Social justice research in library and information sciences: a case for discourse analysis

Scholars have employed a variety of research methodologies and methods to explore, probe, and uncover ways in which social justice is enacted, embodied, supported, or not supported by researchers, educators, and practitioners in library and information science and services (LIS). Discursive psychology as developed by social psychologist Jonathan Potter and critical discourse analysis as developed by Norman Fairclough are introduced as fruitful approaches to investigate the critical intersections of LIS and social justice. The theoretical development of social justice in LIS is discussed. Next, critical discourse analysis and discursive psychology are examined and then analyzed for goodness of fit with Kevin Rioux’s (2010) five underlying assumptions of social justice metatheory: (1) All human beings have an inherent worth and deserve information services that help address those needs; (2) People perceive reality and information in different ways, often within cultural or life role contexts; (3) There are many different types of information and knowledge, and these are societal resources; (4) Theory and research are pursued with the ultimate goal of bringing positive change to service constituencies; (5) The provision of information services is an inherently powerful activity. Drawing on the findings of the goodness of fit of Rioux’s metatheory and examples of discourse analytic studies in LIS, this article offers practical strategies for social justice researchers wanting to use critical discourse analysis or discursive psychology.published or submitted for publicationpublished or submitted for publicatio

The Information Practices of People Living with Depression: Constructing Credibility and Authority

Depressive episodes and chronic depression often provide the impetus for both online and offline everyday life information-seeking and sharing and the seeking of support. While allopathic medication, psychiatric, and other biomedical services are the standard treatments for depression, people often use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to supplement or supplant biomedical treatments. Depression is a nebulous disorder with varying causes, illness trajectories, and a wide variety of potentially effective treatments. Often, treating and managing depression forms a project for life (Wikgren, 2001) where the need for information is continuous. In the present study, I have used a constructionist, discourse analytic approach as outlined by Potter (1996) and Wooffitt (1992) to analyze the messages posted to three online newsgroups devoted to depression, CAM, and the practices of biomedicine and to analyze the transcripts from 10 semi-structured interviews with participants who self-identified as currently having depression or who have suffered from depression in the past. I have sought to understand how people justify using, or not using, CAM to treat depression. Specifically, I have investigated how people with depression use information in discourse to justify healthcare decisions and to create credible and authoritative accounts; how people with depression conceptualize CAM therapies, mainstream medicine, and depression and how these conceptualizations are represented in the discursive constructions of individuals as competent information-seekers and users; and I have investigated the information practices (e.g., everyday life information-seeking, sharing, and use) of people living with depression. My findings show that while expert, biomedical information sources and knowledge are most often drawn upon and referred to by newsgroup posters and interviewees to warrant claims, people used a variety of discursive strategies and regular speech patterns to create credible and authoritative accounts, to portray themselves as competent information-seekers and users, to support their claims for either using or foregoing a certain treatment, and to counter the authoritative knowledge of biomedicine. In addition, my findings emphasize the importance of orienting information discussed in Savolainen’s (1995) everyday life information-seeking (ELIS) model. For many people with depression, information was used to maintain a sense of coherence (related to “mastery of life” within the ELIS model) and to create meaning in addition to solving practical problems. My findings suggest that an additional information-seeking principle to those outlined by Harris and Dewdney (1994) deserves further research attention: people seek information that is congruent with their worldview and values

A Case for Critical Data Studies in Library and Information Studies

The proliferation, ubiquity, and growth of data, big data, and digital infrastructure raise a number of questions for library and information studies (LIS) practitioners, researchers, and educators. While some uncritically accept and embrace the idea that big data will fundamentally alter every sector of society including economics, politics, health care, and knowledge production, others are more critical of the data turn. Data can be contradictory in that it can be used for surveillance, impinge on privacy, be used for secondary purposes (often without consent), and can be totalizing in that we continually create data exhaust, it can be hacked, searched, aggregated, and preserved for years. Conversely, data can be used for the public good, to promote progressive social change, and to empower people. The overarching argument presented in this paper is that critical library and information studies must include critical data studies. To develop this argument, this paper explores the ontological nature of data and their contradictory implications and effects in terms of broader society, the academy, and in LIS research, education, and practice. Next, the philosophical foundations and the work being done in the budding area of critical data studies are presented (most notably work by Rob Kitchin). Finally, the intersections between critical data studies and LIS are discussed in terms of research methodologies, philosophical underpinnings, and application of critical social theory, values, and ethics using Dalton and Thatcher's seven data criticisms

The presentation of complementary and alternative medicine information in Canadian midwifery care

Abstract: This paper uses discourse analysis to consider midwives’ and pregnant women’s discussions of conventional and complementary and alternative medicine interventions for inducing labour. Participants distinguished between “natural” and “medical” methods and used information sources based on both biomedical evidence and women’s experience to justify and challenge authority claims. Résumé : Cet article utilise l’analyse du discours pour examiner les conversations des sagesfemmes et des femmes enceintes au sujet des interventions en médecine traditionnelle, douce et alternative pour assister l’accouchement. Les participantes ont fait la distinction entre les méthodes « naturelles » et « médicales » et ont utilisé des sources d’information basées aussi bien sur les évidences biomédicales que sur l’expérience de femme pour justifier et remettre en question les autorités concernées

User Engagement with Mental Health Videos on YouTube

Introduction: Mental health is a primary determinant of well-being, and as more people look online for mental health information, YouTube is an increasingly important information source. Although authoritative organizations such as the World Health Organization post videos to YouTube, when retrieved these videos are interspersed with personal, commercial, governmental, television or other media segments, and institutional videos. YouTube was searched for videos on mental health to measure user engagement with these videos. It was hypothesized that videos posted to YouTube that contained personal narratives would generate more user engagement in terms of more video view counts, likes, and number of comments. Methods: YouTube was searched for mental health information using three different search terms and phrases: “depression,” “bipolar disorder,” and “mental health.” The first 20 results for the terms depression and bipolar disorder were screen captured and for the search phrase mental health the first 40 videos were screen captured. All 80 videos were categorized according to video producer type and analyzed using YouTube metrics including number of “likes,” view counts, and comments to measure user engagement with the videos. Results: The majority of videos returned in the top results were posted by laypersons and the videos focus on the poster's personal experience (38%) followed by videos produced for television and other media (29%). Videos that contain personal narratives and experiential knowledge generate the most user engagement and are preferred sources for users searching for mental health information. Discussion: Users’ greater engagement with personal videos indicates that there is an important role for librarians and information professionals in assisting users in deciding what mental health information is accurate, authoritative, and reliable regardless of the authority of the video producer. In addition, the results of this research might inform best practices for professional organizations posting videos to YouTube

The Self and Others: Revisiting Information Needs and Libraries as Public, Social Institutions in a Post-truth World

The post-truth era and the increasing ease with which fake news is disseminated and consumed is a wicked problem that invites re-examination of the media environment, algorithmic authority, library and information science (LIS) professional practice, and what people bring to information interactions in terms of cognitive biases and worldviews. Fake news has social consequences such as undermining civic discourse and democracy, and inciting hatred. Consequently, the role of libraries as public, social institutions embedded in democratic societies and the relational aspects of information needs are important to consider. An alternative framework, the decent society, a society in which its attendant social institutions do not humiliate, is explored. An example from the Toronto Public Library (TPL) is used to illustrate the ways in which a social institution can uphold the principle of non-humiliation in an increasingly politicized world

Informing Evidence: Claimsmaking in Midwives\u27 and Clients\u27 Talk about Interventions

Communication for informed choice is particularly challenging in clinical settings such as direct-entry midwifery, where the care model embraces diverse therapies and forms of knowledge. We identified three discursive moves (explanation, invocation, and evaluation) that Ontario midwives and clients used in making claims about proposed interventions. The analysis was informed by an understanding of communication as an interactionally situated and socially constructed interpretive practice. Both midwives and women called on the authority of biomedical discourse, but they also turned to sources such as women’s wisdom to support their cases. The flexible use of these moves afforded participants considerable latitude in accepting or rejecting forms of evidence as authoritative. However, strategies designed to empower clients in making choices could unintentionally serve to enhance the authority of the care provider. Talk about interventions brings into view both the knowledge systems and the broader relations within which regulated midwifery practice operates

Professional Decline and Resistance: The Case of Library and Archives Canada

In 2004, Canada was the first country in the world to amalgamate its two main documentary heritage institutions, the National Archives of Canada (established in 1872) and the National Library of Canada (established in 1953) into one "modernized" institution: Library and Archives Canada (LAC). The "modernization" policy has commercialized and reduced services, collections, and collaboration while simultaneously deprofessionalizing and casualizing the work of professionals. Resistance to modernization has come from many stakeholders across Canada but the responses by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and the Canadian Library Association (CLA) are particularly salient. Both are national organizations concerned with access to information and Canada’s documentary heritage. The case of LAC demonstrates how a neoliberal remaking of one prominent, national institution can weaken entire professions