Marcia Bates’ “Metatheories, Theories, and Models

    Read Marcia Bates’ “Metatheories, Theories, and Models, pages 1-24 in Theories of Information Behavior. Edited by Karen E. Fisher, Sandra Erdelez, and Lynne E.F. McKechnie. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2005. (E-Book is available in Google Books at: http://books.google.com/books?isbn=***X Select one of the thirteen LIS metatheories listed at the end of Bates’ chapter (see pp. 10-14). Locate and read several articles and/or other works by the scholars that she notes after the metatheory you selected. Your reading may lead to publications by additional scholars that reflect the metatheory, which is fine. Identify one publication that you consider to be particularly good representation of the metatheory. In your journal entry, first provide a brief explanation of the metatheory and why it is important in information science research, citing Bates as well as other publications that have discussed the metatheory. Next, summarize the publication you chose that is a good representation of the metatheory. Discuss the research topic or issue addressed, the methodology used, the type of data collected, and the author’s conclusion. You might also want to explore how the research described in the publication exemplifies the idiographic approach (i.e., focuses on the uniqueness and description of the individual situation or event) or the nomothetic approach (i.e., focuses on discovering general laws/principles) and how that approach supports the metatheory.   Evaluation Your journals will be evaluated according to the following criteria and will be assigned a point value up to 5 points per journal: alignment with assignment instructions and topic requirements discussion demonstrates careful review and reading of the relevant publications ideas are synthesized into a coherent narrative writing is clear and cogent (supporting reasons are sufficient and appropriate)