Information in Transition : Examining the Information Behaviour of Academics as they Transition into University Careers

Transitions are often times of upheaval. A transition, even when<br/>positive, may be disruptive as familiar contexts, supports, and resources change.<br/>While early career academics are highly trained and experienced, the transition<br/>from doctoral student to academic involves a series of new roles and<br/>responsibilities within a new information environment, an environment that has<br/>been influenced by neoliberal ideals and become increasingly corporatised and<br/>managerial in nature. Within information behaviour research there has been a<br/>lack of research that focuses specifically on periods of transition, particularly<br/>on individuals in transition over time. Additionally, while there is information<br/>behaviour research on academics, it does not address the experiences of<br/>academics as they start their careers. This research addresses those gaps.<br/><br/>This research used constructivist grounded theory and critical discourse<br/>analysis as methodologies to explore the information behaviour of 20<br/>individuals transitioning from doctoral students to academics in Australia and<br/>Canada. Academics in the humanities and social sciences, who had recently<br/>moved from full-time doctoral studies to full-time academic positions, were<br/>followed for a period of between five and seven months. To triangulate the data,<br/>three data sources were used: two in-depth interviews, multiple check-ins, and<br/>documents. Interviews were analysed using grounded theory analysis,<br/>documents using critical discourse analysis. Two theoretical frameworks were<br/>used to provide analytical lenses: neoliberalism and Transitions Theory. Several<br/>major themes emerged from this research that contribute to both information<br/>behaviour research and Transitions Theory.<br/><br/>In looking at academics’ work, the number and variety of administrative<br/>and managerial tasks universities require academics to perform greatly<br/>increases their information needs. Administrative work becomes a layer over all<br/>academic work. However, universities frequently fail to provide the information<br/>academics require, leaving information needs unfulfilled. Because of this, early<br/>career academics frequently seek information from their more senior colleagues,<br/>rather than relying on textual sources. Senior colleagues provide timely,<br/>convenient, and comprehensive information. Physical proximity and the<br/>building of collegial relationships promote information sharing, informal<br/>information exchanges, and serendipitous information finding that is of great<br/>use to early career academics. Social information is instrumental for early<br/>career academics’ settling in to their new positions, as doctoral studies often fail<br/>to provide an accurate picture of academic life or to fully prepare students for<br/>research, teaching, service, and administrative roles. Comparing and contrasting<br/>previous experiences to their current experience is one way that early career<br/>academics use new information to learn new ways of working and develop a<br/>sense of belonging in academia. From these findings, the theory of Systemic<br/>Managerial Constraints (SMC) emerged. SMC views the managerialism that<br/>results from neoliberalism within universities as pervasive and constraining<br/>both what work early career academics do and how they do it. However,<br/>colleagues help to ameliorate the effects of SMC and early career academics<br/>learn, as they transition, to enact their personal agency to enable them to do the<br/>work that they value.

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