science

Margaret Elizabeth Egan

Margaret Elizabeth Egan is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Margaret Elizabeth Egan rather than just read about it. In short: Margaret Elizabeth Egan (March 14, 1905 – January 26, 1959) was an American librarian and communication scholar who is best known for "Foundations of a Theory in Bibliography," published in Library Quarterly in 1952 and co-authored with Jesse Hauk Shera. This article marked the first appearance of the term "social epistemology" in connection with library science.

Key takeaways

Margaret Elizabeth Egan belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Margaret Elizabeth Egan to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Margaret Elizabeth Egan from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Margaret Elizabeth Egan (March 14, 1905 – January 26, 1959) was an American librarian and communication scholar who is best known for "Foundations of a Theory in Bibliography," published in Library Quarterly in 1952 and co-authored with Jesse Hauk Shera. This article marked the first appearance of the term "social epistemology" in connection with library science.

Biography Margaret Egan was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1905. She obtained a B.A. at the University of Cincinnati in 1939 and completed graduate work at both Yale University (1940–41) and the University of Chicago (1941–43). She worked at the Cincinnati Public Library from 1933 to 1940; in 1943 Egan joined the Industrial Relations Center of the University of Chicago as librarian and began teaching in the University of Chicago Graduate Library School (GLS). She was appointed as an assistant professor in the GLS in 1946 and was an associate editor of Library Quarterly from 1952 to 1955. She left Chicago in 1955 and joined Jesse Shera at the School of Library Science at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where she first served as a research associate at the newly formed Center for Documentation and Communication Research. In 1956 she was appointed as an associate professor. Egan died of a heart attack in 1959 at the age of 53.

Social epistemology Social epistemology, "the production, distribution, and utilization of intellectual products" (Egan and Shera 1952), correlates the production and consumption of information to that of material goods. Shera later wrote that social epistemology "is the study of knowledge in society," distinct from previous investigations of individual knowledge. Furner (2004) lists the following contributions made in "Foundations of a Theory of Bibliography":

Establishing "informed social action" as the goal of library service. Establishing the extent to which librarianship contributes to attaining this goal as "the primary criterion by which [bibliographic services] may be evaluated." Providing "a theoretical framework … for the study of information-seeking behavior, knowledge organization, and bibliometrics", which is then treated as "a theoretical foundation for library and information science." Using the term "social epistemology" in this context for the first time.

Errors of attribution Although Egan was the first author on "Foundations of a Theory of Bibliography," her untimely death (and Shera's prolific publishing that followed) have led to frequent omissions of her name when citing the work. In 1978, Shera wrote that "both the term and the concept [of social epistemology] were hers, but because I have given it wide currency, despite frequent disclaimers, it has generally been attributed to me."

References

Further reading Dick, Archie L. 2002. "Social Epistemology, Information Science and Ideology." Social Epistemology 16(1): 23–35. Egan, Margaret E., and Jesse H. Shera. 1952. "Foundations of a Theory of Bibliography." Library Quarterly 22(2):125–137.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Margaret Elizabeth Egan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Margaret Elizabeth Egan claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Margaret Elizabeth Egan before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Margaret Elizabeth Egan ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Margaret Elizabeth Egan

In research: Margaret Elizabeth Egan appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Margaret Elizabeth Egan in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Margaret Elizabeth Egan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1905 births, 1959 deaths, 20th-century American educational theorists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Margaret Elizabeth Egan outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Margaret Elizabeth Egan in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Margaret Elizabeth Egan means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Margaret Elizabeth Egan in simple terms?

Why does Margaret Elizabeth Egan matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Margaret Elizabeth Egan?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Margaret Elizabeth Egan.