UGLi Discussion Group
UGLi - Meetings - 2002 Midwinter Minutes

UGLi Meeting Minutes

New Orleans Midwinter Conference, January, 21 2002

Submitted by Linda TerHaar, 6-13-02

Survey Discussion Notes

Indiana is participating in LibQual and that needs to go through the approval process for research involving human subjects. Were we contemplating something that formal? Even if we did something less formalized than LibQual, we would almost certainly need to go through the human subjects review and approval process.

Jill would like to see us do something coordinated. Washington will be gathering data from users in some way. Jill suggested we seek professional assistance to set up our survey instrument and would be happy to be involved work on a group survey.

Some institutions have used focus groups. How to attract students? Options include cash payment, recruiting through student groups or student government, use of a student advisory group (a la Columbia). Attracting students would vary from campus to campus. Faculty constitute another group we might want data from. Faculty members are sometimes easier to recruit for surveys or focus groups.

What questions would we want to ask students for either focus group or survey? We need to be clear what purpose our research will serve. To get data about library as place and services need in that place ask:

  • Where do you go to study?
  • Why do you choose those places when you choose them?
  • What do you do when you come to the library?
  • What do you (seniors) wish you had known two years ago?
  • What does the library do well, what could we do better?
We noted the need to reach students who don't come to the library.

What questions would we want to ask faculty for either focus group or survey?

  • If you had a librarian working with you as you planned your course, what would be most helpful?
  • What kind of material do you expect your students to use to do their work?
  • How do you expect/encourage students to do their work for your course?
Other points arose regarding faculty. This might be most institution-specific than gathering data from students. Our relationships to faculty very different, institution to institution. In large institutions TA's are often the more immediate audience if we're looking for instructors of undergrads. How are people dealing with plagiarism? Some institutions have faculty seeking help (Texas) identifying plagiarized papers. How can we offer front-end help with plagiarism prevention?

How can we make our results meaningful for Provosts?