Library and Information Science - LIS Theories

LIS Theories

Julian Warner (2010, p. 4-5) suggests that

"Two paradigms, the cognitive and the physical, have been distinguished in information retrieval research, but they share the assumption of the value of delivering relevant records (Ellis 1984, 19; Belkin and Vickery 1985, 114). For the purpose of discussion here, they can be considered a single heterogeneous paradigm, linked but not united by this common assumption. The value placed on query transformation is dissonant with common practice, where users may prefer to explore an area and may value fully informed exploration. Some dissenting research discussions have been more congruent with practice, advocating explorative capability - the ability to explore and make discriminations between representations of objects - as the fundamental design principle for information retrieval systems".

The domain analytic approach (e.g., Hjørland 2010) suggests that the relevant criteria for making discriminations in information retrieval are scientific and scholarly criteria. In some fields (e.g. evidence based medicine) the relevant distinctions are very explicit. In other cases they are implicit or unclear. At the basic level, the relevance of bibliographical records are determined by epistemological criteria of what constitutes knowledge.

Among other approaches, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice should also be mentioned.