Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
Spring 8-15-2017
Abstract
In this study, trainee solicitors have been selected for the purpose of investigation. Trainee solicitors are working under a training contract, the final stage of the process of qualification as a solicitor. The trainees are therefore ideal participants for research of this nature as they are by the very nature of their training contracts, learners, and through an exploration of the work that they are given to undertake this research can explore how the trainees develop their knowledge and how their information behaviour contributes to that learning. To this and a constructivist approach to inquiry was adopted untilising a narrative technique for the gathering of data. The form of this research was exploratory and descriptive suggesting the need for method that enabled the gathering of sufficient knowledge to present a detailed description of the trainees’ behavior in context, and the interpretation of that description if this aim was to be achieved. To aid in the interpretation and understanding of the trainees’ narratives, information is the general term used in relation to need and to knowledge that has been expressed in the form of documents, published resources, files, cases, etc. information forms the basis for the development of know how surrounding tasks, in providing the means for interpreting and understanding what to do.