Introduction: Research and theory on the topics of information seeking and retrieval have been plagued by some fundamental problems for several decades. Many of the difficulties spring from mechanistic and instrumental thinking and modelling. Method: Existing models of information retrieval and information seeking are examined for efficacy in a…

The need for postpositivist or antipositivist methods in the social sciences, including library and information science, is well documented. A promising alternative synthesizes critical realism and phenomenology. This method embraces ontological reality in all things, including human and social action. The ontology underlying the realist…

Criticisms of library and information science (LIS) research abound and most focus on method, in the broad sense. This article examines the discourse on LIS from the standpoint of rhetoric and argument. Rhetorical and argumentative strategies are used in almost all formal communication, and these strategies themselves communicate purpose and point…

Discussion of Wayne Wiegand's criticism of library and information science focuses on the ideas of Pierre Bourdieu to help form a new set of frameworks. Topics include social institutions and symbolic power; cultural production and librarianship; and classification as symbolic power. (LRW)

Outlines the elements of a revised epistemological approach to thinking about library and information science. Hermeneutical phenomenology seeks an understanding of the essence of things (such as the library) and takes into account, among other things, the intentional stances of the human actors within the realm of library and information science.…

This paper addresses two key issues related to the disciplinary role of journals in library and information science (LIS). The first issue is the nature of knowledge as communicated through public mechanisms such as journals. The second issue is the set of attributes that characterizes a portion of the content of LIS journals. In order to complete…

This study is the third in a series that examines measures of productivity applied to faculty in Library and Information Science (LIS) programs accredited by the American Library Association. Data from 1993-98 are analyzed according to individual and program productivity and tables list rankings according to journal citations and articles.…

Explores the application of hermeneutics to the analysis of discourse. A set of examples of discursive practice in library and information science (LIS) is examined for ideological intent. The aim is to demonstrate that some discourse is ideological in nature and purpose, and to point out implications of such discursive practice for knowledge…

Discourse analysis addresses questions regarding both spoken and written communications and can be applied to purposes and practices of information study that appear in books and journals in the field. Applications of discourse analysis to information include investigation of the social, political, and technical implications of the word…

Highlights some professional associations' statements regarding education and the place of technology in educational programs. Examines the content of core curricula of a set of library and information science programs. Suggests content elements of an ideal core, designed to meet the intellectual and practical needs of information professionals of…