What is it about?
In the paper we demonstrate how qualitative ethnographic approaches can be a useful way to develop an understanding of how students approach studying and their experiences of library spaces. The paper is focused on the two methods of cognitive mapping and retrospective process interview and outlines in detail how to employ the methods and therefore has a practical focus. Our research was exploratory and aimed at developing a more holistic view of student practices and experiences.
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Why is it important?
There is an increase in the use of ethnographic approaches by staff working in libraries and we hope that the details of the methodologies and the step by step account of how we carried out the analysis can support others to design their own research.
Perspectives
I enjoyed the close collaboration with my colleagues in the library and the opportunity to do ethnographic research. It was fantastic to see students draw spaces and processes as this really made a difference to the quality of the interview discussion and the data that we were able to collect.
Kathrine Jensen
University of Huddersfield
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Using Ethnographic Methods to Explore How International Business Students Approach Their Academic Assignments and Their Experiences of the Spaces They Use for Studying, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, September 2019, University of Alberta Libraries,
DOI: 10.18438/eblip29509.
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