ABSTRACT

Metatheory is the highest level conceptual device within research and determines a way of thinking and speaking about reality and its information phenomena. This (now online) "poster" shows the influence of metatheory by interpreting a single concept - the snowman - from the metatheoretical perspectives of cognitivism, social constructionism, domain analysis, and pragmatism. The various visual (and one verbal) representations of snowmen make it clear how metatheories orient LIS research to the mind, language, communities, or social action, respectively. With each snowman is a different definition of information, as applied in an exemplar study. At a time when LIS is aiming to make these abstract theoretical matters clearer for researchers and students alike, the poster offers a creative approach to new understanding.

[Click on the links in the abstract to view the different sections of the poster. Here are the Microsoft Word handout and Metatheory Bibliography that accompanied the presentation.]

 

For Reference: Metatheory Crosswalk

Metatheories are comparable to paradigms and epistemologies. No consensus exists on their terminology. This crosswalk matches the terms used in this poster (in yellow) to the terms in other articles.