| The questions addressed in this study relate to a problem which is, in part, a conceptual issue--how "creativity" in research is defined in library and information science, and whether or not it is valued independently of "significance" in research. A new model of the phenomenon of "creativity" is proposed. The process of evaluation of research products with respect to their "creativity" then is placed within the context provided by the model.; The questionnaire developed for the project includes both an exercise in which evaluators of research explicitly define "significance" and "creativity," and an exercise in which they rate dissertations--based upon their abstracts--vis-a-vis their potential "significance" and "creativity." The questionnaire also was designed to allow respondents to self-select into library-science or information-science specializations, if they so desired. A random sample of faculty eligible to serve on dissertation committees in accredited schools of library and information science was sent the questionnaire.; Results indicated how respondents define "creativity;" that "creativity" and "significance" are distinct concepts in the minds of respondents; that judgments regarding "creativity" and "significance" are made independently of each other; that while "creativity" is a factor in assessing the "overall merit" of research products, "significance" is more closely associated with "merit;" and that library-science and information-science specialists do not really differ with respect to any of the central research questions.; This particular project focused upon activity in the domain of library and information science. However, both the model and the questionnaire--modified to include abstracts of dissertations from other areas rather than from library and information science--are seen as directly applicable to study of other academic domains as well. |
