Instruction Librarians as Researchers: An Example of Phenomenography and the Evolution of “Publishing as Pedagogy”

Abstract

Phenomenography is a maturing social science method where the researcher uses semi-structured interviews to gather qualitative data that helps in explaining the nuances of an experience. In this case, as a researcher, I am interviewing two small, purposive samples of undergraduate students in the U.S. about their exposure to the publication process as an author and as a peer reviewer. More specifically, I am investigating the guidance students received from their faculty mentor including their understanding of the peer review process and other related scholarly communication issues, and what they feel contributed to their success in completing a research cycle. The data will be used to revise a “publishing as pedagogy” curriculum, a scaffolded series of workshops exploring the publishing landscape, whether that be for their current undergraduate research experience, to plan for graduate school, or as part of their professional goals outside of academia. The results of this study help to further a connection between library science and higher education, establishing the value of information literacy-focused instruction on scholarly communication for undergraduate research, and makes recommendations for how librarians can “scale up” their teaching efforts for undergraduates to more closely mirror the services offered to graduate students and faculty.

My research results are empowering librarians to work with undergraduate students on scholarly communication issues so that they can transform their experience into successful future adventures in academia or in the workplace. When students are authors, they become part of the scholarly conversation, a place where they are learning how to do research that will impact the way society solves problems. Librarians are increasingly working with undergraduate student journals, and this experience will help to change to landscape of publishing. A decade ago, when I started this work, not many librarians felt the need to assist undergraduates with their journals because they were not seen as professional. However, with the commitment of most higher ed institutions in the U.S. to give their students a high-impact experience, undergraduate research is now happening across all disciplines including the social sciences and the humanities. Librarians are connecting scholarly communication issues to information literacy instruction, and this poster demonstrates a concrete example for how librarians working with undergraduates will help students see themselves as problem solvers and “Scholarship as a Conversation” {ACRL Framework for Information Literacy}.