Dissertation Information for Diane Ledbetter Barlow NAME: - Diane Ledbetter Barlow
- (Alias) Diane Barlow
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- University of Maryland (USA) (1989)
ADVISORS: - Anne Scott Macleod
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Jerry S. Kidd - E. Wendy Saul - James Will Liesener - James Elmer Grunig
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: The communication of science information to children through trade books: The nature of authorship
Abstract: The authors of children's science trade books were investigated as agents in the communication of science information to children. Data about personal characteristics, education, professional experience, and attitudes were collected through telephone interviews with fifty-two authors of books published from 1980 to 1986. Data about the authors' personal characteristics, education and professional experience were described and used to construct a typology of authors for further data analysis.
Goals of the authors in writing science literature for children were found to emphasis developmental and social goals to a greater degree than science-related goals. Goals differed by age of the intended reader and by type of author. No differences were found when goal were analyzed by subject matter of the book.
The process of writing a children's science book was analyzed by focusing on topic selection, use of a mental image of the reader, research processes, and interactions with editors. According to the authors, 75% of the topics were self-generated; some differences were found by type of author. Authors named personal and professional experiences and interests as major sources of ideas, but identified several constraints on topic selection, including requirements and limitations of the child reader and market factors. The information sources used by at least half of the authors were interviews with subject experts, journal articles, and site visits. Differences were found in authors' use of information sources by type of author, age of the reader, and subject of the book. Forty-one authors said that they worked with a mental image of the audience in mind; the mental image varied both in degree of specificity and in the attributes ascribed to the potential reader. According to the authors, editors made few or no changes in over half of the manuscripts. Differences were found by type of author, subject of the book, and age of the intended reader.
Implications of the findings for a concept of childhood, issues raised by the typology, and a descriptive model of information flow were discussed.
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MPACT Scores for Diane Ledbetter Barlow A = 0
C = 1
A+C = 1
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:18:22
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