Information practice in educational research

The project "Ethnographic case studies on information practice in educational research for designing information infrastructures" aims to deliver a detailed analysis of the use of infrastructures in research practice for the area of educational research. Several ethnographic case studies will provide the background for a detailed analysis of information practice in diverse research projects, and concepts that are fundamental to a design process will be developed.

The study relates to the e-science discourse and to information structures supporting scientific work. More recent studies argue that existing information systems incorporate scientific research and work procedures that do not match the actual scientific work procedures. This doctoral thesis looks at the area by conducting an ethnographic study of the heterogeneous information practices in educational research and related to the e-science discourse.

The ethnographic study is conducted in the context of an information-scientific analysis of requirements. It is oriented towards the workplace studies from the area of Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) as well as the empirical laboratory and technology studies from the area of Science and Technology Studies (STS). The research project is based on several case studies consisting of research projects in the area of education. The approach shall neither be biased towards a technical, nor towards a social angle; instead, a complex correlation of technical and social factors is assumed. The assessment of data is subject to a mixture of methods, with the core elements of an analysis of artefacts, expert interviews and participant observation.

Objectives:

• A complex description of information practices in their particular contexts;
• fundamental principles of designing information infrastructures in educational research.

The project is funded by the general budget of the Institute.