Dissertation Information for Ming-Hsin Chiu NAME: - Ming-Hsin Chiu
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA) (2007)
ADVISORS: - Louise S. Robbins
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Ciaran Trace - Kyung-Sun Kim - Ethelene Whitmire - Michael John Streibel
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: Making sense of organizational socialization: Exploring information seeking behavior of newcomer digital librarians in academic libraries
Abstract: Organizational socialization is a critical process by which a newcomer learns to become a full-functioning member of an organization. The combination of information technology and library science creates new jobs as well as emergent demands for digital librarians. Digital librarianship, as a newly-created interdisciplinary specialization within librarianship, does not have an adequate support for newcomer orientation as the specialization itself is still evolving. The digital project-based nature of digital librarians' work and responsibility add Further complexity for newcomers to cope with in the early stages of employment. However, the means to close the gap between how newcomer digital librarians make sense of a new workplace and how library HR administrators are able to assist during the orientation stage hasn't been addressed in literature.
In addressing this gap in the organizational socialization and human resource management literatures in LIS, this exploratory study investigates the organizational socialization processes of newcomer digital librarians in ARL libraries. Following the well-developed procedures of Dervin's Sense-Making approach, this study focuses on the proactive, user-centered information seeking practices and processes during organizational entry. Specifically, the study investigates four dimensions of organizational socialization sense-making, situation (RQ1), gap (RQ2), bridge (RQ3), and outcome (RQ4). RQ1 investigates the organizational situations that lead to needs for socialization information seeking. RQ2 identifies the questions and confusions newcomer digital librarians have in situations in which information needs arise. RQ3 examines the information seeking tactics that digital librarians use to acquire socialization information. RQ4 explores positive and negative outcomes of socialization information acquisition.
Seventeen micro-moment time-line interviews were conducted with newcomer digital libraries from fifteen ARL libraries. 138 Sense-Making instances were solicited. Grounded theory as the analysis approach was employed to develop the underlying categories of Sense-Making framework, and to outline the relationships between those concepts within the context of organizational socialization. A typology of organizational socialization sense-making indicates that information seeking process is contextual and situational, and newcomers play proactive and constructive role, rather then passive and mechanistic. Practical, methodological, and theoretical significance and contribution, as well as the future research agenda are discussed in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6.
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MPACT Scores for Ming-Hsin Chiu A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2009-05-15 08:13:34
Advisors and Advisees Graph
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