Evidence Summary
An Action Research Approach helps Develop GIS Programs in Humanities and
Social Sciences
A Review of:
Kong, N., Fosmire, M., &
Branch, B. D. (2017). Developing library GIS
services for humanities and social science: An action research approach. College & Research Libraries, 78(4),
413-427. http://dx.doi.org/10.5860/crl.78.4.413
Reviewed by:
Laura Costello
Head of Research & Emerging Technologies
Stony Brook University Libraries
Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
Email: laura.costello@stonybrook.edu
Received: 1 Dec. 2017 Accepted: 21 Feb. 2018
2018 Costello.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
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same or similar license to this one.
Abstract
Objective – To develop and improve on geographic
information systems (GIS) services for humanities and social sciences graduate
students and faculty members using an action research model.
Design – Case study.
Setting – A public research university serving an annual
enrollment of over 41,500 students in the Midwestern United States of America.
Subjects – Faculty members and students in the humanities and
social sciences that expressed interest in GIS services.
Methods – An action research approach was used which included
data collection, analysis, service design, and observation. Interviews with
eight individuals and groups were conducted including four faculty members,
three graduate students, and one research group of faculty and graduate
students. Data from interviews and other data including emails and notes from
previous GIS meetings were analyzed and the authors used inductive and axial
coding to interpret data and organize it into thematic areas. This analysis was
used to develop an action plan for the library, then
the results of the activity were assessed informally.
Main Results – The interviews revealed three thematic
areas for library GIS service: research, learning, and outreach. The authors
generated library service connections for each of these areas including
providing data plan design support and server space to enable future
collaboration. The action plan developed by the authors resulted in increased
engagement including active participation in an annual GIS day, attendance at
workshops, course-integrated GIS sessions, around 40 consultations on GIS
subjects over a two-year period, and increased hits on the library’s GIS page.
Surveys from pre- and post-tests in the workshops increased participants’ spatial
awareness skills.
Conclusion – Using an action research approach, the
authors were able to identify needs and develop a successful model of GIS
service for the humanities and social sciences.
Commentary
This article
examines a method for moving GIS services forward in an academic library. This
function in libraries is not new; large scale efforts to integrate GIS literacy
and service have been associated with libraries since the early 1990s (Argentati, 1997). The practice of providing these services
has changed over time and this study is well-situated to scale existing GIS
programs to new disciplines and help librarians develop the audiences and
resources they have cultivated through GIS work.
The study employs
an action research model which functions as a cycle to continuously produce
insights, convert those insights to actions, and analyze the results of those
actions. The original interview pool was small at eight participants who were
not randomly chosen, but the researchers felt this was sufficient because of
the specialized scale of GIS work in the humanities and social sciences on
campus and strong repetition in the themes of the responses. This repetition
could indicate that the interview was representative of all patrons engaged in
GIS work in the humanities and social sciences and therefore meets the
requirements of the critical appraisal (Glynn, 2006). The authors used Data
Curation Profiles to develop content for the participant interviews which they
felt helped structure the interviews away from personal research interests and
towards more generalizable data on participants’ needs and expectations. The
use of action research in this study was a unique choice and was effective for
the goals of the authors. A future cycle of this method could be used with more
formal outcomes assessment and a bigger sample size to deepen practice in this
area.
These interviews
allowed the authors to structure an action plan for library service. The impact
of a holistic approach like this, which includes increased outreach,
development of learning objects and activities, and the restructuring of a
service program, is extremely difficult to measure. The authors provide both
qualitative and quantitative indicators in the results, but a clearer picture
of the impact of these efforts might emerge in subsequent publications.
This article
strongly positions the library as a purveyor of this interdisciplinary service,
particularly for institutions that do not have geography programs, and provides
a good structure for scaling GIS services to the humanities and social
sciences. The activities outlined in the article require relatively high levels
of investment and expertise in GIS, so they may not be relevant to institutions
that are just embarking on this service, but libraries with existing
investments and mature GIS programs will find a robust outline for expanding
these programs toward humanities and social sciences researchers.
References
Argentati, C. D. (1997). Expanding
horizons for GIS services in academic libraries. The Journal of
Academic Librarianship, 23(6), 463-468. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0099-1333(97)90170-1
Glynn, L. (2006). A
critical appraisal tool for library and information research. Library
Hi Tech 24(3), 387-399.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/07378830610692154