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:

 

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    Speaking on the Record: Combining Interviews with Search Log Analysis in User Research

    6 April 2022

    Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Brittany Brannon, Christopher Cyr, Peggy Gallagher

    This paper reports on a novel sequential mixed methods approach combining search logs and semi-structured individual interviews to study user search behavior within a library discovery system.

    Using collective curation to pay data forward in the life cycle

    11 June 2021

    Ixchel M. Faniel

    Drawing from a study of archaeological excavation teams, four collective curation opportunities are proposed to identify and resolve differences in data and documentation practices that arise in team-based research. To create more integrated, well-documented data, the opportunities attend to integrating people rather than technology. The actions people take as data move through the life cycle become the focal point of change.

    Identifying Opportunities for Collective Curation during Archaeological Excavations

    6 August 2020

    Ixchel Faniel, Anne Austin, Sarah Whitcher Kansa, Eric Kansa, Jennifer Jacobs, Phoebe France

    Archaeological excavations are comprised of interdisciplinary teams that create, manage, and share data as they unearth and analyse material culture. These team-based settings are ripe for collective curation during these data lifecycle stages. However, findings from four excavation sites show that the data interdisciplinary teams create are not well integrated. Knowing this, we recommended opportunities for collective curation to improve use and reuse of the data within and outside of the team. 

    Library Discovery Directions

    29 June 2020

    Lorcan Dempsey

    In this foreword to the edited collection Resource Discovery for the Twenty-First Century Library (2020), Lorcan Dempsey traces shifting trends in the library discovery environment contributing to the diversified scope of resource discovery.

    Science and News: A Study of Students’ Judgments of Online Scientific News Information

    13 January 2020

    Tara Tobin Cataldo, Kailey Langer, Amy G. Buhler, Samuel R. Putnam, Rachael Elrod, Ixchel M. Faniel, PhD, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, PhD, Christopher Cyr, PhD, Brittany Brannon, Joyce Kasman Valenza, PhD, Erin M. Hood, Randy A. Graff, PhD

    This paper explores how students judge scientific news resources, as they might find through a Google search. The data were collected as part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project. 

    Authority, Context and Containers: Student Perceptions and Judgments When Using Google for School Work

    7 May 2019

    Tara Tobin Cataldo, Kailey Langer, Amy G. Buhler, Samuel R. Putnam, Rachael Elrod, Ixchel M. Faniel, PhD, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, PhD, Christopher Cyr, PhD, Brittany Brannon, Joyce Kasman Valenza, PhD, Erin M. Hood, Randy A. Graff, PhD

    What really happens when student researchers meet a Google results page? How do students determine the authority behind each result? News, blogs, journals, Wikipedia, websites, e-books--with the vast array of online content available, how do students differentiate between them? Better still, do they differentiate between them or are these format agnostic students stymied by container collapse? The Researching Students’ Information Choices (RSIC) project is answering these questions.

    Beyond the Archive: Bridging Data Creation and Reuse in Archaeology

    3 May 2018

    Ixchel Faniel, Anne Austin, Eric Kansa, Sarah Whitcher Kansa, Phoebe France, Jennifer Jacobs, Ran Boytner, and Elizabeth Yakel

    The Secret Life of Data (SLO-data) project traces the lifecycle of data in archaeology to make recommendations to improve data management and better align data creation and reuse. It proposes a “slow data” approach to emphasize curation, contextualization, and communication to streamline data collection for reuse.