Using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prison

Introduction. This short paper introduces 'progress logs', an adaptation of the solicited diary method, and details their planned use in a forthcoming study on the information behaviour of students in transition from prison to higher education. Development of the method. Progress logs ar...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Isabel Virgo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Borås 2024-06-01
Series:Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/850
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832544555791024128
author Isabel Virgo
author_facet Isabel Virgo
author_sort Isabel Virgo
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. This short paper introduces 'progress logs', an adaptation of the solicited diary method, and details their planned use in a forthcoming study on the information behaviour of students in transition from prison to higher education. Development of the method. Progress logs are designed to capture individual-level qualitative data over a period of time, using prompts which build on previous prompts to generate rich data, allow opportunities for participant reflection and provide a narrative of progress. The study context. The suitability of this method for studying the behaviour of individuals in transition is evaluated. Details of the proposed study are provided, including consideration of sampling, recruitment and ethics. Application of the method. The application of the progress logs method to the study context is described, covering the duration, frequency of prompts and choice of topics. Strengths and limitations. The strengths and weaknesses of this method are evaluated. Despite sharing some of the drawbacks of the solicited diary method, progress logs also build on their advantages to build a narrative of change over time. Conclusions. It is concluded that progress logs offer a suitable means to gather in-depth data about individuals’ information behaviour, especially during transitions.
format Article
id doaj-art-7f63d4550a774798ab9acc745a3a5ef2
institution Kabale University
issn 1368-1613
language English
publishDate 2024-06-01
publisher University of Borås
record_format Article
series Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
spelling doaj-art-7f63d4550a774798ab9acc745a3a5ef22025-02-03T10:10:34ZengUniversity of BoråsInformation Research: An International Electronic Journal1368-16132024-06-0129260261010.47989/ir292850847Using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prisonIsabel Virgo0Robert Gordon UniversityIntroduction. This short paper introduces 'progress logs', an adaptation of the solicited diary method, and details their planned use in a forthcoming study on the information behaviour of students in transition from prison to higher education. Development of the method. Progress logs are designed to capture individual-level qualitative data over a period of time, using prompts which build on previous prompts to generate rich data, allow opportunities for participant reflection and provide a narrative of progress. The study context. The suitability of this method for studying the behaviour of individuals in transition is evaluated. Details of the proposed study are provided, including consideration of sampling, recruitment and ethics. Application of the method. The application of the progress logs method to the study context is described, covering the duration, frequency of prompts and choice of topics. Strengths and limitations. The strengths and weaknesses of this method are evaluated. Despite sharing some of the drawbacks of the solicited diary method, progress logs also build on their advantages to build a narrative of change over time. Conclusions. It is concluded that progress logs offer a suitable means to gather in-depth data about individuals’ information behaviour, especially during transitions.https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/850transitionsprisondiary method
spellingShingle Isabel Virgo
Using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prison
Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
transitions
prison
diary method
title Using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prison
title_full Using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prison
title_fullStr Using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prison
title_full_unstemmed Using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prison
title_short Using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prison
title_sort using progress logs to research the information behaviour of higher education students in prison
topic transitions
prison
diary method
url https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/850
work_keys_str_mv AT isabelvirgo usingprogresslogstoresearchtheinformationbehaviourofhighereducationstudentsinprison