Reflecting on Critical Research Methods and Experiences

1. Reflecting on Critical Research Methods and Experiences Bharat Mehra School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee E-mail: bmehra@utk.edu URL: http://www.sis.utk.edu/people/faculty/mehra

2. Agenda • Select Critical Research considerations that are important in my work • Past Research • Examples of Current Projects

3. Critical Research • Assumes that social reality is historically constituted and that it is produced and reproduced by people • Recognizes that people’s ability to consciously act to change their social and economic circumstances is constrained by various forms of social, cultural and political domination • Acknowledges that the main task of research is one of social critique, whereby the restrictive and alienating conditions of the status quo are brought to light, questioned, and changed Jurgen Habermas of the Frankfurt School

4. Critical Research Considerations • Working with underserved populations: Critical theory recognizes perspectives of all stakeholders in different situations and this includes points of view of the under-represented in order to “do justice to a diversity of socially defined perspectives while providing a grounding for the evaluation of controversial problems” (Endres, 1996, ¶24). • Reflective process to question traditional understandings and scrutinize existing values, practices, ideological frameworks, and processes (Kellner, 1989; Habermas, 1993; Froomkin, 2003).

5. Past Research

6. Current Research • Campus Climate and Community Action for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Community at the University of Tennessee (with Donna Braquet, Librarian, UT Hodges Library) • How can the University of Tennessee Improve its Information Support Services for African-American Students to Increase Enrollment, Retention, and Develop Minority Student Leadership? Case Perspectives of African-American Graduate Students (with Cheryl Ann Lambert, Ph. D. Student, UT School of Advertising and Public Relations) • Information Support Services for International Graduate Students at the University of Tennessee (with Dania Bilal, Associate Professor, SIS)

7. Critical Research Considerations • Change agency and empowerment: Elicit suggestions for improvements to make people’s experiences better; Bring a change in socio-economic and sociopolitical realties by “helping people help themselves” (Mehra, 2006a) • Example Study 2 Select Questions • What were specific problems you faced and solutions you found? • Suggest ways of improvements so that other African-American graduate students in the future may not face the same problems you faced. (PROMPT: How can the information support services on the UTK campus be improved to increase enrollment, retention, and develop minority student leadership?).

8. Methods: Participatory Action Research • Challenge traditional definitions of knowledge Democratization of the knowledge process in which the people who are usually considered “research subjects” become part of the research process as researchers analyzing their own experiences (Mehra, 2006b) • Emphasis on social justice and social equity via action to change imbalances in distribution of resources, information, and power (Stoecker & Bonacich, 1992)

9. Qualitative Research Methods: Action Research • AR aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework (Rapoport, 1970, p. 499) • AR is a valid research method in applied fields, provides outcome-based results, and suggests direction for change (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988) • AR is closely ties to interpretive inquiry; hence traditional criteria to evaluate rigor in experimental research—objectivity, reliability, validity, and generalizability—are inappropriate, and AR researchers may establish trustworthiness of their study by reporting on credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Stringer, 1999).

10. Example Study 1 Specific Community Actions + Outcomes • Using social/digital technologies to build connections between LGBTQ and allies • Seeking institutional commitment for legal, political, and social protection • Participating in political lobbying and building political support networks • Developing “safe space” programs and sensitivity training • Creating awareness of LGBTQ issues via active programming and hosting of events • Developing accurate/fair LGBTQ information resources • Creating specialized courses that specifically focus on LGBTQ materials

11. Critical Research Considerations • Democratic and participative ideologies • Equal participation of disenfranchised users • Learning in collaboration • Community inquiry into participant’s everyday experiences • Online-offline convergences • Use of mixed methods • Situated nature of applications and concrete outcomes • Promoting inclusiveness: Outreach in planning and policy implementation

12. Thank you for your attention. • Questions and Comments? Images Courtesy: Google