Social Studies Librarianship
Social scientists are those
professionals whose purpose is to focus and serve towards a social
improvement. A profound description
provided by Lynn Westbrook of our role in the scholarly field and our fit in
the social sciences, librarians are included in this daily purpose for the
individual. In other words, a
professional in the social sciences works towards maintaining an individual’s
welfare to provide a self reliant, socially responsible citizenry. Librarians and teachers are primarily
interested in the intellectual welfare of the community. Our resources are focused on the needs of the
individual on a daily level to build a healthy community. As Westbrook further explains the social
sciences, “These fields tailor society's resources to the needs of individuals
in an effort to, ultimately, build a healthy social fabric. Well-informed, self
reliant, secure, productive, and engaged individuals may need support from the
social science professions at various points in their life span” (Westbrook,
2009, p. 4857).
Most social sciences including
Education is multi-disciplinary. Subfields may include practices and methods
from other social sciences including psychology, sociology, linguistics, and
curriculum design. Methods of research
may vary from discipline to discipline but have similar correlations to
focusing on research and its connection to social practice. “Education uses a variety of research
methodologies common to the social sciences, both quantitative and qualitative,
and is a strong proponent of action research. Action research focuses on
practical problems in an effort to "take action" to solve a problem
or improve a situation and is not intended to be generalized beyond the
immediate context in which it occurs” (Rupp-Serrano & Robbins, 2013,
p. 132).
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