Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 15:00:59 -0500 (EST) From: Paul Kantor To: Nancy Tetreaux Huber Cc: James Katz , PhD Director Subject: Re: LIS Paper Dear Nancy, let me try to give some range of answers at ** below. Although i am at a conference, obviously making this assignment clear is a top priority, and it is notoriously hard to do that by email. ----- Original Message ----- From: Nancy Tetreaux To: Paul Kantor, PhD Director Cc: jkatz@scils.rutgers.edu ; katz@scils.rutgers.edu Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 2:36 PM Subject: Re: LIS Paper Dr. Kantor, I understand you are attending a conference, so forgive me for bothering you about this, but I'm afraid I need further clarification on the assignment. I am concerned not only about what language to use in the LIS paper, but also about how to apply the assignment to my research interest. It's my impression that there may be a number of us who are struggling with this question. ** yes, i think that is true. For instance, in my case, my research interest has to do with understanding why increasing numbers of people are affiliating with fundamentalist religions. ** so you must use some data sources to support the given "that increasing numbers of people are affiliating ...". You must have some basis in reported facts for that belief. Does it come from a single published report? [would you believe that]. From a comprehensive reference source? From some statistical information resources? From the integration of multiple sources, as in a web search or meta search? Whichever is the answer to this question, you get to it by using some information services. You might imagine simply approaching those services and saying "how much has affiliation with fundamentalist .. increased in the past XX years?" But I will bet that you didn't, and couldn't. Instead you had to negotiate with systems of computers, books, and people, to get some partial answer to your question. Analyze that negotiations? What would constitute excellence? What did you experience? What principles might make it better? etc. You may have used several sources, and you could compare them. I am aware that there is an encyclopedia of the world's religions that is published by Oxford. Would that qualify as a relevant "library entity" that I could analyze in consideration of your ** was it the basis for your "given". Was it the only basis? questions and our readings? Or should I search for a library or database that is dedicated to religion? Or should I be doing something else entirely? I just want to make sure I understand the expectation. ** I would turn it around. You know, or claim to know, that there has been an increase, and you seek for explanations. Information will play these roles: 1. information showing that there is an increase. Characterizing the regions, sects, etc. in which it is true. Let's call this the "concrete information". 2. information bearing on explanations for the changes. This will be in multiple sources, and sometimes summarized in review articles, semi-popular press, etc. Let us call this the "abstract information". Just as I mentioned for the concrete information, you will be navigating the abstract information. You will use varies tools or "systems". You would like to be able to say "tell me why fundamentalism's increasing?" but of course you can't. Instead you navigate in browsers, libraries, etc. Analyze that experience. etc as above. 3. information that you (would) gather when you study the problem yourself. Call this "primary information". You may get it by surveys, by interviews, focus groups; copying it from books and articles, etc. This information has two primary "user groups". (a) YOU. You will use this, navigate it, digest it, and analyze it. (B) all future scholars of this topics. How will you manage this information? [so here you are both the librarian and the patron]. Suppose you simply wrote each new fact on a 5x8 card and threw it in a shoe box. This is, literally, a system. It's not a very good one. What kinds of questions would you like to address to your system of primary information? How should it be designed or managed to answer those questions. What kinds of questions will other researchers want to address to your information. How should it be designed or managed to answer their questions? The default is: cards in a shoe box; people have to ask you; and you tell them only if you feel like it. That has some merits. But there must be other alternatives too. Explore one. So -- i have written a lot, because we are not able to have a dialogue. I hope this is some help. Pls excuse typos, as i am writing at a meeting. -best -paul Thanks for your help, Nancy Tetreaux ----- Original Message ----- From: Paul Kantor, PhD Director To: phd601@scils.rutgers.edu Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 10:52 PM Dear Students -- Prof. Wacholder that me there is some cncern about what kind of language to use in your paper for the LIS section of the course. Please do not try to use complex tehcnical language, but try rather to state your ideas clearly and in simple terms. think the language that Shera and Ranganathan use to make their points (but you do not need to be so "old fashioned"). Just try to identify the information system of interest. If you are having trouble starting, begin with the contrary statement "The system S could not possibly be better n any way, because ..." What you give as the reasons will be your de facto definition of good quality. Most likely, as you try to write this argument you will begin to see ways in which the system could be better, and you are ready to begin your paper. sincerely, -paul -- Paul B. Kantor Director, Ph.D. Program School of Communication, Information and Library Studies Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey http://scils.rutgers.edu/~kantor