User Research
Libraries are impacted by the ways in which individuals engage with technology; how they seek, access, contribute, and use information; and how and why they demonstrate these behaviors and do what they do. We're collaborating with librarians to shape their services around a set of expectations that have been influenced by consumer technologies and modern research and learning environments. By providing the library community with behavioral evidence about individuals’ perceptions, habits, and requirements, we can ensure that the design of future library services is all about the user. Our efforts are amplified by strategic partnerships and focus in these two areas:
Presentations
Library in the Life of the Community: Preparing for a Global Information Environment
Madrid, Spain
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D., Executive Director, Research, OCLC, presented research that was conducted at OCLC addressing community-focused programming, spaces, and collections. She discussed the knowledge and skills required of information professionals in a global information environment.
Topics: User Research
What's Format Got to Do with It? The Role Information Formats Play in Evaluating Search Results.
Topics: User Research, Student Support, Information Literacy
Archaeological data practices and the implications for successful data sharing and reuse
virtual
In this keynote presentation, Ixchel M. Faniel discusses findings from several studies examining archaeological data practices and needs and the implications for successful data sharing and reuse.
Keynote recording available from SEADDA.
Topics: User Research, Research Data Management, SLO-Data
Identifying Opportunities for Collective Curation During Archaeological Excavations
Dublin, Ireland
Archaeological excavations are comprised of interdisciplinary teams that create, manage, and share data as they unearth and analyze material culture. These team-based settings are ripe for collective curation, particularly among the excavation teams responsible for unearthing the materials and the specialists responsible for analysing them. Yet, findings from a study of four excavation sites show specialist data tend to remain unlinked and decontextualized from excavation data. This presentation highlights findings from the study, opportunities identified for collective curation, and responses from the four excavation projects.
Topics: Research Data Management, User Research, SLO-Data
Speaking on the Record: Combining Interviews with Search Log Analysis in User Research
Melbourne, Australia
OCLC Research presents a novel user research methodology that combines log analysis with semi-structured interviews to determine how library users navigate the path from discovery to access. Indications are, “The methodology used for this study also could be extended beyond discovery systems. Other computerized activities that leave digital traces could be studied using interview protocols based on log analysis.”
Topics: User Research, Research Methods
Container Collapse and the Information Remix: Students' Evaluations of Scientific Research Recast in Scholarly vs. Popular Sources
Cleveland, OH (USA)
Learn how students from high school to grad school evaluate the citability and credibility of online resources. Discover the variety of uses students consider when selecting resources and consider new strategies for addressing student needs.
Topics: User Research
Beyond the Survey: Using Qualitative Research Methods to Support Evidence-based Practice
Sydney (Australia)
Lynn Silipigni Connaway reviews different forms of qualitative research and mixed research methods using examples from recent research projects.
Topics: Research Methods, User Research
New Ways of Seeing: Understanding Individuals on their Terms
Sydney (Australia)
This presentation provides a deep delve into information behavior research methods, qualitative research, and ethnographic data collection tools and methods.
Topics: Research Methods, User Research
You Talked To Your Users-What Now?: Developing Codebooks For Qualitative Data Analysis
Lewis Center, OH (USA)
Brannon introduces coding, covers things to take into consideration when creating a codebook, and provides real world examples of codebooks in action.
Topics: User Research
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research Methods in Information Behavior Studies
Kraków (Poland)
This presentation details research methods, and data collection and data analysis tools and methods used in library and information schools over the years for information behavior studies, as well as challenges and opportunities.
Topics: User Research, Research Methods