Abstract:
There are two linked fundamental crises in Information Science: an urgent need
for solutions to the information explosion; and a lack of an operative metaphor upon
which to base solutions. Current theoretical debates focus on whether information
science is a coherent field of thought or an “assemblage of chunks” drawn from other
disciplines. The “assemblage of chunks” phrase is sometimes applied in a pejorative
sense to the field of engineering. Moreover, engineering is often neglected or
misunderstood as an epistemologically coherent entity, especially in the literature of
information science. Vincenti asserts that misconceptions about the nature of engineering
have led some researchers to view engineering (incorrectly) as mere applied science.
Buckland and others have indicated some areas of information science are so strongly
dominated by a “scientific model” of research that they are not able to grasp an the
potential value of engineering as a problem solving metaphor.
Examination o f engineering as a problem solving framework holds promise of
advancing the field o f information science. Engineers are just beginning to address
design as a coherent, human orientation toward problem solving. Analysis of engineering
epistemology and application of a postmodern lens to engineering and information
science demonstrate that information science has been “barking up the wrong metaphor.”
Rorty’s theory of pragmatics and Levi-Strauss’s concept of “bricolage” provide a strong
link between the strengths of engineering and the crises of information science.
