So, formulating my research question was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, especially since my area of interest was still too broad. However, I have been working on a research question and though it still needs a lot of work, this is what I have so far: “How should adults, particularly librarians, use their authority to determine what is best for their children’s interests and needs, such as their intellectual freedom and education in an increasing technological era?” I still have to incorporate terms that I want to explore further, such as digital culture, but again, this question is in working progress.
I think Professor Galey’s assigned question is an excellent way for me to think about how my research question fits in the broader context of issues, concerns and trends regarding information and information studies (which I know my research question above does not explicitly address yet). Luker’s chapter regarding the literature review and my bedraggled daisy also helped me explore what is out there in the field already. By looking at journals that focus on the information discipline, I was able to acknowledge what already has been written about my area of research interest. A lot of the articles focus on the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which I am interested in exploring further. However, what I find a lot of these articles do is that they provide a different perspective and context than what I am intending to do with this topic in mind. Many of them look at the legislation of CIPA, particularly the First Amendment as with the obvious case in one title of an article, “Minors’ First Amendment Rights: CIPA & Schools”. I think it is important to examine the legal implications of the CIPA, especially since I would like to look at intellectual freedom. However, I would also like to look at information professionals’ roles, specifically librarians, and their implications of the CIPA, and how they use their authority as adults to determine what children can and cannot access over the Internet. I think this is important to explore further because librarians’ are information professionals and their roles and purposes centre on providing information.
References
Chmara, T. (2010). Minors’ First Amendment rights: CIPA & school libraries. Knowledge Quest 39 (1), 16-21.
Luker, K. (2008) Salsa Dancing into the Social Sciences: Research in an Age of Info-glut. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Tracy Matos
The Twelve Forties 