8), 754-766. [UNC libraries]
  • Hyldegard, J. (2006). Collaborative information behaviour -- Exploring Kuhlthau's Information Search Process model in a group-based educational setting. Information Processing & Management, 42(1), 276-298. [UNC libraries]
• Two examples of experimental theory testing (Read ONE; we'll briefly discuss both)
  • Harrison, A.W., Rainer, R.K., Jr., Hochwarter, W.A., & Thompson, K.R. (1997). Testing the self-efficacy - performance linkage of social-cognitive theory. Journal of Social Psychology, 137(1), 79-87. [UNC libraries]
  • Sundar, S.S., Knobloch-Westerwick, S., & Hastall, M.R. (2007). News cues: Information scent and cognitive heuristics. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 58(3), 366-378. [UNC libraries]

• Paper outline due

Development of Grounded Theory

Session 8, March 1: Inducing theory from observation

• Charmaz, K. (2006). An invitation to grounded theory. In Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage Publications, 1-12. [Textbook]
  • Charmaz provides a general overview of grounded theory methods, and also tells you what will be covered in the book.
• Matavire, R., & Brown, I. (2013). Profiling grounded theory approaches in information systems research. European Journal of Information Systems, 22, 119-129. [UNC libraries]
  • You may be interested in the findings of this study of the different approaches to grounded theory methods that have been used in the information systems field, but focus your attention primarily on the authors' overview of the different approaches (p119-124).
• Creswell, J.W. (2007). Five qualitative approaches to inquiry. In Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 53-84. [Copy in Sakai resources]
  • All five of these approaches have been used in ILS research. This chapter provides a useful comparison between them.

Session 9, March 8: Data collection

• Charmaz, K. (2006). Gathering rich data. In Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage Publications, 13-41. [Textbook]
  • Charmaz covers several different data gathering methods (ethnographic methods, interviewing, textual analysis). The data set we'll be working with in class relies primarily on interviews, with a few observation notes sprinkled in.
• Janesick, V.J. (2000). The choreography of qualitative reserach design. In Denzin, N.K., & Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 379-399. [SILS Reference - H62 .H2455 2000; copy in Sakai resources]
  • Janesick uses choreography to discuss how you can approach the design of a qualitative research study. She covers both your preparation for the study and the design decisions to be made during the course of the study. She also briefly discusses the criteria by which a design might be judged to be of high quality (or not). The relevance of her chapter for our purposes starts to drop off on page 390; so if you get that far and are running low on time, go right to Coyne.
• Coyne, I.T. (1997). Sampling in qualitative research; Purposeful and theoretical sampling; merging or clear boundaries? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26(3), 623-630. [UNC libraries]
  • In this article, Coyne untangles purposeful sampling and theoretical sampling.

• Final paper due for analysis of existing theory (if secondary work)
• Description of phenomenon of interest and setting due

March 15, Spring Break: No class meeting

Session 10, March 22: Coding and memo writing

• Charmaz, K. (2006). Coding in grounded theory practice [and] Memo-writing. In Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage Publications, 42-95. [Textbook]
  • Chapter 3 is a really nice overview of coding practices. She first discusses and gives advice on how to do initial coding, focused coding, axial coding, and theoretical coding. Then she goes on to discuss some of the problems you may encounter with coding. She provides a few paragraphs on the logic of transforming data into codes, but read the Kelle chapter, described in the class wiki, for a fuller discussion of how to move from your data to your theoretical concepts.
  • Chapter 4 provides some examples of memos that Charmaz has written in her work, as well as tips on the memo-writing process. Very practical.

March 29, Holiday: No class meeting

Session 11, April 5: Theoretical sampling

• Charmaz, K. (2006). Theoretical sampling, saturation, and sorting. In Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage, 96-122. [Textbook]
  • This chapter covers three topics, as its title indicates. Theoretical sampling is concerned with the augmentation of your initial sample, and is motivated by your data analysis. At some point, you need to stop collecting data; theoretical saturation is the guiding principle for that stopping decision. Throughout your analysis, you will need to sort and integrate your memos and data.

• Final paper due for analysis of existing theory (if primary work)

Session 12, April 12: Constructing grounded theory

• Guest speaker at 10:45: Kaitlin Costello, Investigating information seeking and disclosure in online support groups for chronic kidney disease

• Charmaz, K. (2006). Reconstructing theory in grounded theory studies [and] Writing the draft. In Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage, 123-176. [Textbook]
  • Charmaz sees the writing of your draft as an extension of your data analysis activities. In this chapter (on writing), she includes discussions of the construction of your argument, re-examining your conceptual categories, incorporation of the "disputed" literature review, and actually writing the theoretical framework.
• Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A. (1967). Insight and theory development. In The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for qualitative Research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 251-257. [Copy in Sakai resources]

• Draft introduction and literature review due

Session 13, April 19: Presentations

• Brief oral presentations for each seminar participant's study proposal

• Preliminary plan for data collection and analysis due

Session 14, April 26: Recap on role of theory in science

• Charmaz, K. (2006). Reflecting on the research process. In Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage Publications, 177-185. [Textbook]
• Vakkari, P., & Kuokkanen, M. (1997). Theory growth in information science: Applications of the theory of science to a theory of information seeking. Journal of Documentation, 53(5), 497-519. [UNC libraries]
• Additional readings of interest

Monday, May 6, 8am (Final exam period)

• Proposal due

Syllabus / Schedule / Assignments / Sakai class site

The INLS 887 website, UNC-CH, 2011, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Address all comments and questions to Barbara M. Wildemuth at wildemuth@unc.edu. This page was last modified on April 11, 2013, by Barbara M. Wildemuth.