Flexible Design - Oh Yeah!

As I suspected, a flexible design seems like much more my style.  I like the concept of triangulating to combine many methods of data collection.  I think my design will ultimately fall somewhere in the realm of a case study/grounded theory study.  I especially like the idea of the grounded theory study, which will allow me to continually collect bits and pieces of information in the field, mull it all over, and go back to see what else I can find.

Possible methods of data collection I have been considering include:

--> A detailed analysis of the library collection and materials - not just counting the number of non-literary materials available, but also examining the collection with an eye for purpose, usefulness and depth of the non-literary collection.  Is the collection of DVDs, audio CDs, and books on tape or CD mainly geared toward recreational purposes or does it also contain educational and practical materials (such as a DVD on car repair)?   Is the non-literary and the early adult reader collection diverse and varied in subject matter and medium?  Does the library provide access to a DVD or CD/tape player that can be used onsite by patrons?

--> Interviews with library staff regarding their views toward illiteracy and the library's involvement with the non-literate community.  What do they see as the purpose of the library?  Who is it there to serve?  I would also get their thoughts on the diversity of the library collection, the collection guidelines they follow, and their organization-wide practices toward and treatment of minority groups.

--> Interviews with non-literate members of society.  [Note:  I have started using the term "non-literate" as a way to encompass the idea of illiterate adults as well as those who are aliterate, or simply do not read, even though they can.  All my research will be focusing on adults and will not include children who have not yet learned to read.]  These interviews would attempt to gather information on how these people feel the library serves them (or does not serve them).  Do they ever go to the library?  If no, why not?  Would they go if they knew the library had materials they could use?  Are they interested in DVDs, CDs, media, computer programs, adult picture books, books on tape or CDs?  Would their interest level change if the library provided means for watching DVDs or listening to CDs?  If they do go to the library, why do they go?  How do they feel they are treated there by staff and other patrons?

--> Other possible interview candidates might include politicians; members of NGOs, organizations and associations that advocate for education rights, illiteracy reduction, etc.; volunteers such as ESOL or adult education teachers; or members of library associations such as the ALA or SCLA.

--> Literary research on the history of thought and philosophies surrounding the purpose of the government-funded community library.  Who is it there to serve, what kind of materials should it offer, and how have these ideas changed in recent years with the advent of technology and the emphasis on collecting non-book materials?  There are some pretty strong opinions out there about the fact that books have been fading to the background in most library systems these days.  If my research considers whether there is a need to add more (or better) non-literary materials to a collection, these are viewpoints I will need to consider.

-->  I've also considered possibly doing a role-play type activity in the library, where myself and other volunteers or recruits would enter an unfamiliar library and attempt to take on the mindset of someone who cannot read.  This might include trying to find certain materials without reading signs, asking library staff for assistance, and filling out an application for a library card as someone who cannot read or write.  Then I would interview candidates to find out their experiences in this activity - how they felt they were treated, if they were comfortable in the library, if they were able to find their way around or if staff was willing to assist them, etc.  This type of thing may be too unscientific for a legitimate research proposal, but I thought it might be an interesting thing to try.

One of the main challenges I face so far has been trying to determine the best way to pick out interview candidates that are unable to read or only read at a very low level.  Although illiteracy is widespread in America, it is not something that is typically broadcast openly, and even if I ask, I cannot be sure that people will honestly admit such a thing.  I definitely think I would need to conduct this study in a fairly large, urban library, at least the size of the Richland County Main Library.  I volunteered for RCPL for a little while and noticed a lot of patrons who clearly are not coming to the library to read.  It is largely well-known and accepted in Columbia that many homeless people and people who may not have air conditioning in their homes come to the library as a place to hang out in indoor comfort, especially in the summertime.  These patrons could make good interview candidates if I were able to get some of them to open up to me.

That is all for now - thanks for reading.

Possibilities of Fixed Designs (or Lack Thereof)

Up to this point, I have been thinking a flexible design would really be ideal for the type of research I'd like to perform.  I still think that will probably be my ultimate choice, but it's nice to know after reading about fixed designs that some type of experiment would not be an off-the-wall approach to studying a social issue such as the treatment of a non-literate minority group in a library geared towards readers.

Any experiment I might design to answer my questions so far will have to be a small-scale operation, working with limited resources and relatively few participants.  I would likely be looking at something like a two-group RCT design with a pre-test and a post-test administered.  This could take the shape of a comparison between two libraries or two library systems, one in which nothing is changed and one in which a treatment is given consisting of the implementation of an outreach program to non-readers.  This might include establishing greater use of icons and picture maps to demonstrate where materials are located; and increasing materials that illiterate or low-literate adults can use, such as adult materials on a lower reading level, audio materials in different languages, magazines and adult picture books; and performing some type of community outreach.  

I am honestly not crazy about this design because it presents a lot of challenges in data collection methods and establishing validity.  I could probably get usage statistics fairly easily, so I could figure out whether the materials for the targeted minority group were being used, but I cannot think of any easy way to find out if the person using the materials is illiterate or has a low reading level.  The only way I can come up with to identify patrons who are illiterate, short of asking every person in the library whether they can read or not, would be to somehow incorporate members of a literacy class, as Dr. Solomon suggested in his comments.  I could certainly perform some sort of verbal survey on the students in order to glean their thoughts and ideas on the availability of materials for non-readers in the library.  Perhaps that would give me a better idea of where I want to head with the experiment and what questions I am actually trying to answer with all this.

All this is to say, I am just about ready to learn more about flexible designs and hope that I am able to come up with something a little more sensible and practical.  We'll see.

Rethinking Illiteracy

I’ve been gathering my thoughts thus far in a notebook (actually in a couple of random notebooks), so it is probably past time for me to get organized and write some of this stuff down in a coherent, cohesive format.  Already my concept of research, especially the type of research we will find most useful as librarians/information specialists/media specialists/etc., has been altered by the content we’ve encountered so far.  I began this semester thinking of “research” as exploring online databases, narrowing down keywords, using truncation and wildcards and all that other good stuff, with the ultimate goal of locating information that already exists.  These are great skills to have, but “real world” research is not necessarily about finding the data that already exists, but about collecting the data that has not been collected and answering the questions that have not yet been answered.

As my understanding of the material has begun to come together, so has my research proposal begun to take shape.  I started with the desire to research some aspect of literacy within libraries – obviously a very broad topic.  Efforts to teach literacy in libraries and schools are already well documented.  The problem of adult illiteracy has been looked at from just about every angle possible – as a class issue, a race issue, an immigrant issue, a fault of our education system, and so on.  I have no desire to complete the same research someone else has already done, so I have been brainstorming to come up with a different angle.

Public library systems often make great efforts to teach adult literacy classes, as well as adult computer literacy, information literacy, media literacy and the like.  These are good and high-minded endeavors, but I have found myself thinking about how adults who are unable to read must feel upon stepping into a public library.  The first step to being able to reduce adult illiteracy is to get illiterate people to step through the front door.  This must be an incredibly intimidating action for most of them.  Let’s face it, libraries don’t exactly cater to the comforts of people who are unable to read. 

I found an interesting piece by Jennifer Cram called “Potential Unexploited: Public Libraries and Adult Literacy” that I think I will use as a base for my research theory.  Cram says that libraries and librarians have the mindset of catering to “Homo Typographia, Typographic Man, a kind of sophisticated subspecies of Homo Sapiens.” (Progressive Librarian, no. 18, p. 40).  This means that libraries view illiteracy largely as something undesirable that cannot be tolerated and needs to be corrected.  The materials that libraries do offer which illiterate or non-literate users could take advantage of are offered on the premise that they are being offered for those too young to read, for those with visual impairment, for those who can read but perhaps want to listen to a book on CD or tape in their car, for those just learning to read, etc.  What Cram is saying, and what I agree with, is that libraries really only treat illiteracy as a temporary issue that can, and should, be rectified.  Hence, libraries do not cater to the needs of the illiterate as a permanent minority group, as they do other minority groups such as the elderly and the handicapped.  I think, however, it is important to recognize that there are illiterate adults who will never learn to read, or who may not even feel it is something they want to do.  This does not mean they deserve to be ignored as a population with special needs.

With this theory in mind, my research would pick one community as a case study and seek to answer questions such as:

                What is the percentage of illiterate/aliterate/non-literate adults in a community?

                How many of these adults use the library compared with attendance by other minority groups?

What information sources does a typical library system offer that can be used by the illiterate/aliterate/non-literate population?

What are the views of library staff, library users, and library benefactors/donors toward illiterate users?

How do illiterate users view the availability of materials that they can use in the library?

What steps can be taken to be more welcoming to this minority group?

Thanks for reading - more to come.