Ixchel M. Faniel, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Ixchel M. Faniel's research interests include improving how people discover, access and use/reuse content. She is currently examining how academics manage, share and reuse research data and librarians' experiences designing and delivering supportive research data management programs. She also is investigating how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students from grade school to grad school identify and judge the credibility of digital resources. Ixchel's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Prior to joining OCLC Ixchel worked at the University of Michigan, School of Information, IBM and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). She graduated from Tufts University with a BS in Computer Science and earned an MBA and Ph.D. in Business Administration at the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business.
Curriculum vitae (.pdf)
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Publications
How real is real enough? Participant feedback on a behavioral simulation used for information-seeking behavior research
12 January 2022
This paper assesses the realism of a behavioral simulation used to study the evaluation behavior of 175 students from fourth grade through graduate school. We assess realism through the examination of targeted participant feedback about what would have made the simulated environment and tasks more realistic to these participants. Based on this feedback, we reflect on decisions made in designing the simulation and offer recommendations for future studies interested in incorporating behavioral simulation in their research design.
New Model Library: Pandemic Effects and Library Directions
28 October 2021
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ixchel M. Faniel, Brittany Brannon, Joanne Cantrell, Christopher Cyr, Brooke Doyle, Peggy Gallagher, Kem Lang, Brian Lavoie, Janet Mason, and Titia van der Werf
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted libraries of all types around the world, requiring library leaders to respond to rapidly shifting community and institutional needs. This briefing shares how leaders adapted during the pandemic and what they envision moving forward to help libraries plan strategically.
Genre Containers: Building a Theoretical Framework for Studying Formats in Information Behavior
26 October 2021
Brittany Brannon, Amy G. Buhler, Tara Tobin Cataldo, Ixchel M. Faniel, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Joyce Kasman Valenza, Christopher Cyr
Prior studies have shown high-level differences in people's perception and use of various information formats. However, the lack of a coherent and theoretically informed framework of elements of format has inhibited a nuanced understanding of the role that formats play in information behavior. This paper draws on theories from the field of rhetoric and composition to ground the study of information format in a social constructivist perspective that foregrounds action in context.