Lee Pretlove

I started doctoral research at the Information School in 2018 after completing a two year collaborative project between Bodleian Libraries, Oxford and Cambridge University Library as one of six Polonsky Fellows in Digital Preservation.

Prior to this, I had worked for over a decade as a corporate information compliance officer, records manager and digital archivist. I witnessed many changes in information technology and its management and developed an understanding and curiosity of the relationship between people and information use. I hold a PgDip from the University of Dundee in Records Management and Information Rights, and Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Exeter.

PhD project

The use of wearable devices such as a ‘Fitbit’ or 'Garmin' has coincided with the rise of running, most noticeably evidenced through ‘parkrun’, a free, weekly timed run which has around 2.2 million runners in the UK. Before the adoption of wearable technologies, runners used various forms of information such as training dairies to record their progress. The running 'world' has seemingly included information as an integral part of the activity.

This is a mixed methods research project, grounded in Pragmatic philosophy. It will first collect qualitative from two phases of interviews and participant observation through novel digital method to develop a grounded theory. It will then use survey to complement the understanding of types of information in running and whether runners develop temporary or enduring value to the information.

Supervisors

• Andrew Cox
• Laura Sbaffi
• Frank Hopfgartner

Funding and awards

WRoCAH AHRC PhD Competition Studentship 2018