Ethnographic sensitivity and current recordkeeping. Applying information culture analysis in the workplace
| Pages | 175-186 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-08-2017-0021 |
| Published date | 16 July 2018 |
| Date | 16 July 2018 |
| Author | Gillian Oliver,Fiorella Foscarini,Craigie Sinclair,Catherine Nicholls,Lydia Loriente |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance |
Ethnographic sensitivity and
current recordkeeping
Applying information culture analysis
in the workplace
Gillian Oliver
Centre for Organisational and Social Informatics, Monash University,
Caulfield East, Australia
Fiorella Foscarini
Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Craigie Sinclair
Department of Information and Records Management,
Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, and
Catherine Nicholls and Lydia Loriente
eSolutions, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to report on the application of information culture analysis
techniques in the workplace.The paper suggests that records managers should use ethnographicsensitivity,
if they want to have a constructive dialogue with records creators and users, and effect positivechange in
their organisations.
Design/methodology/approach –Two pilot studies were conducted in university settings for the
purpose of testing an information cultureassessment toolkit. The university records managers who carried
out the investigation approachedthe fieldwork ethnographically, in the sense that they wereinterested in the
perspectives of theirend users, and tried to understand their information cultures, ratherthan imposing their
recordkeepingconcepts and procedures.
Findings –Information culture analysiswas of practical utility in large complex organisations, providing
an insight into behaviours, motivations, and most importantly promoted reflection and dialogue among
organisationalactors.
Originality/value –The paper raises awareness of the diversity of professional skills and knowledge
required by records practitioners. It emphasises that to remain relevant to their organisations, records
managershave to be receptive and sensitive to cultural influences.
Keywords Universities, Ethnography, Information culture
Paper type Research paper
Information culturereflects the values, attitudes and behaviours relatingto the management
of information in organisational or community settings; understanding the dimensions of
information cultures is essential to achieve recordkeeping objectives. This has been the
motivator underpinning research that developed the concept of information culture
(Oliver and Foscarini,2014), and the subsequent development of a toolkit for the Information
Council on Archives to facilitate its analysis.However, information culture analysis may be
at odds with the traditional practice norms of records managers. Consequently, one of the
Ethnographic
sensitivity and
recordkeeping
175
Received4 August 2017
Revised12 November 2017
Accepted2 January 2018
RecordsManagement Journal
Vol.28 No. 2, 2018
pp. 175-186
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-08-2017-0021
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