Experimental research in Library and Information Science
Ilja Frissen, Catherine Henderson, M. Max Evans · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2024
At the heart of a healthy field are explicit theories and concerted efforts to test these theories. It is common to hear that the main avenue for developing and testing said theories is experimental research. This chapter explores the purported and actual roles of experimental research in Library and Information Science (LIS). It first sets up the image of experimental research traditionally painted in LIS textbooks. It then critically evaluates the current state of experimental research in LIS by assessing the purpose, research questions, hypotheses, study design, sample parameters, and statistical analysis methods. The analysis shows that the vast majority of experimental research apparently goes against the traditional picture. Finally, it tries to reconcile the apparent discrepancy between theory and practice by adopting a data-to-theory perspective as proposed by the abductive theory of method, which allows us to appreciate current experimental research as a data-gathering tool, as opposed to a theory development tool.