Towards the knowing organisation : an investigation into the information behaviour of trainee solicitors within a law firm environment

McTavish, Shona (2007) Towards the knowing organisation : an investigation into the information behaviour of trainee solicitors within a law firm environment. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

This PhD study was designed to characterise the nature and role of the information behaviour of trainee solicitors in the context of knowledge development within a law firm environment. The characterisations drawn and the propositions offered provide a deeper understanding of the information behaviour of trainee solicitors, and, of the relationship between information behaviour, knowledge behaviour and knowledge development. A constructivist approach to inquiry was adopted, where the research design emerged through 'doing'. As emergent design is unusual within Library and Information Science (LIS) an in-depth discussion of how the design emerged is included within this thesis. Six trainees formed the sample for the final presentation of the findings. The adoption of a narrative technique for the gathering of data, and the presentation of the analysis, taking a cross-trainee and cross-theme approach, enabled holistic, in-depth characterisations to be drawn. The themes emerged through an iterative process of analysis and were followed up through a review of the literature. Undertaking a more comprehensive literature review after data collection is a characteristic of the constructivist inquiry but is a unique approach within LIS research. Through the consideration and interpretation of the characterisations that emerged from the findings this research posits a set of theoretical propositions and practical solutions pertaining to the knowledge behaviour (incorporating information behaviour) and knowledge development of the trainee solicitors. These propositions alongside the practical solutions offered are transferable in that they can be taken by other firms or organisations and considered in relation to their own setting. In addition, a model depicting the knowledge behaviour and its role in the knowledge development of trainee solicitors is presented.

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