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Exploring the Relationship Between Archival Appraisal EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARCHIVAL APPRAISAL PRACTICE AND USER STUDIES: U.S. STATE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS by Hea Lim Rhee B.A. in Library and Information Science, Ewha Womans University, Korea, 1996 Master of Library and Information Science, Ewha Womans University, Korea, 1999 Master of Science in Information, University of Michigan, 2004 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of School of Information Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Hea Lim Rhee It was defended on April 8, 2011 and approved by Richard J. Cox, PhD, Professor Bernadette Callery, PhD, Assistant Professor Ellen G. Detlefsen, PhD, Associate Professor Elizabeth Yakel, PhD, Associate Professor Dissertation Director: Richard J. Cox, PhD, Professor ii Copyright © by Hea Lim Rhee 2011 iii EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARCHIVAL APPRAISAL PRACTICE AND USER STUDIES: U.S. STATE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS Hea Lim Rhee, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2011 This study is the first to explore empirically the relationship between appraisal practice and user studies as well as the utilization of users and use as an appraisal factor. Both of these topics have been questioned in the archival community for several decades. This study investigated the current utilization of user studies in U.S. state archives and records management programs. It used the findings, along with participants’ attitudes toward such practices, to consider the potential relationship between appraisal practice and user studies. A paucity of information on this research topic and on the target population necessitated three preliminary studies, conducted from 2006 through 2008, which facilitated the development of the survey questionnaire and three interview protocols. These tools were tested in a 2009 pretest study. In 2010 the full research study employed an online survey and in-person and phone interviews. Forty-seven eligible state archivists and records managers from thirty-three states participated, and interviewees involved twenty-eight participants from twenty-one states. This full study analyzed data at four levels (individual, group, program, and state), and it used SPSS software and NVivo8 software for data analysis. According to the results of this study, the user study is the least frequently utilized user/use information source for appraisal practice, even though many participants consider users and use as an appraisal factor and collect user/use information from several different sources. Participants from only seven programs utilized results of user studies in their appraisal practice, iv and then only irregularly and unsystematically. Nevertheless, this study indicates the relationship between appraisal practice and user studies is likely to continue developing for two broad reasons. First, most participants have positive attitudes toward the feasibility and value of utilizing user studies in appraisal practice; participants who have done so proved the feasibility and value. Second, developing information technology helps conduct user studies, and results of this study show that if a program conducts a user study, its results will probably be utilized in appraisal practice. Findings of this study informed recommendations for further research, recommendations for archival education and training, and implications and recommendations for practitioners. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................... XIX 1.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 RESEARCH PURPOSE AND QUESTIONS ................................................... 4 1.3 RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE ........................................................................... 6 1.4 DEFINITION OF TERMS ................................................................................. 9 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 13 2.1 USERS AND USE AS AN APPRAISAL FACTOR AND AS INFORMATION FOR ARCHIVAL APPRAISAL ........................................................ 13 2.1.1 The contested role of users and use as an appraisal factor ........................ 13 2.1.2 Approaches to collecting user/use information for appraisal practice ..... 22 2.1.2.1 Approaches by archives ...................................................................... 22 2.1.2.2 Approaches by records management programs .............................. 29 2.2 USER STUDIES AS TOOLS FOR COLLECTING USER/USE INFORMATION ................................................................................................................ 30 2.2.1 User studies for archives programs and practices ...................................... 30 2.2.2 Posited feasibility and benefits of utilizing user studies for appraisal practice ........................................................................................................................ 36 vi 2.3 APPRAISAL PRACTICES AND USER STUDIES IN U.S. STATE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ................................... 43 2.3.1 History and functions of U.S. state archives and records management programs ..................................................................................................................... 43 2.3.2 Appraisal practice in U.S. state archives and records management programs ..................................................................................................................... 45 2.3.3 Users and user studies in U.S. state archives and records management programs ..................................................................................................................... 57 2.3.4 Users and user studies in appraisal practices of U.S. state archives and records management programs ................................................................................ 62 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................. 66 3.1 RESEARCH PARADIGM ................................................................................ 66 3.2 PRELIMINARY STUDIES .............................................................................. 67 3.3 PRETEST STUDY ............................................................................................. 70 3.4 DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................... 73 3.4.1 Population and sampling .............................................................................. 73 3.4.2 Process of recruiting participants and collecting survey data ................... 75 3.4.3 Survey instrumentation ................................................................................. 77 3.4.4 Following up survey responses ..................................................................... 79 3.4.5 Interviews ....................................................................................................... 80 3.5 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................. 83 3.5.1 Operationalization of concepts and terms ................................................... 84 3.5.2 Hypothetical relationships between appraisal practice and user studies . 85 vii 3.5.3 Quantitative data analysis............................................................................. 87 3.5.4 Qualitative data analysis ............................................................................... 93 4.0 RESEARCH RESULTS ............................................................................................ 95 4.1 INSTITUTIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND OF PARTICIPANTS ................................................................................................................ 97 4.1.1 Participants’ states, institutions, and programs ......................................... 97 4.1.2 Participants’ professional background ...................................................... 103 4.1.3 Non-participants .......................................................................................... 107 4.2 ARCHIVAL APPRAISAL PRACTICE ........................................................ 110 4.2.1 Definitions of archival appraisal ................................................................ 110 4.2.2 Appraisal activities ...................................................................................... 112 4.2.3 Agents involved in appraisal practice ........................................................ 114 4.3 COLLECTION OF USER/USE INFORMATION FOR GENERAL PURPOSES ....................................................................................................................... 115 4.3.1 Collection of user/use information ............................................................. 116 4.3.2 Sources of user/use information ................................................................. 117 4.3.3 User/use information collected ................................................................... 120 4.3.4 Reasons for not collecting user/use information ....................................... 122 4.4 COLLECTION AND UTILIZATION OF USER/USE INFORMATION IN APPRAISAL PRACTICE
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