The Rep Test and Other Sorting
Tasks in ILS Research
Phillip M. Edwards and Amy VanScoy
{phillip.m.edwards, vanscoy}@unc.edu
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Information and Library Science
CB #3360, 100 Manning Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360
Slides will be available via:
http://www.unc.edu/home/pmedward/
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Overview
• The “canonical” techniques
• Vignettes of sorting tasks in ILS research
• In practice: Designs, challenges, and benefits
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Role Construct Repertory Test
Designed to elicit constructs and contrasts about people (and
self)
Multiple variations:
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Minimum Context Form w/ Role Title Sheet
Minimum Context Card Form
Sequential Form
Full Context Form
Repertory grid
Kelly, G. A. 1955. Theory and personality. Vol.1 of The
psychology of personal constructs. New York: W. W. Norton.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
“Beautiful research” using the
minimum context card form
Spradley, J. P. 1970. You owe yourself a drunk: An ethnography
of urban nomads. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Kwasnik, B. H. 1991. The importance of document factors that are
not document attributes in the organization of personal documents.
Journal of Documentation 47 (4): 389-98.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Carlyle, A. 2001. Developing organized information displays for
voluminous works: A study of user clustering behaviors.
Information Processing & Management 37 (5): 677-99.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Tennis, J. T. 2003. Data collection for controlled vocabulary
interoperability—Dublin Core audience element. Bulletin of the
American Society for Information Science and Technology
(December/January): 20-3. http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Dec-02/tennis.html.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
McKnight, C. 2000. The personal construction of information
space. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 51
(8): 730-3.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Potthoff, J. K., Weis, D. L., Montanelli, D. S., and Murbach, M. M.
2000. An evaluation of patron perceptions of library space using
the role repertory grid procedure. College & Research Libraries 61
(3): 191-203.
“…the Role Repertory Grid Procedure and the thematic
analysis employed in this research to analyze responses
seemed a valuable way to identify the entire spectrum of
possible responses” (p. 202)
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Crudge, S. E., and Johnson, C. 2004. Using the information seerker
to elicit construct models for search engine evaluation. Journal of
the American Society for Information Science & Technology 55 (9):
794-806.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Edwards, P. M. Forthcoming. Mapping scholars’ decision
processes and factors that influence how they publish and
distribute their work. PhD diss., University of Washington.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Research Design
• Guiding question:
▫ How do scholars make decisions about where they
publish or how they distribute their work?
• Method:
▫ Collected CVs from participants
▫ Critical incident/decision interview
▫ Full context form of the Rep Test
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Results from multiple approaches
Investigator-selected items
Participant-suggested items
*A: GFH, CE, NJ, OH, and B03. Agricultural and Forest
Meteorology (2008).
*B: TLT, LJ, B03, OJ, NY, HD, A-QM, and TUT. ISME J (2008).
*C: OH, GFH, and B03. Plant Signaling & Behavior (2006).
[Version available at a co-author’s website]
*D: OH, GFH, and B03. Plant Signaling & Behavior (2006).
*E: GFD, TU, UO, LX, HD, and B03. Trends in Plant Science
(2006).
*F: TU, PTU, TGE, and B03. Plant Signaling & Behavior (2006).
*G: TU, TGE, and B03. Planta (2005).
*H:UU, NU, and B03. J. Exptl. Bot. (2005).
I: TU, TGE, and B03. In [edited volume], , edited by HD, TO,
and FX. (2006).
J: GFD, TU, UO, HD, and B03. Trends in Plant Science (2007).
K: OU, OO, XU, GD, and B03. Plant Science Bulletin (2008).
L: B03. Plant Cell Environ (1999).
M: LVOG, ERM, and B03. Plant Physiol. (1991). [Version
available at PubMed Central]
*01: MCU, and B03. Plant Cell and Environment. (2004).
*02: UU, NU, and B03. Functional Plant Biology. (2003).
*03: OH, NCJ, CGE, PTU, GFH, and B03. Planta. (2003).
*04: unpublished pt 2 to B03_A
*05: B03, TGE, and OY. Planta (1990). [pt. 2]
*06: B03, and TGE. Planta. (1990). [pt. 1]
*07: B03, and TGE. Planta (1977).
*08: B03, and TGE. Planta. (1980).
*09: LV, YET, ELE, PM, LGJ, and B03. Plant Physiology. (1981).
*10: ROP, B03, and TGE. Plant Physiology. (1988).
*11: DU, OU, and B03. Journal of Experimental Botany. (1989).
*12: LT, B03, and VOJ. Tree Physiology. (1990).
*13: RCN, B03, and TGE. Plant Physiology. (1990).
*14: LVOG, ERM, and B03. Plant Physiology. (1991).
Red items were volunteered for discussion by the participant during the
direct interview.
Black items were discussed by the participant only during the full context
rep test.
[Presented on January 22, 2009 at the ALISE Annual Conference, Denver, CO]
Challenges
• Moving beyond the “superficial” constructs and
contrasts
• Understanding or eliciting elements needed for
the most effective/illuminating sorting process
The Rep Test and Other Sorting
Tasks in ILS Research
Phillip M. Edwards and Amy VanScoy
{phillip.m.edwards, vanscoy}@unc.edu
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Information and Library Science
CB #3360, 100 Manning Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360
Slides will be available via:
http://www.unc.edu/home/pmedward/