EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARCHIVAL APPRAISAL PRACTICE AND USER STUDIES: U.S. STATE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

摘要

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, 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.