TY - ICOMM

T1 - Collaborative Interpretation as Craft

T2 - Slow Theory Development in Library and Information Science

AU - Hicks, Alison

AU - McKenzie, Pamela

AU - Bronstein, Jenny

AU - Hyldegård, Jette Seiden

AU - Ruthven, Ian

AU - Widén, Gunilla

N1 - Information Matters, vol. 4(4)

PY - 2024/4/1

Y1 - 2024/4/1

N2 - How does theorising happen? For some, it may be sudden, individual inspiration that comes to mind, Newton under the apple tree or Archimedes in his bath. But, for this international group of researchers, we stand with Werron and colleagues to position theorising as a craft; a slow and organic process of collaborative interpretation that involves assembling a team, thinking aloud, collecting, sharing and creating material, and writing together. Within Library and Information Science (LIS), theory development has typically prioritised the use of theory rather than its construction as well as the work of individual theorists instead of group perspectives. However, we argue that understanding collaborative theorising as a craft forms an opportunity to think creatively about how we "construct understanding from information and ideas," including the everyday tools and strategies that bring theoretical work into being. The communal shape of handwork, which centres on participation as well as dialogue and exchange, means that seeing collaborative theorising as a craft also allows us to think more carefully about how LIS could benefit from a consideration of shared practices of knowledge production.-How does theorising happen?-Our own journey into the craft of collaborative theorising began with a failed grant application, a scenario that may be familiar to others. Free from the constraints of the bid, we decided to shelve our proposed formal examination of transition to engage in a more open exploration of the concept.

AB - How does theorising happen? For some, it may be sudden, individual inspiration that comes to mind, Newton under the apple tree or Archimedes in his bath. But, for this international group of researchers, we stand with Werron and colleagues to position theorising as a craft; a slow and organic process of collaborative interpretation that involves assembling a team, thinking aloud, collecting, sharing and creating material, and writing together. Within Library and Information Science (LIS), theory development has typically prioritised the use of theory rather than its construction as well as the work of individual theorists instead of group perspectives. However, we argue that understanding collaborative theorising as a craft forms an opportunity to think creatively about how we "construct understanding from information and ideas," including the everyday tools and strategies that bring theoretical work into being. The communal shape of handwork, which centres on participation as well as dialogue and exchange, means that seeing collaborative theorising as a craft also allows us to think more carefully about how LIS could benefit from a consideration of shared practices of knowledge production.-How does theorising happen?-Our own journey into the craft of collaborative theorising began with a failed grant application, a scenario that may be familiar to others. Free from the constraints of the bid, we decided to shelve our proposed formal examination of transition to engage in a more open exploration of the concept.

M3 - Net publication - Internet publication

VL - 4

PB - Information Matters

CY - ASIS&T

ER -