I want to jot down a quick research question so that I can pick it up at a later date.
Essentially, I’d like to research how religious leaders gather and use information. By religious leaders, I mean pastors and clergy (though I’d be interested in other religious traditions as well) and I think I’m defining “information” in the most general sense – including biblical and theological commentary. Here are a few more basic questions:
- What is the role of technology (blogs, social media, etc.) in information gathering?
- How can denominations and Christian organizations package content so that it is most meaningful to religious leaders?
- What is the relationship between information gathering and “politics”. Does diversity (or lack of diversity) in information sources translated into a particular theological point of view?
- How do seminaries (and seminary libraries/librarians) prepare students to succeed in this information landscape?
I’m interested and energized by this topic for several reasons:
- It connects with my thesis work. I could extend the framing metaphor of that work – centripetal and centrifugal force – and look at how denominations (the Covenant in particular) could better use information resources to build and foster identity.
- It connects to my work with the Covenant Quarterly. My strong sense – supported by research and other people’s experience – is that moving toward and online, Open Access publication will allow for the publication to have a greater reach and impact.
- It connects to my work with the Commission on Covenant History and could guide our work there.
