By Michele Villagran
Culturally Competent Research for Library and Information Science (CCRLIS) is a multi-year research project launched in 2025 to examine how researchers in Library and Information Studies (LIS) conceptualize and operationalize cultural competence within research contexts. The project emerges from a recognized imbalance in the field: while cultural competence has been extensively addressed in LIS professional practice—particularly in service delivery, access, and community engagement—it has not been equivalently theorized or systematically embedded within research processes. CCRLIS addresses this gap by foregrounding cultural competence as a methodological and ethical dimension of LIS research rather than a peripheral or post hoc consideration.
The study focuses on two primary research questions: (1) How do LIS researchers incorporate cultural competence into research team formation and across the research lifecycle? and (2) What criteria do LIS researchers identify as essential for conducting culturally competent research? To address these questions, CCRLIS draws on survey and interview data collected from members of the American Library Association and the Association for Library and Information Science Educators. These participants represent a range of roles, including researchers, educators, and practitioners whose work both produces and applies LIS research.
Conceptualizing Cultural Competence in Research Contexts
Within CCRLIS, cultural competence in research is defined as the capacity of research teams to design and conduct rigorous, ethical inquiry that explicitly recognizes and respects the cultural identities, social positions, and contextual realities of the populations under study. This definition situates cultural competence as an active, iterative research practice rather than a static attribute. It encompasses the whole research process, including question formulation, methodological design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination. A core component of this is intercultural competency, understood as the ability to engage effectively and appropriately across culturally diverse contexts. In research settings, intercultural competency requires more than awareness of difference; it involves adapting research practices to acknowledge distinct communication norms, epistemologies, and values. CCRLIS participants emphasized that such competency must be intentionally cultivated, particularly in research involving historically marginalized or underrepresented communities.
The LIS profession has long articulated commitments to multiculturalism, diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly in the context of service provision. Librarians have historically emphasized equitable access to information, respectful engagement with diverse user populations, and the development of collections and programs that reflect a multiplicity of cultural perspectives. However, CCRLIS findings indicate that comparable attention has not consistently been given to research practices. Although cultural competence has increasingly informed professional training and service models, formalized guidance for culturally competent research design and implementation remains limited within LIS. This absence has methodological and ethical consequences. When cultural assumptions remain implicit or unexamined, research risks reproducing dominant epistemologies and embedding unrecognized bias into data collection instruments, analytic frameworks, and interpretive conclusions. Such bias can influence both the validity of research findings and their application in practice.
Positioning Cultural Competence as a Research Imperative
CCRLIS explicitly positions cultural competence as integral to research quality and ethical responsibility. The project seeks to support LIS researchers and practitioners by articulating research practices that move beyond surface-level inclusion toward deeper intercultural engagement. Importantly, CCRLIS emphasizes that culturally competent research is not limited to studies explicitly focused on culture or identity; rather, it is relevant across research domains and methodological approaches. By centering cultural competence within research processes, CCRLIS advances a view of research as relational and situated. This perspective challenges assumptions of researcher neutrality and instead highlights how research is shaped by the identities, institutional positions, and cultural frameworks of those who conduct it.
Participant-Identified Research Practices
Participants identified multiple applied research contexts in which culturally competent practices are particularly salient, including community needs assessments, program evaluations, collection development studies, and user experience research in public, school, and special libraries. In these settings, research findings often inform resource allocation, service design, and institutional priorities, amplifying the ethical stakes of methodological decisions. One participant described culturally competent research practices as extending beyond participant recruitment and data collection to include research team dynamics, analytic decision-making, and post-project reflection. This holistic view underscores that cultural competence must be sustained throughout the research lifecycle rather than confined to discrete stages.
CCRLIS participants offered specific examples of how cultural competence can be operationalized in research practice. One frequently cited practice involved allowing research participants to self-identify rather than selecting from predetermined demographic categories. This approach was described as acknowledging the complexity and fluidity of identity while resisting reductive classification schemes. Participants also emphasized the importance of explicitly recognizing the identities and social positions of both researchers and participants. Such acknowledgment was described as essential for understanding how power dynamics shape research interactions, data interpretation, and participant engagement. This orientation aligns with broader principles of intercultural research that emphasize transparency and positional awareness.
Several participants highlighted the need to build sustained relationships with communities, particularly when working with Indigenous or otherwise marginalized populations. Trust, respect, and attention to cultural protocols and historical contexts were identified as prerequisites for ethical engagement. These practices were described as foundational to both community connection and research integrity.
Framework Development and Key Criteria
Based on survey and interview data, CCRLIS has identified nine key criteria for culturally competent research. These criteria collectively form the basis of a new framework grounded in practitioner and researcher perspectives. While the framework is not prescriptive, it emphasizes the interrelated roles of skill development, cultural awareness, and humility in navigating diverse information practices.
A central theme across participant responses was the importance of reflecting on the researcher's positionality and professional identity. Participants described how cultural background, institutional affiliation, and professional title influence research questions, methodological choices, and interpretive authority. This reflection was framed as an ongoing practice rather than a one-time disclosure. Multiple participants recommended collaborative research models in which community members are engaged as co-researchers or invited to participate in data analysis and peer review processes. These approaches were described as mechanisms for redistributing interpretive authority and ensuring that research findings are culturally grounded.
Participants also raised ethical questions related to narrative ownership, including who should tell particular stories and when researchers should step back from authorship or leadership roles. One participant noted that analytic codes were sometimes revised when cultural idioms or values altered the meaning of data. Such practices illustrate how ethicscan shape methodological decisions in culturally competent research.
Ongoing Development
The relevance of cultural competence extends across disciplinary boundaries, allowing the CCRLIS framework to be adapted for use beyond LIS. Although CCRLIS deliverables are not tailored to specific institutions or communities, they are designed to be flexible and responsive to local contexts. In 2026, Villagran will collaborate with intercultural experts to revise the framework and develop an open-access course on culturally competent research. This course will provide structured tools, resources, a workbook, and applied activities to support researchers in integrating culturally competent practices into their work. Those interested in contributing feedback or staying informed about CCRLIS developments are encouraged to engage through the project form.
Michele A. L. Villagran is an associate professor at San José State University School of Information, where her research focuses on diversity and social justice in library and information science and cultural intelligence phenomena within libraries. Villagran is also the CEO of CulturalCo, LLC, focusing on cultural competence, cultural intelligence, conflict management, and diversity consulting. Involved with numerous associations, including REFORMA, the Association for Library and Information Science Educators (ALISE), and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. She is the recipient of the 2023 American Library Association Social Responsibilities Round Table Herb Biblo Outstanding Leadership Award for Social Justice and Equality, the 2021 REFORMA Librarian of the Year, and the 2021 ALISE Norman Horrocks Leadership Award.
