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‘Ugh, it’s a difficult topic’: Positionality statements as information use in information and library science research
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

‘Ugh, it’s a difficult topic’: Positionality statements as information use in information and library science research

Alex H. Poole and Ashley Todd-Diaz
Information research, v 31(iConf), pp 1770-1787
20 Mar 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47989/ir31iConf64148
url
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir31iConf64148View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY-NC V4.0,  Open

Abstract

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging Information use Postionality statements Qualitative research
Introduction. The effects of information use remain understudied. We fill a key gap in the literature by conducting an empirical study of positionality statement use in information and library science (ILS) research. We analyse why information and library scientists endorse or object to these statements. Method. Using Qualtrics software, we conducted an international online survey of information and library scientists. Our instrument included demographic data, closed-ended questions, Likert-type items, and open-ended questions. Analysis. We conducted both quantitative and qualitative analyses on the data, which related to 213 respondents. Our quantitative analysis employed the statistical package SPSS, while qualitative analysis employed NVivo software. Results. Quantitative findings showed significant correlations between variables. Qualitative findings demonstrated that participants valued positionality but felt profound ambivalence concerning positionality statement use. They registered 10 strengths and 12 weaknesses of this information use. Conclusion(s). We offer both recommendations for practice and questions for further research. Further emphasis on raising awareness of positionality and developing both educational tools and best practices for using positionality statements is urgent. Also needed is more scholarly exploration of the effects of information use.

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