Auto-hermeneutics: A phenomenological approach to information experience

- A need has emerged in LIS for a methodologically rigorous and flexible approach to studying information experience.
- Auto-hermeneutics is a research approach suitable for exploring one's own experiences with information.
- Auto-hermeneutics can contribute to the ontological characterization of information phenomena.
- It draws methodological principles from systematic self-observation and interpretative phenomenological analysis.
- It is differentiated from other auto-methodologies used in LIS, including auto-ethnography and self-study.

The need for methodologically rigorous approaches to the study of human experience in LIS has emerged in recent years. Auto-hermeneutics is a research approach that offers a systematic way to study one's own experiences with information, allowing investigators to explore yet-undocumented contexts, setting precedents for further work in these areas and ultimately deepening our understanding of information experiences. This articulation of auto-hermeneutics is based on the phenomenological method of Heidegger and draws principles from systematic self-observation and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Similarities and differences among auto-hermeneutics and other automethodologies are discussed, along with guidelines for assessing auto-hermeneutic research. Finally, an example of an auto-hermeneutic study illustrates the unique contributions this approach affords.