Published: Aug 20, 2025

If you are looking for a research method that could uncover the nuance that turns data into deep insight, you may consider the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). Originally developed in the 1950s in applied psychology, CIT invites participants to recount specific, memorable events, moments that stand out because they were either exceptionally positive or notably challenging. In the LIS world, these could be anything from the time a librarian’s quick thinking saved a researcher’s project, to the day a digital system crash halted a grant application in its tracks.

Instead of asking broad questions like “How do you use the library?” the researcher prompts for a single incident in vivid detail: what led up to it, what happened, and what followed. This shifts the conversation from abstract opinion to rich narrative, revealing not only what happened, but also the emotions, context, and consequences surrounding it. For example, when a graduate student recalls the exact moment they finally retrieved an elusive article after days of searching, their story might expose a hidden bottleneck in database access.

What makes CIT so powerful is its ability to capture service touchpoints with extraordinary clarity. Each story becomes a lens on the user experience, grounded in reality rather than speculation. In LIS, this can be invaluable for evaluating user interactions with online catalogs, mapping how patrons navigate physical spaces, or assessing the impact of outreach programs. The stories collected often highlight patterns the researcher never thought to look for, recurring issues with signage, for instance, or the transformative role of small acts of staff support.

Applying CIT is straightforward yet disciplined. The researcher defines the scope, perhaps focusing on reference desk interactions or digital resource use, and crafts an open-ended prompt that encourages storytelling. Data can be gathered in interviews, through written submissions, or even as audio diaries. Once collected, the incidents are analyzed for themes, helping to pinpoint where services excel and where they falter.

While the method is well established in fields like healthcare and service management, it remains underused in LIS, making it an opportunity for fresh, impactful research. By focusing on singular, significant moments, CIT produces findings that are not only academically valuable but also highly actionable for library planning, policy, and design.

For those curious to explore further, the foundational text is John C. Flanagan’s 1954 article, The Critical Incident Technique. More recent adaptations, such as Hughes and colleagues’ chapter in Exploring Methods in Information Literacy Research, offer LIS-specific applications. Together, they show how a research method that began in aviation psychology can help libraries see themselves more clearly, one story at a time.