This document summarizes the learning experiences of three researchers - Eva Hornung, Shahd Salha, and Sheila Webber - from conducting phenomenographic interviews. All three discussed how the interviews were a learning experience for both the interviewers and interviewees. The relationship between interviewer and interviewee changed over the course of the research. The interviews also revealed variations in the interviewees' understandings of the topics studied.

1. Phenomenographic interviews as a learning process
Eva Hornung, Shahd Salha, Sheila Webber
Oxford, September 2014

2. Structure
•Introduction
•Three perspectives
–Sheila
–Shahd
–Eva
•Drawing together the three experiences
•Conclusions
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

3. Three key elements
•We are writing a paper: emerging thoughts in this presentation
•Learning experiences of the researcher (may consider: cultural context, attitude to research, personal feelings about phenomenography; relationship to interviewees/research)
•Learning experiences of the interviewees
•The context/environment of the interview (e.g. context of interview (where/who/when etc.), changing roles, setting, environment of the research process, what happens after the interview and after the research has “finished”)
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

4. SHEILA: FIRST PHENOMENOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
UK academics‟ conceptions of information literacy and of teaching information literacy (Webber et al. (2005); Boon et al (2007) etc.)
80 academics; 20 each from 4 disciplines
Sample varied in terms of university, age, gender, research rating of department etc.
Research Assistant interviewer, mostly interviewed them in their offices
Fellow researcher, but mostly not in their discipline
Not investigating their own discipline
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

5. MY EXPERIENCE OF INTERVIEWS
Stuart Boon
Bill Johnston
Anticipation Individual discovery Joint exploration Laughter Argument Excitement Richness
Learning about information literacy
Their understanding
My understanding
Learning about the disciplines & academic life
Learning about being a researcher

6. “I think that the way that you have asked me the questions and the way that the discussion has been structured has actually pushed me to reflect in a pretty significant way, actually, about both the theoretical and the practical model [of information literacy] So I would thank you for that because I suspect I am … going to go off and do something with this as well, which was perhaps not your intention” (English (discipline) academic 6)
Those with most complex conceptions of teaching/ information literacy most vocal in describing impact/ learning (I think: haven‟t explored systematically)
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

7. FURTHER EXPERIENCES OF PHENOMENOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWEES
With my PhD students
As external examiner
Through “rediscovering” the interview transcripts (they still live!)
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

8. THE SCENE FROM SYRIAN CONTEXT
The variations and the changes in the school librarians„ perspectives of information literacy..
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

9. BACKGROUND ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
The study provides a new way, which is less common, to conduct two phenomenographic researches in the same study
The study used a longitudinal and discursive phenomenographic approaches conducted in two parts in 16 months durations counting the time spent for piloting
The same professionals were interviewed
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

10. MY LEARNING EXPERIENCE WITH PHENOMENOGRAPHIC ( SALHA,2011)
This first research in the Arabic context which used the phenomenographic approach
No earlier research studies in the similar contexts to learn from
I was not sure which phenomenographic approach I should adopt
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

11. MY LEARNING EXPERIENCE WITH PHENOMENOGRAPHY ( SALHA,2011): FIRST PRESPECTIVE
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

12. AFTER MORE READING AND LEARNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AWARENESS
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

13. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH PHENOMENOGRAPHY
Professionals had no awareness of the phenomenon of IL
Some of them knew me but our relationship was limited to tutor-student relationship
 They were not sure about the meaning of the studied phenomenon so the main feeling was uncertainty and confusion
The culture of silence and the fear from others were a serious obstacle
Piloting was a successful strategy to reduce the risk and learn more about the setting
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

14. AFTER THE PROGRAMME
They become more confident
They became familiar with the studied concept
We became more familiar with each other
Established better connection allowed us communicate and share more
They became more expert interviewees and I became more expert interviewer
I become more aware of the difficulty and of their learning style
They became more aware of my interviewing style
I realised that I can play many roles
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

15. THIRD STORY: CPD AND SOLO LIBRARIANS
On the perceptions of one-person librarians in Ireland of “continuing professional development”
30 interviewees who ranged from recent graduates to very experienced professionals
Researcher was peer of participants – played different roles (see Caven, 2012)
No experience of interviewing and recording
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

16. THE NOVICE RESEARCHER
Field notes and reflective research diary
Reflections on learning uttered during the interview process influenced the interview schedule
Interviewees were free to choose the setting, which was putting them at ease (but: audibility of recorded interview and interruptions)
“After the interview” experience – cultural informal context… Irish people love to talk
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

18. CATEGORIES OF DESCRIPTION
Category 1: Upskilling for the sake of the organisation/library service (service orientation)
Category 2: Developing as a professional librarian (LIS profession orientation)
Category 3: Helping you to do all the jobs an OPL does (OPL orientation)
Category 4: When you have learned something and you want to do things in a better way when you come back (personal orientation)
Category 5: Your development as a human being (lifelong learning orientation)
Hornung (2013)
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

19. LEARNING THROUGH INTERVIEWING PROCESS
Interviewees mentioned how interviews changed their thinking (category 5 in particular)
Evidence of previous learning experiences (both surface and deep)
Relationship between interviewer and interviewee changed
Interview as a learning experience for both
The setting influenced the quality of the relationship and of the interview
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

20. Common threads in all Three studies
•Interviewees mentioned how interviews changed their thinking
•Relationship between interviewer and interviewee changed
•Interview as a learning experience for both
•More aware of variation!
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

21. Our position now
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014

22. Sheila Webber Information School University of Sheffield s.webber@shef.ac.uk Twitter & SL: Sheila Yoshikawa http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/ http://www.slideshare.net/sheilawebber/ Orcid ID 0000-0002-2280-9519
Dr Eva Hornung CDETB Curriculum Development Unit/Trinity College Dublin hornunge@tcd.ie LinkedIn: Eva Hornung
Dr Shahd Salha A researcher Sheffield University Information School drshahdsalha@gmail.com LinkedIn: Shahd Salha

23. References
•Cavan, V. (2012) “Agony aunt, hostage, intruder or friend? The multiple personas of the interviewer during fieldwork.” Intangible capital, 8 (3), 548-563.
•Boon, S., Johnston, B. and Webber, S. (2007) "A phenomenographic study of English faculty's conceptions of information literacy." Journal of documentation, 63 (2), 204-228.
•Hornung, E. (2013) On your own but not alone: one-person librarians in Ireland and their perceptions of Continuing Professional Development. Library trends, 61 (3), 675-702.
•Salha, S. (2011) The variations and the changes in the school librarians' perspectives of information literacy. PhD Thesis, Information School, University of Sheffield. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1538/2/Salha,_Shahd.pdf
•Webber, S., Boon, S. and Johnston, B. (2005) “A comparison of UK academics’ conceptions of information literacy in two disciplines: English and Marketing.” Library and information research, 29 (93), 4-15
Hornung, Salha, Webber, 2014