中文    English

Journal of Library and Information Science in Agriculture ›› 2023, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (6): 4-15.doi: 10.13998/j.cnki.issn1002-1248.23-0449

    Next Articles

Application and Development of Ethnography in Library and Information Science Research

JIA Shiwei, YAN Hui*   

  1. School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872
  • Received:2023-05-12 Online:2023-06-05 Published:2023-08-02

Abstract: [Purpose/Significance] Ethnography is a rigorous field of study that is favored by researchers in the field of library and information science (LIS) due to its ability to obtain valuable first-hand data. Some LIS scholars have recognized the significance of using ethnography as a research method, and it is necessary to review the application and development of ethnography in LIS research. [Method/Process] This paper collected data from CNKI and Web of Science Core Collection. By searching and screening data, a total of 69 empirical research articles (written in both Chinese and English) that utilized ethnography as a methodology in LIS field were identified. Subsequently, this paper used content analysis to systematically review the application scenarios, methodological expansions, application paths, and misuses of ethnography in LIS research. [Results/Conclusions] Ethnography can be applied to various application scenarios in LIS research. It is commonly used to address research questions in six research topics: information behavior, library construction and development, information society issues, knowledge management, information literacy, and fundamental theories and discipline construction. The research subjects encompass a broader range of information and data users. For example, information service designers and providers in libraries, intelligence agencies, information and data centers, Internet companies, government agencies, as well as socially marginalized and information-poor groups are all potential subjects that ethnography can describe. Most research typically involves fieldwork lasting six months or more. Both interview and participant observation are not only the most commonly used independent investigative methods in ethnographic research but also frequently employed in combination as a mixed-method approach. With the application and development of ethnographic approaches, new ethnographic types suitable for different contexts and paradigms have emerged, including autoethnography, netnography, visual ethnography, and institutional ethnography. Among them, autoethnography emphasizes reflexivity, netnography is suitable for new fields based on the network, visual ethnography responds to the demand for sensory-oriented research, and institutional ethnography focuses on addressing inequalities faced by marginalized groups. Autoethnography and netnography have become new types of ethnography that LIS scholars prefer to adopt. In specific applications, different research topics tend to use different types of ethnography. This paper not only reviews the application trends of new ethnographic types in difference research topics but also compares the differences between new types of ethnography and traditional ethnography in the practical applications. The aim is to provide application paths for applying ethnography to different research topics. Additionally, this paper also points out the misuses of ethnography in terminology usage, investigation duration, and data authenticity, aiming to enhance the understanding of ethnographic methodology by relevant scholars and promote the application and development of ethnography in LIS research.

Key words: ethnography, library and information science (LIS), field study

CLC Number: 

  • G252
[1] 杨利慧. 从“以事象为中心”的田野作业到网络民族志——当代神话研究方法探索30年[J]. 民俗研究, 2022(2): 5-13, 158.
YANG L H.From "item-centered" fieldwork to Internet ethnography: A journey of exploring the research methods on contemporary mythology in 30 years[J]. Folklore studies, 2022(2): 5-13, 158.
[2] 王彦兵, 郑菲. 民族志方法在图书情报领域中的运用[J]. 图书馆理论与实践, 2016(3): 29-33.
WANG Y B, ZHENG F.Application of ethnographic methods in the field of library and information science[J]. Library theory and practice, 2016(3): 29-33.
[3] 桂罗敏. 深度理解用户: 图书情报领域民族志方法运用研究[J]. 图书情报工作, 2015, 59(6): 16-21.
GUI L M.Understanding users: Study on the application of ethno-graphic methods in library and information science[J]. Library and information service, 2015, 59(6): 16-21.
[4] 刘培旺, 柯平. LIS研究中田野调查的引入、应用与困厄[J]. 图书馆工作与研究, 2023(4): 24-30.
LIU P W, KE P.Introduction, application and dilemma of field study in LIS research[J]. Library work and study, 2023(4): 24-30.
[5] 王芳, 史海燕, 纪雪梅. 我国情报学研究中理论的应用: 基于《情报学报》的内容分析[J]. 情报学报, 2015, 34(6): 581-591.
WANG F, SHI H Y, JI X M.The use of theory in Chinese information science research based on the content analysis of the journal of the China society for scientific and technical information[J]. Journal of the China society for scientific and technical information, 2015, 34(6): 581-591.
[6] 桂罗敏. 新生视野中的大学图书馆——基于民族志方法的用户需求研究[J]. 图书馆建设, 2015(11): 42-46, 51.
GUI L M.Library of university from the perspective of the freshman - Study on the user demand based on the ethnographic methods[J]. Library development, 2015(11): 42-46, 51.
[7] 吴先敏, 王明. 基于民族志未来研究法的农村青少年数字不平等研究[J]. 图书馆建设, 2016(3): 35-38, 42.
WU X M, WANG M.Study on digital inequality of rural youths based on ethnographic futures research[J]. Library development, 2016(3): 35-38, 42.
[8] HANSSON J.Recognising the other through promotion of reading, collection development and communal collaboration: Rural public libraries in the far-north of Sweden and their relation to the indige-nous Sámi population[J/OL]. Information research[2023-06-10].https://informationr.net/ir/24-4/colis/colis1936.html.
[9] ANDERSSON C.Smartphones and online search: Shifting frames in the everyday life of young people[J]. Information and learning sci-ences, 2022, 123(7/8): 351-370.
[10] NAMULEME R K.HIV/AIDS-related stigma and information behaviour: An ethnographic study in the UK[J]. Health information and libraries journal, 2015, 32(1): 61-66.
[11] LINGEL J, BOYD D."Keep it secret, keep it safe": Information pover-ty, information norms, and stigma[J]. Journal of the American society for information science and technology, 2013, 64(5): 981-991.
[12] BURFORD S, PARK S.The impact of mobile tablet devices on human information behaviour[J]. J documentation, 2014, 70: 622-639.
[13] ANDERSSON C.Searching and deleting: Youth, impression man-agement and online traces of search[J]. Aslib J inf manag, 2019, 72: 34-48.
[14] OLSSON M.Making sense of the past: The embodied information practices of field archaeologists[J]. Journal of information science, 2016, 42(3): 410-419.
[15] FRENCH R, WILLIAMSON K.The information practices of welfare workers: Conceptualising and modelling information bricolage[J]. J documentation, 2016, 72: 737-754.
[16] MONTGOMERY S E.Library space assessment: User learning behaviors in the library[J]. The journal of academic librarianship, 2014, 40(1): 70-75.
[17] KRAMER E.A close look: Roving reference in a community college library information commons[J]. Reference services review, 2020, 48: 271-285.
[18] RADFORD M L, RADFORD G P, CONNAWAY L S, et al.On virtual face-work: An ethnography of communication approach to a live chat reference interaction[J]. The library quarterly, 2011, 81(4): 431-453.
[19] SHEARER J J, CHIEWPHASA B B.Radical re-imagination: Centering a BIPOC library workforce in an asset-based autoethnography[J]. Reference services review, 2022, 50(1): 113-126.
[20] HAINES J, DU J T, TREVORROW A E.Cultural use of ICT4D to promote Indigenous knowledge continuity of Ngarrindjeri stories and communal practices[J]. Journal of the association for informa-tion science and technology, 2022: 128-134.
[21] STEPANEK L, ELAYAN S, SYKORA M.Dynamic knowledge sharing within functional uses of substances, products and practices[C]// Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Knowledge Management. ACPI, 2019: 987-996.
[22] PILEROT O.The ruling relation of evidence-based practice: The case of documentary governance in a social welfare service[J/OL]. Information research[2023-06-10].https://informationr.net/ir/21-1/paper703.html.
[23] 罗伯特·V.库兹奈特著. 叶韦明译. 如何研究网络人群和社区: 网络民族志方法实践指导[M]. 重庆: 重庆大学出版社, 2016: 155.
ROBERT V K.Netnography[M]. Chongqing: Chongqing University Press, 2016: 155.
[24] LOPATOVSKA I, SMILEY B.Proposed model of information be-haviour in crisis: The case of Hurricane Sandy[J/OL]. Information re-search[2023-06-10].https://informationr.net/ir/19-1/paper610.html.
[25] (美)大卫·M. 费特曼著. 龚建华译. 民族志: 步步深入[M]. 重庆: 重庆大学出版社, 2013: 9-10.
DAVID M F.Ethnography[M]. Chongqing: Chongqing University Press, 2013: 9-10.
[26] 高丙中. 民族志发展的三个时代[J]. 广西民族学院学报(哲学社会科学版), 2006, 28(3): 58-63.
GAO B Z.The three periods in the development of ethnography - Translator's preface to writing culture[J]. Journal of Guangxi Minzu university (philosophy and social science edition), 2006, 28(3): 58-63.
[27] BORDONARO K.Adult learning theories and autoethnography: In-forming the practice of information literacy[J]. IFLA journal, 2020, 46(2): 163-171.
[28] 郑光纯, 张钰浩, 闫慧. 从幕后走向台前: 信息科学领域自我民族志研究回顾[J]. 农业图书情报学报, 2022, 34(2): 40-47.
ZHENG G C, ZHANG Y H, YAN H.From backburner to the fore-front: Review of the application of autoethnography in the informa-tion science field[J]. Journal of library and information science in a-griculture, 2022, 34(2): 40-47.
[29] CORRELL S.The ethnography of an electronic bar[J]. Journal of contemporary ethnography, 1995, 24(3): 270-298.
[30] HINE C.Virtual ethnography[M]. London: SAGE, 2000.
[31] ZHAO D X, ZHANG Q P, MA F C.Communication that changes lives: An exploratory research on a Chinese online hypertension community[J]. Libr hi tech, 2020, 38: 883-896.
[32] HAINES J, DU J T, TREVORROW E.In search of indigenous wisdom and interdisciplinary ways of learning together[J]. Journal of the Australian library and information association, 2018, 67(3): 293-306.
[33] (澳)莎拉·平克著. 邝明艳, 唐晓莉译. 学做视觉民族志[M]. 重庆: 重庆大学出版社, 2019: 74-75.
SARAH P.Doing visual ethnography[M]. Chongqing: Chongqing University Press, 2019: 74-75.
[34] ALMEIDA N, TIDAL J.Library wayfinding and ESOL students: Communication challenges and empathy-based intervention[J]. Portal: libraries and the academy, 2022, 22(2): 453-474.
[35] 瞿海源, 毕恒达, 刘长萱, 等. 社会及行为科学研究法(二): 质性研究法[M]. 北京: 社会科学文献出版社, 2013: 323-345.
QU H Y, BI H D, LIU C X, et al.Research methods in social and behavior sciences II: Qualitative methods[M]. Beijing: Social Sci-ences Literature Press, 2013: 323-345.
[36] 谢妮. 建制民族志——一种新的方法视角[J]. 贵州社会科学, 2009(7): 59-63.
XIE N.Organizational ethnography - A new methodological perspective[J]. Guizhou social sciences, 2009(7): 59-63.
[37] STOOKE R, MCKENZIE P J.Leisure and work in library and com-munity programs for very young children[J]. Library trends, 2009, 57(4): 657-675.
[38] DALMER N K.Considering the local and the translocal: Reframing health information practice research using institutional ethnography[J]. Aslib journal of information management, 2019, 71(6): 703-719.
[39] FERREIRA S M, SAYAGO S, BLAT J.Going beyond telecenters to foster the digital inclusion of older people in Brazil: Lessons learned from a rapid ethnographical study[J]. Information technology for development, 2016, 22(sup1): 26-46.
[40] (英)布罗尼斯拉夫·马林诺夫斯基著. 弓秀英译. 西太平洋上的航海者: 美拉尼西亚新几内亚群岛土著人之事业及冒险活动的报告[M]. 北京: 商务印书馆, 2017: 27.
MALINOWSKI B.Argonauts of the Western Pacific[M]. Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2017: 27.
[41] 赖茂生. 新环境、新范式、新方法、新能力——新时代情报学发展的思考[J]. 情报理论与实践, 2017, 40(12): 1-5.
LAI M S.New environment, new paradigm, new means, and new capabilities: Reflections on the development of information science in new era[J]. Information studies: Theory & application, 2017, 40(12): 1-5.
[1] QIAN Lei, HONG Qiulan. Practice and Enlightenment of the Industry-University-Research LIS Projects in iSchool Universities in the United States [J]. Journal of Library and Information Science in Agriculture, 2022, 34(8): 92-101.
[2] ZHENG Guangchun, ZHANG Yuhao, YAN Hui. From Backburner to the Forefront: Review of the Application of Autoethnography in the Information Science Field [J]. Journal of Library and Information Science in Agriculture, 2022, 34(2): 40-47.
[3] ZHAO Rongying, CHANG Ruru, WANG Xiaoyu, ZHANG Zhaoyang. Progress of Library and Information Science During the 13th Five-year Plan:Analysis on Funded Papers [J]. Journal of Library and Information Science in Agriculture, 2021, 33(6): 18-29.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited

  Shared   
  Discussed   
No Suggested Reading articles found!