Trace data visualisation enquiry: a methodological coupling for studying information practices in relation to information systems
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2021-0082 |
| Published date | 30 August 2021 |
| Date | 30 August 2021 |
| Pages | 141-159 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Björn Ekström |
Trace data visualisation enquiry:
a methodological coupling
for studying information practices
in relation to information systems
Bj€
orn Ekstr€
om
Swedish School of Library and Information Science, Bor
as, Sweden
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how a methodological coupling of
visualisations of trace data and interview methods can be utilised for information practices studies.
Design/methodology/approach –Trace data visualisation enquiry is suggested as the coupling of
visualising exported data from an information system and using these visualisations as basis for interview
guides and elicitation in information practices research. The methodology is illustrated and applied through a
small-scale empirical study of a citizen science project.
Findings –The study found that trace data visualisation enquiry enabled fine-grained investigations of
temporal aspects of information practices and to compare and explore temporal and geographical aspects of
practices. Moreover, the methodology made possible inquiries for understanding information practices
through trace data that were discussed through elicitation with participants. The study also found that it can
aid a researcher of gaining a simultaneous overarching and close picture of information practices, which can
lead to theoretical and methodological implications for information practices research.
Originality/value –Trace data visualisation enquiry extends current methods for investigating information
practices as it enables focus to be placed on the traces of practices as recorded through interactions with
information systems and study participants’accounts of activities.
Keywords Practice-based studies, Sociomateriality, Trace ethnography, Interview methods, Visual methods,
Methodology, Information practices, Citizen science, Elicitation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Society is becoming ever more datafied as mundane activities are made into machine-
readable data (van Es and Sch€
afer, 2017). Peoples’interactions with technical systems and
infrastructures such as search engines, social media, online education and citizen science
platforms are no exception –these systems collect and generate data about their users and
individual activities that collectively can be analysed as traces of practices, so called trace
data (Geiger and Ribes, 2011, p. 1). The notion of big data has spawned a rise in research
seeking to make sense of these traces using mostly quantitative methods. For a qualitatively
inclined researcher interested in how practices, denoting sets of routinised actions, shared
ways of understanding the world, rules, norms, conventions and material and geographical
settings (Pilerot and Lindberg, 2018) unfold, trace data can be used to recreate these activities.
Trace data
visualisation
enquiry
141
©Bj
€
orn Ekstr€
om. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and
create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and noncommercial purposes), subject to full
attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://
creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
The authorwould like to thankthe participantsof the study for theirtime and effort.The author would
also like to thank the Information Practices and Digital Cultures research group and his supervisors
Professor Ola Pilerot and Senior Lecturer Veronica Johansson at the University of Bor
as for valuable
feedback.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 16 April 2021
Revised 30 July 2021
Accepted 2 August 2021
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 78 No. 7, 2022
pp. 141-159
Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-04-2021-0082
In the investigation of information practices as observations, annotations, photographing,
verifying, editing and listing, trace data are particularly useful for investigating such
interactions in relation to information systems.
However, while commonly used computational methods for exploring trace data using
quantitativelyoriented methods undeniablyprovide helpful ways ofwrangling and analysing
data, the sense-making of the meanings of the results would also benefit from qualitative
approaches and inclusions of first-person interpretations. In order to present results that are
explainedas meaningful practices,consideration needs to be taken tothe participants enacting
the practices and the situated settings through which they occur. Interview methods give at
hand a plausibleway to derive such explanations.However, studies of informationpractices in
relation to information systemswould benefit from simultaneously keeping focuson the trace
data fromthe information systemsto investigate the doings thathave occurred in connectionto
the systems. In orderto accomplish a first-person validated stance to the studyof information
practices in relation to information systems, a coupling of research methods is desirable.
The aim of this study is to examine whether and how a methodological coupling of geographical
visualisations of trace data and interview methods, henceforth trace data visualisation enquiry,
can be utilised for information practices studies. Even though the paper primarily should be
regarded as a methodological contribution, it also contains a brief report from a small-scale
empirical study of a citizen science project, which is used as an illustration of the methodological line
of reasoning. The aim is fulfilled by addressing the following research questions:
RQ1. How can trace data visualisation enquiry be beneficial to current approaches in
citizen science?
RQ2. How can trace data visualisation enquiry be utilised in information practices
research?
RQ3. What are the theoretical implications of trace data visualisation enquiry for
information practices research?
This paper is structured as follows: After this introduction, a literature review on methods in
information practices research is presented, with a certain focus on semi-structured interviews, trace
ethnography and visual elicitation. Next, the methodology of trace data visualisation enquiry is
presented. This is followed by a section in which trace data visualisation enquiry is put to work in a
small-scale empirical study of information practices in a citizen science project. The paper ends with a
concluding discussion on the methodology’s contributions to citizen science research, its usefulness
for information practices research and its theoretical implications for information practices research.
Selective literature review: previous methods used in information practices
research on information systems
A recurring theme in practice-oriented library and information science research, commonly
termed informationpractices, is how information is handled in relation to information systems
and infrastructures (Borgman, 2007;Bowker et al.,2009;Huvila, 2019). More specifically, this
line of research is engaged withthe study of how information is sought, shared, produced and
organised. Various types of methodological approacheshave been adopted for such studies;
interview methods and document studies, participatory observation (Pilerot et al., 2017)as
well as trace ethnography (e.g. Mugar et al., 2015), focusgroups (Lloyd et al., 2013) and visual
elicitation methods (Hicksand Lloyd, 2018). In this section, I will discuss how semi-structured
interviews, trace ethnography and visual elicitation in particular have been used in
information practices research. The ambition is not to provide a full-fledged overview of all
and each method in this area. Rather, I strive to make visiblewhat three prominent methods
have to offer, and what they do not offer, for thestudy of information practices.
JD
78,7
142
To continue reading
Request your trial