Collaboration in keeping up to date: Preliminary results of a framework synthesis and a qualitative case study

Abstract

Keeping up to date is fundamental to research. Nonetheless, researchers face various challenges related to information overload, time constraints, and insufficient evaluation skills. Collaboration (sharing the monitoring effort among group members) may be a solution. The goal of my doctoral project is to explore the factors and outcomes of collaborative information monitoring. The project consists of two phases. Phase 1: A systematic mixed studies review with framework synthesis was conducted to identify influencing factors and outcomes and generate a novel conceptual framework for collaborative information monitoring. Fifty-one studies were included and synthesised using thematic synthesis. The conceptual framework includes seven types of factors, five types of outcomes, and represents the first systematic attempt to bridge the literature on collaborative information seeking with environmental scanning/information monitoring. Phase 2: A collaborative information monitoring system, named eSRAP, allows groups to monitor research topics and share the ongoing work of identifying potentially relevant articles. Using a qualitative multiple case study approach, I explore system use and perceptions of eSRAP users. Each group monitoring a specific topic constitutes a case. Data collection involves semi-structured interviews, fieldnotes, system logs, search strategies and relevance criteria used by each case. All data is analyzed thematically, using themes from the conceptual framework (deductive coding) and generating new themes (inductive coding). Analyzed data are converged for each case (intra-case analysis) to produce indepth case reports, and cases are compared to draw cross-case conclusions (inter-case analysis). In this presentation, I will share the conceptual framework and preliminary results from one case.

Vera Granikov

McGill University, Quebec, Canada

Vera Granikov is an MLIS graduate (class of 2008) and a PhD candidate at the School of Information Studies at McGill University. Her doctoral project explores the role of collaboration in keeping up to date with scholarly publications. Between degrees, Vera gained invaluable experience coordinating research projects related to health information at the Department of Family Medicine (McGill University). She is passionate about information literacy, the value of information, collaboration, community, patient engagement, and citizen science.