AARL

Developing an interpretative approach to competency-based training and learning

Kirsty Williamson, Marion Bannister and Don Schauder

Abstract: The project, discussed in this article, was initiated by the State Library of NSW (SLNSW), supported by the National Library of Australia (NLA), with the aim of developing the competency of Australian public librarians in using online databases.

The article begins with a discussion of the differences between training, education and learning, placing the project within the debates about competency-based training (CBT) which are associated with this discussion. The interpretivist (interpretative) framework and method for the first stage of the project are described. Twenty-six librarians were involved in fieldwork at SLNSW, Wagga Wagga Headquarters of the Riverina Regional Library, and NLA. They took part in individual interviews, focus group interviews and their skills in database use were observed. The findings of this fieldwork form the basis for the development of two training modules at present being developed. The central, generic tool of both training modules is called The Lens which will be used to identify the common elements, problems and the idiosyncrasies of databases. The conclusion relates back to the issues of training, education and learning. It suggests that the interpretative approach to competencies being taken in the project will result in high quality training modules, well related to the needs and contexts of public librarians.

'You program a robot, you train a dog (or possibly a soldier), but for human beings you provide an educational environment.' [1]

This statement, although controversial, gives cause to reflect on the enthusiasm for competency-based training in Australia and other parts of the world. The project discussed in this article (referred to as 'the training project'), which began in September 2001, draws upon competency-based approaches to learning, and is informed by the debates that have surrounded them. The project was initiated by the State Library of NSW (SLNSW), supported by the National Library of Australia (NLA), with the aim of developing the competency of Australian public librarians in using online databases. Staff members of SLNSW were aware of findings of a Victorian project, [2] which had found that databases in public libraries at that time were not being used to optimal level. They believed that the situation was similar in NSW. The objectives of the project include: to investigate perceptions of a sample of librarians about their present skills and needs for training in using online databases to satisfy clients' requests for information; to observe the range of skills in using online databases of the same sample of librarians; to investigate ways of building generic training modules which will include core sets of competencies and which will apply across a range of databases and search engines; and to test and evaluate the training modules with the original sample against specific learning outcomes.

This article discusses the early findings from this project in the context of issues of competency-based training. It begins with a discussion of the issues mooted in the opening quote: the differences between training, learning and education. It then describes how competency-based training (CBT) has evolved over the past decade, before discussing the role of context in work-related learning for the information professions, raising the possibility of including a role for context and the individual in the application of competency-based principles. Such an approach is seen as 'interpretative' (also termed 'interpretivist') when applied to research and this was the philosophy which underpinned the training project. The first stage of the empirical work is outlined in the article and the results of this stage are presented. The conclusion considers the appropriateness of applying an interpretative approach, not only in the research being undertaken for the project, but also in the training to be offered as an outcome.

Training, learning and education

The quote which begins this article [3] makes a blunt point. Less controversially, Forrester et al [4] have explored the different nuances that the terms 'training', 'learning' and 'education' carry in the workplace context. While training conveys a sense of the transmission of organisational objectives within the context of task-specific activities, education is a broader, if overlapping term that entails more than the job-specific. Learning evokes the perspective of the individual as they acquire knowledge in a social, cultural and political setting, while education provides a means by which people can not only grapple with the changes they endure, but seek to understand how they might effect that change in turn. Education, in other words, opens space for a critical dimension, that allows people to 'recognise the contradictions of change' [5] - for example, that the application of new technology in a society like Australia has meant both the abolition of drudgery for some and its entrenchment for others. The development of such a critical dimension is all the more important today when knowledge has become one of the great buzzwords of the workplace in the new millennium. [6] As knowledge workers par excellence, [7] it seems crucial that librarians and information management professionals should continue to explore issues of how they should learn, be educated and trained.

Competency-based training

How have competency-based training (CBT) methods evolved over the past decade? CBT in Australia rode a wave of policy enthusiasm during the early nineties. With its taxonomies of competencies and skills, all neatly articulating with the new job classification systems that followed in the wake of the Award Restructuring, CBT soon became the new orthodoxy within Vocational Education and Training (VET). For many policy-makers, CBT provided the means to administer an accountancy of learning, above all in an industrial context where pay and performance were increasingly linked. As Karmel [8] has argued, the creation of the Australian National Training Authority and a series of federal government reports into VET all pointed to the ascendance of 'economic performance' as the central goal of work-related education. Henceforth in VET, 'only courses that were in a CBT format could be accredited' . [9]

The debate around CBT became a heated one as the nineties unfolded, with many critics warning that CBT in practice entailed 'an extreme form of reductionism which attempts to explain complex phenomena by discrete, standardised concepts'. [10] As Brown [11] and Gonczi [12] have indicated, however, of late more sophisticated notions of competency-based learning have begun to emerge in response to such concerns. Sandberg [13] (2000: 50), for example, has developed an 'interpretative' approach to competency-based learning that seeks to start from 'the ways people experience or interpret their work' . In a similar fashion, Gonczi [14] advances a notion of competence that aims to challenge 'the old dichotomies between knowing and doing' that informs so much of work-related training. Waterhouse et al [15] are also amongst those who argue that competence 'is determined in context' , and have begun to ponder whether collective competence is more important than individual, particularly in circumstances where teamwork is paramount. This new, more holistic approach to competence has also been taken up in the Australian vehicle industry. [16]

The role of context in work-related learning for the information professions

In relation to issues of the transfer of learning and skills, Gerber and Oaklief [17] and Sandberg [18] postulate that any discussion of skills should be situated within the context of particular work processes. All these writers insist that 'the transfer of knowledge and skills in workplaces generally occurs within different defined contexts' . For this reason they espouse what they call 'a holistic approach to transfer of learning' , able to recognise that:

Acts of learning do not occur in a vacuum. They occur within a workplace that espouses particular values, has a declared mission, involves workers of varying levels of experience in and related types of work and promotes the idea of a learning organisation. [19]

One of the major components of 'context' for information professionals has been created by the rapid technological change of the last few years. For example, Morgan [20] in presenting the question of library skills in a context of organisational change, talks of change in the primordial sense, as an unstoppable force before which staff are obliged to adapt if they are to avoid the unpleasant consequences. At the same time, he offers [21] some interesting observations about the increased attention paid to ICT-related skills: 'Important though such skills are and will be in the future, there is a danger that people-and service-based skills will become neglected particularly in the professional literature' . In emphasising the importance of context, researchers for the current project concerning online databases are attempting to ensure that such a separation between the technical and social aspects of learning ICT-related skills is avoided. There must be clear emphasis on training to use online databases to provide service to library patrons. Here too, the arguments of Gerber and Oaklief [22] about context, and Gonczi [23] and Sandberg [24] about holistic approaches to work-related education, are useful for developing a form of competence-based learning relevant to the library profession.

Using research to understand individual training needs in context

The process of the research - to improve the competency of Australian public librarians in using online databases - began with a thorough review of the literature which included: issues of competency-based training, education and learning (as discussed above); the impact of training on library and service development; the need for online database training, including issues of interface design and training, the need for learner support, and the impact of learner attitudes; and, finally, possible approaches to training. The first stage of the empirical component, using a principally interpretivist approach, then began.

What is interpretivist research?

'Interpretivist' is an umbrella term which is mainly associated with qualitative methods of research, but quantitative techniques can also be used. Researchers who are interpretivists favour naturalistic inquiry (where field work usually takes place in the 'natural setting') and are concerned with 'meaning'. They believe that the social world is interpreted or constructed by people and is therefore different from the world of nature. Interpretivist research is based upon the ideas that 'there is no unique "real world" that pre-exists and is independent of human mental activity and human symbolic language'. [25] Knowledge and truth are therefore created rather than discovered, and there are often multiple, conflicting constructions of reality. Rather than attempting to ascertain general laws by which humans are said to exist, interpretivist researchers are more concerned with focusing on the 'processes by which meanings are created, negotiated, sustained, and modified within a specific human context'. [26]

A number of different research paradigms come within the 'interpretivist' ambit, including both personal and social contructivism Social constructivists place emphasis on shared development of meanings, eg. as analysed in the famous book, The Social Construction of Reality. [27] Personal constructivists see individuals as developing their own meanings, which often differ from one person to another. In other words, they personally construct reality, as postulated by Kelly. [28] This latter process is encapsulated in Dervin's'sense making' theory, which has had a major impact in the information management field. (See, for example, B Dervin and M Nilan 'Information needs and uses' in M E Williams (ed) Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) 21 np Knowledge Industry Publications 1986 pp3-33.) According to Dervin, [29] people are constantly involved in making sense of, or interpreting, their world.

Thus interpretivists place an emphasis on individuals and/or on social groups. Context is also seen as important, e.g. Dervin's emphasis on the'situation' of information seekers. The training project drew on both personal and social construct theory - individual and group needs - and placed a strong emphasis on context.

Data collection methods

In the first stage of the fieldwork, qualitative methods were used to understand the skills of professional librarians and their perceived training needs. Each individual was interviewed for their personal viewpoint and was also observed attempting to use one of the selected databases, with a systematic procedure being followed to ensure that each skill was observed and recorded. Each member of the sample then took part in a focus group so that their perceptions about their present skills and training needs for using online databases could be further explored in interaction with their peers. In the second phase, action research will be used with the original cohort to test the generic training modules, developed as a result of the initial fieldwork. Evaluation methods will be used to assess the effectiveness of the training modules, as part of the action research. Adjustments will be made to the modules which will be tested on a new cohort of participants in late 2002 (the third phase of the fieldwork).

The first stage of the fieldwork for the project took place in the context of the participants' work places between 20 November 2001 and 4 February 2002: SLNSW; Wagga Wagga Headquarters of the Riverina Regional Library; and NLA on 4 February 2002. Originally it was planned to have eight librarians in each setting, but one extra participant took part at both SLNSW and NLA, making a total sample of 26 library staff. Twenty participants were females and six were males, with the majority (60.5%) being aged between 30 and 49. Almost half of the participants came from metropolitan libraries; nine participants from country regional libraries; three from small country libraries; and three from the NLA. The majority of participants (20) held the position of either Reference Librarian, Manager, Reference Department, or Senior Library Manager. The remaining six held the position of Librarian. Almost all participants were very experienced reference librarians; all but one participant had received some database training.

The two databases chosen for the skills observations were Health and Wellness Resource Center and APA-FT (Australian Public Affairs - Full Text), with each participant being observed on one database of the two.

Findings from the first fieldwork stage

Findings are presented in two parts: those which came from the observation of skills and individual interviews, and those that emerged from focus groups.

Individuals: interviews and observation of skills

The emphasis of this component of the fieldwork was on the individual's needs and skills. In the individual interviews, similar questions to those explored in the focus groups were asked (see below), so that individual perceptions could be gauged.

For each of the two databases, a proforma which aimed to observe the use of all the major functions of the databases, together with related strategies and searching skills, was compiled by the researchers. A wide range of skills was observed: from identifying the purpose of the databases, to formulating search terms, to undertaking basic and advanced searches, to using truncation and nesting, for example. Participants were encouraged to 'think out loud' to the researchers about their problems or progress as they moved through the search. In this way the researchers could better understand the librarians' thinking through of the search strategies and problems as they progressed through the search.

APA-FT proved a more difficult database for participants than Health and Wellness Resource Center (HWRC), although one reason might be the fact that more participants had used the latter, and been trained on it. The other reason was that HWRC is a simpler and more user-friendly database than APA-FT. In general, the following weaknesses, which lead to poor search outcomes, were identified during the observations, and to some degree in the focus groups:

• There was a tendency to use inappropriate search terms which were either too broad or too narrow, along with ineffective strategies to evaluate searches accurately.
• In APA-FT, at times the controlled vocabulary fields were used when the keyword or free-text searching mode was appropriate.
• Less than one- third of participants using APA-FT demonstrated they understood the full functionality of the index (the list of computer generated terms) and how it might be useful in constructing searches.
• Participants had problems with Boolean operators (except for 'and'); proximity operators; nesting; and the wild card. Truncation was not performed as well in Health and Wellness Resource Center as it was in APA-FT.
• 'Help' was often used ineffectively, partly because of its confusing and user-unfriendly organization in both databases.
• Participants used incorrect spelling at times and did not always have strategies for identifying the correct spelling.
• Use of incorrect default operators or phrasing was common, and there were problems in sorting and the handling of dates.

Groups: focus group findings

The emphasis in the focus groups was on shared as well as individual understandings of skills and training needs. It was in the focus groups that the contextual issues, considered so vital to developing librarians' skills and improving service to the communities of public libraries, were explored. In keeping with the interpretivist/contructivist framework which underpinned the study, an ethnographic technique using semi-structured questions, was used in the focus groups. Questions were:

• What electronic databases are you using at present? Which are the most difficult and why? Which are the easiest and why?
• How well do you think librarians are trained in the use of online databases at present?
• Which particular components of online databases searching do you think need particular emphasis?
• In the training packages we are developing, what would you like to see emphasized, eg. basic and advanced searching?
• What learning strategies do you think are most useful for librarians? Examples might be doing exercises online and receiving feedback from an online trainer; face-to-face instruction.

Focus groups were taped and transcribed. The typed transcripts were then analysed for major and minor themes, as well as the strength of support for particular ideas, including the numbers of times a point was made or endorsed. The analysis especially focused on consensus and dissonance amongst participants. For the purposes of documenting the findings of the field work, including the focus groups, each participant was allocated a number. [30]

The focus groups confirmed many of the findings from the literature, e.g. regarding the importance of training for librarians to make effective use of databases, both on behalf of their users, and to assist their users to search for themselves. Confirming the findings of Jones and Sprague, [31] participants saw a need for learner support, believing that management plays a big role in creating the climate and providing the resources for successful training and learning to take place Confirming the findings of Williamson et al., [32] they were concerned about the multiplicity of interfaces and deceptively simple interfaces which give search results that are less than satisfactory but are time-consuming to obtain. They claimed that they have learnt by experimentation or trial and error - really building on prior learning. However, it is the observation of the researchers that knowledge about database characteristics and operations are often inappropriately transferred from one database to another.

Underlining that this project is not simply about 'training', but also about 'education' and 'learning' (as discussed above), there was an emphasis on learner needs and responsibilities, as well as on the importance of the context and the role of management, emerging from the focus groups.

Learner needs

Making, or being allowed, the time and being provided with the place to learn in a busy workplace were undoubtedly the biggest problems and need for librarians as learners. This was noted repeatedly in each focus group. As Participant 17 stated:

... where you have limited time and staff, (with) face-to-face training, time (for training) is specifically used (for this purpose). Whereas if you were doing it as training yourself online... you don't have paid staff time during library hours to actually sit and do it (self paced learning online) effectively.

In similar vein, taking staff away from the workplace was seen as desirable as Participant 1 noted.

We're here, there are no phones ringing, there is no public. You can click on the screen anywhere... whereas you would be too scared to click on this thing back at your desk. They need time to click and play 'What's this button' - if you don't know you are not going to click on it... it might break. Approaching the computer with confidence... and feeling free to explore is an important generic skill.

Another need was described as 'confidence building.' Lack of confidence was perceived to be an issue, especially where infrequent use became an impediment to learning. As stated by Participant 3: 'They don't want to use the database because they are not really confident to use it.'

Again, reinforcement of learning through follow-up was seen as important. For example Participant 10 indicated that:

I think you need some kind of follow-up to that (the initial training) because that's where you get rusty. You think that you know it and you get all enthusiastic and then in a fortnight's time, it's like 'How does that work?'

Learner responsibility

Taking responsibility for their own learning was seen as very important by Participant 9, who said that:

I think accreditation formalises it (the training) - it adds seriousness to it. It is part of my responsibility to learn this and to know this and it is recorded that I've learnt this. It puts more responsibility on the person learning this.

Complementing this, there was seen to be a need for management to provide opportunities for learning: time, resources/funding, and encouragement were particularly emphasised. Participant 21 explained that:

I think it is critical really. You have to have support from senior management. They have to believe that it is important enough to spend a bit of money for you to do it.

Aids to learning

Important aids to learning during the training, and in the long term for workplace implementation, were identified by participants as:

• becoming familiar with databases through practice and reinforcement
• using 'cheat sheets' as prompts on key features
• providing practical 'hands on' training
• receiving good interactive feedback, with a strong preference expressed for face-to-face training
• providing follow-up sessions to reinforce learning
• using a step-by-step incremental learning approach
• building in self assessment tasks, and
• having good relevant learning materials which are well structured, professionally developed, and training which 'does not try to cover too much (content)' (Participant 3). Participants 19 and 2 favoured learning materials which include 'a workbook with exercises'.

During training, on the spot feedback was seen as important. For example, Participant 19 stated that:

A lot of people really need to have that face-to-face contact and be able to ask a question of someone and know they can get an answer. Whereas if they see something on the screen and they think 'What do I do now?' I think that is quite daunting.

An experienced trainer/searcher (Participant 9) suggested that, as a means of longer term retention of the training, what works best:

is to have a session... maybe an hour or an hour and a half... (The trainer) shows you what is available, how to do the searches and then there needs to be a follow-up a couple of weeks later... to cover specifically my questions and local issues which arise following the implementation in the preceding weeks.

Pointing to the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC) training as a good example of follow-up, Participant 6 explained: 'They have follow up. They have a web page and they send email. The follow-up is very important.'

Management issues

As indicated above, participants saw learning as both the responsibility of themselves and their library management. With regard to the responsibility of management, participants in two of the focus groups discussed the need for a learning culture to be fostered by the provision of time, resources/funding, and encouragement. Participant 3 indicated that: 'You need management to be...onside so that they will make the time for it (training)'.

Some participants indicated their workplaces strongly supported training whereas, for others, their workplaces were less encouraging.

Participants said that implementation of self-paced learning needed strong management support and time. This form of learning was not often given strong recognition as training, by management or peers, in the way that off-site training was. For example, Participant 18's comment is relevant:

I think one of the issues with online training, when there is not an actual trainer on site, is the time issue. We are all busy. It's really hard to find some quiet time and in our organisation there is not much privacy in the workroom, a lot of noise is going on and so on. I just think that kind of training wouldn't work very well in our organisation because of the nature of it.

Apart from the need for support and encouragement by management, which received repeated emphasis, participants also mentioned the need for positive interaction between management and the learner as active partners in learning and the difficulties of providing opportunities for part-time staff to use and practise databases in paid time.

Small libraries and database use

Emphasising the role of context in need, small country librarians (generally the library managers) talked about 'having no need, no resources and no time' (Participant 14) to use databases and that general use of the Internet to find information was preferred over databases as it was free and easy to use. Participant 13 postulated that she used the Internet: '50 times compared to an online database because you know you can get straight to that site'.

Vendor training

Vendor training tended to be viewed as being too technical and not tailored enough for the Australian scene. Another point was made by Participant 21: 'I found that a couple of these were not aimed at the public library situation'.

Preferred delivery and support models

A range of training models - from self-paced learning for experienced librarians, to the trained trainer imparting knowledge to less experienced librarians in a face-to-face situation - were identified. Overwhelmingly, librarians wanted a means of being able to understand generically how databases could be searched effectively, rather than needing to learn specific databases. Access to advisers through phone contact; continuous feedback and self testing built into the training; follow-up on initial training to keep skills up-to-date; shared management/individual responsibility for training; and the need for accreditation were stressed. These findings confirm results of other studies or training projects.[33]

Development of the training modules

This first round of fieldwork has provided a firm basis for the two training modules which are at present being developed. From the first stage of the fieldwork, the researchers concluded that the key aims of training should be: to facilitate understanding of what are the common elements or problems in using all databases; and to develop an ability to understand the idiosyncrasies of different databases. These are essential for librarians to search databases effectively.

To achieve those aims, the researchers have suggested that there should be two distinct parts to the training modules to be developed in the second stage of the project. Firstly a tool, which will be called a 'lens', will be developed so that experienced reference librarians can learn to analyse new databases expeditiously. Such a tool would be used to identify the common elements, problems and the idiosyncrasies of the database. The lens would bring these parts into sharp focus for the librarian. A by-product of the lens will be a comparative table which librarians can use to compare databases at a glance. (A similar comparative table has already been used to compare the properties of search engines.)

It is proposed that two training modules will be developed, both of which will make use of the lens. The first will be a self-paced package for experienced librarians; and the other, adapted from it, will be a train-the-trainer module. It is envisaged that 'trained trainers' will deliver training to other library staff in face-to-face situations. Both modules should ideally include inbuilt self-assessment exercises and examples, and provide the opportunity for ongoing trainer/mentor feedback and support. Many of the suggestions from the literature and from the participants in the very fruitful initial stage of the fieldwork will be incorporated.

Conclusion

A discussion of the terms training, education and learning, and the different nuances they imply, began this article. This project has involved notions of learning and education, as well as training. Particularly the perspective of individuals as they acquire knowledge in a social, cultural and political setting (the concept of learning) was central to the fieldwork, which was carried out using an interpretivist framework. Participants talked about the roles and responsibilities of learner and management, for example, and saw these as crucial if training was to be effective. Far more was seen to be involved than just developing a taxonomy of competencies and skills, and attempting to impart these to librarians. Although the researchers acknowledge the role a CBT approach can play, they believe a concern for context and individual needs can improve work-place training.

While a competency approach is being used in the training modules, it is being modified by the findings of the research. Staff and contextual needs (for example in small libraries) will be taken into account in its application. In other words, the project takes in Sandberg's [34] terms, an interpretative approach to competency-based learning that seeks to start from 'the ways people experience or interpret their work'. Through the research undertaken, competence has been determined in the context of specific work processes, especially in the context of NSW public libraries, urban and rural, and with a holistic approach. [35] The research that underpins the modules has also opened up that space for a critical dimension by giving librarians an opportunity to contribute views on how they should learn. [36]

The researchers are thus attempting to build into the modules the insights discovered from the individuals and groups who are participants in the project, along with the contextual considerations which have emerged. They and their funders consider that this is an appropriate approach as it is based on an understanding of the public library environment, and of the staff who provide the service, and should result in an improved service to public library users: the raison d'etre of public libraries.

Notes

1. M Cooley Architect or Bee? Rev ed London Hogarth Press 1987
2. K Williamson et al 'Trialling Online Database Resources in Public Libraries: Issues for Reference Staff' in Revelling in Reference 2001. Reference and Information Services Section Symposium Proceedings Victorian University of Technology Conference Centre 12-14 October 2001 Kingston, ACT ALIA 2001 pp171-177
3. 3 Cooley op cit
4. 4 Forrester et al Workplace Learning: Perspectives on Education, Training and Work Aldershot Avebury 1995 pp43-50
5. Ibid p2
6. V Marsick & K Watkins Facilitating Learning Organizations: Making Learning Count Aldershot Gower 1999
7. J Cortada (ed) Rise of the Knowledge Worker. Boston Butterworth-Heinemann 1998
8. Karmel 'Education and the Economic Paradigm' Submission to Review of Higher Education Financing and Policy 1994 http://www.deet.gov.au/archive/highered/hereview/submissions/submissions/k/karmel3.htm [6 November 2001]
9. M Brown 'Work-related Learning and Changing the Nature of Work' p10 http://www.avetra.org.au/abstracts-papers/Work%20related%20learning.pdf [22 June 2001]
10. Forrester op cit p18
11. Brown op cit
12. A Gonczi 'Competency-based Learning: A Dubious Past - An Assured Future?' in D Boud and J Garrick (eds) Understanding Learning at Work London Routledge 2000
13. J Sandberg 'Competence - the Basis for a Smart Workforce' in R Gerber and C Lankshear (eds) Training for a Smart Workforce London Routledge 2000 p50
14. Gonzi op cit p181
15. P Waterhouse et al The Changing Nature and Patterns of Work and Implications for VET Leabrook NCVER 1999 p41
16. Brown op cit pp12-13
17. Gerber and Oaklief 'Transfer of Learning to Strengthen Workplace Training' in R Gerber and C Lankshear (eds) Training for a Smart Workforce London Routledge 2000 p184
18. Sandberg op cit
19. Gerber and Oaklief op cit p141
20. Morgan 'Developing Academic Library Skills for the Future' Library Review vol 45 no 5 1996 pp1-53
21. Ibid p42
22. Gerber and Oaklief op cit
23. Gonzi op cit
24. Sandberg op cit
25. J Bruner Actual Minds, Possible Worlds Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press 1986 p95 cited by T A Schwandt 'Constructivist, Interpretivist Approaches to Human Inquiry' in N.K. Denzin and Y S Lincoln The Landscape of Qualitative Research (eds) London Sage Publications 1998 pp221-259
26. Ibid p225
27. P L Berger and T Luckmann The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge New York Anchor Press 1967
28. G Kelly The Psychology of Personal Constructs Vols 1 and 2. New York Norton 1955
29. B Dervin 'From the Mind's Eye of the User: The Sense-making Qualitative-quantitative Methodology' in J D Glazier and R R Powell (eds) Qualitative Research in Information Management Englewood, CO Libraries Unlimited 1992
30. Dervin op cit
31. B Jones and M Sprague 'Computers, Change and the Training Challenge' Personnel Training and Education vol 15 no 3 1998 pp6-8
32. Williamson op cit
33. Ibid; L Dyckman 'Beyond "First you push this button, then...": A Process-oriented Approach to Teaching Searching Skills' in L Martin (ed) Library Instruction Revisited: Bibliographic Instruction comes of Age Haworth Press 1995; E McKibbon Personal communication regarding LIAC with Marion Bannister, 3 May
34. Sandberg op cit p50
35. Waterhouse op cit; Gerber and Oaklief op cit; Sandberg op cit; Brown op cit
36. Forrester op cit

All of the authors are members of the research group, Information and Telecommunications Needs Research (INTR), a joint venture of Monash University (MU) and Charles Sturt University (CSU).
The director, Dr Kirsty Williamson holds appointments at MU and CSU, Professor Don Schauder is the MU chair and Marion Bannister is based at CSU. E-mail: kirsty.williamson@sims.monash.edu.au.nospam, m.bannister@csu.edu.au.nospam and don.schauder@sims.monash.edu.au.nospam (please remove '.nospam' from address).