Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (Journal)
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Learning about Student Research Practices through an Ethnographic Investigation: Insights into Contact with Librarians and Use of Library Space
No full textAbstract
Objective – Student research habits and expectations continue to change, complicating the design of library spaces and the provision of research support. This study’s intent was to explore undergraduate and graduate student research and study needs at a mid-sized university’s two campuses in the Northeastern United States, and to improve librarians’ understandings of these practices so that more appropriate services and spaces may be developed to support student learning.
Methods – The research project utilized a primarily qualitative design for data collection that spanned from fall 2012 to summer 2013, consisting of an online questionnaire, unobtrusive observations, and in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data collection commenced with a questionnaire consisting of 51 items, distributed through campus email to all students and receiving 1182 responses. Second, 32 hours of unobtrusive observations were carried out by librarians, who took ethnographic “field notes” in a variety of Library locations during different times and days of the week. The final method was in-depth interviews conducted with 30 undergraduate and graduate students. The qualitative data were analyzed through the application of a codebook consisting of 459 codes, developed by a data analysis team of 4 librarians.
Results – The results address topical areas of student interactions with librarians, contact preferences, and use of library space. Of the interviewees, 60% contacted a librarian at least once, with texting being the most popular method of contact (27%). In being contacted by the library, students preferred a range of methods and generally indicated interest in learning about library news and events through posters and signage. Participants were less interested in receiving library contact via social media, such as Facebook or Twitter. Regarding student use of and preference for library space, prominent themes were students creating their own spaces for individual study by moving furniture, leaving personal items unattended, the presence of unwanted noise, and a general preference for either working nearby other students in groups or in carrels to facilitate individual study.
Conclusions – Being aware of student research processes and preferences can result in the ability to design learning environments and research services that are more responsive to their needs. Ethnographic research methods, as part of an ongoing research process, are recommended as a means to better understand library user practices and expectations
In the Growing Information Mall, Some Things Never Change
No full textA Review of:
Fidel, R., Davies, R. K., Douglass, M. H., Holder, J. K., Hopkins, C. J., Kushner, E. J.,…. Toney, C. D. (1999). A visit to the information mall: Web searching behavior of high school students. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50(1), 24-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(1999)50:13.0.CO;2-W
Abstract
Objective – The research study aimed to discover high school students’ information searching behaviour on the Web and suggest Web changes that would benefit student learning. This study was conducted in 1999, seven years after the Internet was publicly available and on the cusp of Web 2.0.
Design – Field study with class observations, students thinking aloud at their terminals, and interviews with the students after their searching. The study’s duration was three class searching sessions.
Setting – West Seattle High School in Seattle, Washington. This school had a diverse population of students, with 50% students of color and many of these students first generation to finish high school. Due to a grant from Microsoft, West Seattle had operational four computer labs.
Subjects – Eleventh and twelfth graders in a horticulture class. There were eight student participants, six males and two females. Five of these students were in 12th grade and three were in 11th grade. The teacher for this class, the school librarian, and the principal of West Seattle High School were also interviewed for this project.
Methods – Qualitative, case-study method was used with controlled comparison. Team members observed the students while they searched and wrote down descriptions of the students’ searching methods. After the three observation sessions and interviews with the students, team members wrote up a case study for each student. The students’ think-aloud audio, along with all the interviews conducted, were recorded. This type of method can be considered an early version of usability testing and user experience studies, a field that has grown tremendously since 1999.
Main Results – While each student observed had a different relationship with the Web and training on how to use it, similar searching strategies emerged from all participants. These strategies included focused searching, swift and flexible searching when results were not immediately found, using a webpage as a landmark to return to while searching, starting a new search, and asking for help when needed. It should be noted that focused searching along with the swift, flexible searching were strategies influenced by student motivation to complete their homework assignment as quickly as possible. The team noted exploration of the Web was kept to a minimum and this was due to the parameters of the assignment. Team members also identified similar frustrations and joys from the students when searching the Web. The study identified three steps that should be taken to help students more effectively navigate the Web. The steps included an increase in formal teaching on Web searching, embedded support in the Web to help students search, and relying on graphics to strengthen a Web experience.
Conclusion – Authors noted the possibilities the World Wide Web has to offer, especially in a school context. However, in order to fully maximize those possibilities, the Web needs to take into account user experiences and information seeking behaviour, along with an increase in training on how to use the Web
Students Use Library Resources but are Unlikely to Consult with Librarians during the Early Research Process
No full textA Review of:
Thomas, S., Tewell, E., & Wilson, G. (2017). Where students start and what they do when they get stuck: A qualitative inquiry into academic information-seeking and help-seeking practices. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 43(3), 224-231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2017.02.016
Abstract
Objective – To investigate where students start their research, what resources they use, and when they may consult with a librarian.
Design – Ethnographic, semi-structured interviews.
Setting – A mid-sized, private university located in the northeastern United States of America.
Subjects – 15 students; 7 undergraduate students and 8 graduate students.
Methods – Researchers gathered data as part of a larger ethnographic study conducted at the university. Interview participants were selected from among respondents to an email survey sent to all university students. Interview participants were purposefully selected to represent the student population with regards to their status (undergraduate or graduate), progress through their programs, and their majors. The semi-structured interviews focused primarily on how students approached the beginning stages of research and the types of resources used.
The authors read each interview transcript to identify possible research questions, then re-read transcripts to identify codes and potential themes related to the selected research questions. Finally, they analyzed the transcripts to determine where essential themes and keywords appeared, while highlighting relevant passages and finalizing themes.
Main Results – Students were more likely to seek research help from faculty members and their peers than from librarians. Graduate student interviewees were more likely to report consulting with librarians than undergraduate students. Interview themes suggest that students may not consult with librarians because they do not perceive librarians as having the subject knowledge or “insider” status (p. 227) of their professors and peers. Few students articulated an understanding of the expertise librarians could bring to a research project.
When starting a research project, students were more likely to report beginning with library databases than they were Google or other open web sources. While many students also shared that they used multiple different resources in their initial stages, most also reported that they ultimately narrowed their search focus to a specific database. Students also discussed struggling with their database searching.
Conclusion – The authors suggest that future research should focus on understanding the types of resources that faculty members recommend to their students, which could inform how librarians approach their work with students. Additional research related to how faculty members and students perceive librarians may also clarify the role these groups expect librarians to fill during the research process. Although results cannot be generalized to all student populations, the authors call for librarians to further explore assumptions about how students begin their research and the work academic librarians do to support students’ natural behaviours and preferences
Mixed Methods Not Mixed Messages: Improving LibGuides with Student Usability Data
No full textAbstract
Objective – This article describes a mixed methods usability study of research guides created using the LibGuides 2.0 platform conducted in 2016 at an urban, public university library. The goal of the study was to translate user design and learning modality preferences into executable design principles, and ultimately to improve the design and usage of LibGuides at the New York City College of Technology Library.
Methods – User-centred design demands that stakeholders participate in each stage of an application’s development and that assumptions about user design preferences are validated through testing. Methods used for this usability study include: a task analysis on paper prototypes with a think aloud protocol (TAP), an advanced scribbling technique modeled on the work of Linek and Tochtermann (2015), and semi-structured interviews. The authors introduce specifics of each protocol in addition to data collection and analysis methods.
Results – The authors present quantitative and qualitative student feedback on navigation layouts, terminology, and design elements and discuss concrete institutional and technical measures they will take to implement best practices. Additionally, the authors discuss students’ impressions of multimedia, text-based, and interactive instructional content in relation to specific research scenarios defined during the usability test.
Conclusion – The authors translate study findings into best practices that can be incorporated into custom user-centric LibGuide templates and assets. The authors also discuss relevant correlations between students’ learning modality preferences and design feedback, and identify several areas that warrant further research. The authors believe this study will spark a larger discussion about relationships between instructional design, learning modalities, and research guide use contexts
A Comparison of Traditional Book Reviews and Amazon.com Book Reviews of Fiction Using a Content Analysis Approach
No full textAbstract
Objective - This study compared the quality and helpfulness of traditional book review sources with the online user rating system in Amazon.com in order to determine if one mode is superior to the other and should be used by library selectors to assist in making purchasing decisions.
Methods - For this study, 228 reviews of 7 different novels were analyzed using a content analysis approach. Of these, 127 reviews came from traditional review sources and 101 reviews were published on Amazon.com.
Results - Using a checklist developed for this study, a significant difference in the quality of reviews was discovered. Reviews from traditional sources scored significantly higher than reviews from Amazon.com. The researcher also looked at review length. On average, Amazon.com reviews are shorter than reviews from traditional sources. Review rating—favourable, unfavourable, or mixed/neutral—also showed a lack of consistency between the two modes of reviews.
Conclusion - Although Amazon.com provides multiple reviews of a book on one convenient site, traditional sources of professionally written reviews would most likely save librarians more time in making purchasing decisions, given the higher quality of the review assessment
Assessment of Information and Communication Technology for Selective Dissemination of Information and Current Awareness Services: A Case Study of University Libraries in the South-West Zone of Nigeria
No full textAbstract
Objective – To assess the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for selective dissemination of information (SDI) and current awareness services (CAS) in university libraries in the South-West zone of Nigeria.
Methods – A descriptive research design was adopted. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire administered to a population consisting of 379 librarians, with 353 usable questionnaires retrieved.
Results – Findings revealed that most university libraries in the South-West zone of Nigeria do not use ICT in delivery of SDI and CAS. It is evident in this study that despite the known positive effects of ICT in library services, traditional methods were predominantly used for SDI and CAS to the library users. The study revealed that erratic Internet services, insufficient training, inadequate ICT skills, and low support for ICT were hindrances towards ICT use for SDI and CAS.
Conclusions – The integration of ICT features in library services for the delivery of CAS and SDI has been a challenge in university libraries in South-West Nigeria. Only a few libraries and a low percentage of librarians had adopted the use of ICT in the delivery of CAS and SDI, while a larger number of libraries resorted to the use of traditional methods. The level of ICT literacy among the librarians in this study is low, as a higher percentage of librarians did not have adequate ICT skill to use available online resources on the Internet and other ICT tools to deliver SDI and CAS in South-West, Nigeria. This is not unconnected to the fact that the training and technical support received by the librarians is inadequate, and the level of support that academic libraries received from their university managements in South-West Nigeria in terms of funding for ICT development is inadequate, which led to low Internet services
What Do Australian Library and Information Professionals Experience as Evidence?
No full textAbstract
Objective – This article presents the findings of a project which established an empirical basis for evidence based library and information practice (EBLIP). More specifically, the paper explores what library and information professionals experienced as evidence in the context of their professional practice.
Methods – The project consisted of two sub-studies. The public library sub-study was conducted using ethnography. Over a 5-month period, a member of the research team travelled to a regional public library on 15 occasions, staying between 3 and 4 days on each visit. The researcher observed, interacted, and became involved in the day-to-day activities of this library. These activities were recorded in a journal and added to the researcher’s insights and thoughts. Additionally, 13 face-to-face interviews with staff in positions ranging from the operational to the executive were conducted. The academic sub-study was conducted using Constructivist Grounded Theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted either in person or via Skype, with 13 librarians from Australian universities. Interviewees were in a diverse array of roles, from liaison librarian to manager and library director.
Results – The project found that the Australian academic librarians and the public librarians who participated in the project experienced six elements as evidence: observation, feedback, professional colleagues, research literature, statistics, and intuition. Each of these will be described and highlighted with examples from each of the two studies.
Conclusions – The findings of this study revealed many similarities in the way that library professionals from both studies experienced evidence. Evidence was not hierarchical, with evidence from many sources being valued equally. In contextualizing evidence and applying to the local environment, library professionals were able to draw upon more than one source of evidence and apply their professional knowledge and experiences. In this way evidence was more nuanced
