Using phenomenography to bridge the gap between research and practice: a meta-analysis of three phenomenographic studies.

Introduction. The findings of three recent phenomenographic studies conducted by a practitioner-researcher team (the information literacy experiences of English as a foreign language (EFL) students, how international branch campus faculty members experience the academic library and the open access experiences of faculty members in online education) are analysed to discover what practical implications were revealed from the categories of description that can be used in practice. Method. Meta-analysis of the categories of description of three phenomenographic studies was conducted. Analysis. Categories of description were analysed iteratively in order to identify which library services and processes could be informed by the results of phenomenographic research. Results. The meta-analysis of phenomenographic results shows that there were three library services and processes: information literacy instruction, scholarly communication and evaluation of services, where research results can be applied to improve library practice. Conclusions. The phenomenographic method reveals usefu l results of library users' experiences and perceptions that can be used as a guide for improving library practice across a variety of settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]