Biographers

Fall 2010LIS 608 Human Information Seeking Behavior

Lauren OrsoEmily FaireyCaitlin Arndt

People Seeking People

Defining Biography

Biography

as

History

Biography

as

Popular Literature

Biographers

Our Research Question

When scholarly biographers research their topics,

are they searching in the same ways and using the same resources

as their more popular counterparts?

Biographers

Literature Review

Biographers

Tibbo (2003)

The study focuses on U.S. History scholars

and their access to primary source materials

According to Tibbo’s breakdown, it’s clear that biographical historians make use of a

wide variety of resources

(digital, print or otherwise).

Tibbo suggests that history scholars actually want digital resources, not necessarily technophobes.

BiographersTibbo, H.R. (2003). Primarily history in America: How U.S. historians search for primary materials at the dawn of the digital age. American Archivist 66(1), 9-50.

Tibbo (2003)

What needs to be done?

More directed study of biographical historians

How can archives better serve the biographer’s need for primary source material?

Biographers

Dalton & Charnigo (2004)

A study of historians that analyzes:

andexamines the use of electronic

materials.

“…which materials historians consider to be the most important and how they discover them.” (p.400)

BiographersDalton, M. S., & Charnigo, L. (2004). Historians and their information sources. College & Research Libraries, 65(5), 400-25.

Dalton & Charnigo (2004)

When historians were asked to name their most important primary and

secondary sources a few stood out:

Biographers

Top Primary Sources:1.Archives2.Manuscripts3.Books4.Newspapers

Top Secondary Sources:1.Books2.Journal Articles3.Dissertations4.Websites

Seven of the historians surveyed listed websites as an important primary source!

Dalton & Charnigo (2004)

They also assert that historians are lone wolves.

Why?

Because they rarely co-author publications…

Biographers

Dalton & Charnigo (2004)

What needs to be done?

Are historians really anti-social?

With such a wide range of desired materials,

how can librarians and archivists provide for them?

Biographers

Historian / Biographer

Miller (2005) doesn’t view their methods as notably different

Lee (2009) suggests that the methods of popular

biographers are much more akin to investigative journalism.

Biographers

Lee, H. (2009). Biography: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Miller, R. (2005). Biographical research methods. London: Sage.

Identifying key concepts

Technology Use

Import of Personal Contacts

Use of Archival Collections

Biographers

Is there a methodological divide?

Our Study

Methodology• IRB•Surveys with Survey Monkey

•Getting the survey to reflect the research question •paring it down to 10-15 minutes•striking a balance between open ended and "option-selecting" questions. •Allowing the possibility for future contact

•Interviews•Creating questions that complement and parallel the survey.•Future Suggestion: Group Interview

•Coding of participants•Record Keeping with recorder and with transcriptions •Modifying Questions to fit group context

Biographers

Data Collection

• Pilot• Invitation letter– Identity, Incentive, Confidentiality

• Contacting participants: Methods:– List-serves– Facebook– Direct Emails– Personal Acquaintances– Journals of Biography– Societies of Biography

• Survey Monkey Automatic Collection• Telephone Interview transcription

Survey Results

Biographers

In addition to the 85 % who plan to publish in book form,

there are also several different modes used by a 1/7 minority,

such as journal articles, theses, instruction, and even

websites.

Goal of Research

Academics

Size of circles relate number of responses to number of respondents

Biographers

Survey Results

Biographers

Conversely, popular biographers think primarily of book publication,

with a small percentage (28%) aiming to publish in

magazines.

The overall majority of book publication

is significant.

Goal of Research

Popular

Size of circles relate number of responses to number of respondents

Biographers

Survey Results

Surprise! Scholars like to talk with one another!

Survey Results

3 respondents added comments emphasizing the importance of interviews

Interview Analysis• Development of looser question approach • “Inner voice” of subject : The search modes• Diversity in Academic publication formats • Existing publications vs. primary sources• Searching before and after internet: a history• “Internal” vs. External resources • Problems: Archival, digitial and human failure

Biographers

Interview Models: “Wider and wider concentric circles of searching” and “Putting out the fishing

line and seeing what you get—where does that lead you next?”

Limitations

Biographers

Practical Implications

Biographers

Biographers need most...

• a strong personal network• a reliable Internet connection • unlimited time, money and

access. 

Some Quick Demographics 

57% female

(8 respondents)

43% male

(6 respondents)

average age: 52youngest: 27

oldest: 75

Tech Habits:

• 42% check e-mail "constantly," or 16+ times per day

• 14% (2 respondents) check e-mail 3 times or less per day. 

Most have been writing professionally:

• mean=14 years• mode=10 years

Biographers

Conclusions

Biographers

Motivated to PUBLISH! 

Goals of Research(combined)

Publication (book) (58%)Publication (periodical) (15%)Instruction (11%)Thesis/Dissertation (11%)Personal Website (5%)

Future WorkBiographers outside the conventional realm

of written histories may benefit most

from new research regarding their habits. These include:

• children's nonfiction writers• documentary filmmakers 

• students

Reliability and Usability of:

• personal sources• Internet information Biographers

Questions?