Methodological Implications for Video-Based Research in the Library and Information Science

The use of video has been popular in psychology and educational research (Erickson, 2011), but still is relatively new to the Library and Information Science (LIS) field. Video technology is a powerful tool for documenting events, allowing them to be preserved permanently and viewed un unlimited number of times for collaborative data analysis (Jordan & Henderson, 1995). In addition, it is important to consider that video recordings start with a choice of the recorder on which part to capture and follow with a deliberate and selective choice on which recordings to focus on analytically. Thus, researchers who choose to employ video-based research need to be reflexive of the affordances and limitations of using certain video technology and be cognizant of the ways in which we can be closer to capturing the phenomenon itself. In this poster, we will demonstrate two cases of family programming at public libraries where video-based research was used for research and explore the methodological implications of video-based research in LIS. We aim to discuss the opportunities and challenges of capturing in-situ data in addition to participants’ retrospective perspectives after their participation in library programming.