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Presentation to LIS 608, Human Information Behavior, Pratt SILS, about qualitative research in libraries and the Undergraduate Scholarly Habits Ethnography Project.
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maura a. smalenyc college of
technology
some observations on qualitative research (in
libraries)
mariana regalado
brooklyn college
11/10/2011
&
how did we get here?
we have graduate training in anthropology which means we have done a lot of our
own research (and some of it has even been in the library!)
we are academic reference and instruction librarians
which means we spend a lot of time helping students learn how to be more efficient, more persistent, and more curious researchers
we wanted to know
how do undergraduatesstudy and do their research?
how do they make sense
of their experience?
research methodsquantitative qualitative
assumption: variables can be identified and relationships measured.
methods:seeks the normattempts to be objectivecollection and analysis of numerical data to identify statistical relations of variables
assumption: variables are complex, difficult to measure. methods:searches for patterns relies on involvement and empathic understanding data from observation, interviews, etc. with a focus on the interpretations of participants
help us understand what participants do
begin with specific questions that define participant answers
numerical data are analyzed to show statistical relations of variables
an efficient means of collecting large amounts of relatively superficial data
help us understand participants experience of what they do
begin with general questions, participant answers drive results
narrative data are analyzed and coded in a search for patterns and concepts
a time consuming means of collecting relatively small amounts of in-depth data
quantitative qualitative
methods complement
student: so it's all that travelling I have to go through just to get to class. . . I didn't know it was that muchinterviewer: what do you do on the bus?student: I do a little study; listen to my ipod. . .I’m a music major. . .I have so much music to listen to, it keeps me occupied
in other words
“everything that can be counted does not necessarily count
everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted”
-Albert Einstein
ethnography
the study of human beliefs, values, rituals in its natural setting -- the “culture”
data collected by observation and interviews
ethical concerns
protecting participants from harm is paramount in all human subjects research
in ethnography (and related social studies), investigators must ensure againstcoercionunwanted intrusion breach of confidentiality
institutional review board (irb)
oversight is provided by the local institutional review board (irb).
regulations based on the common rule from the office for human research protections
the ohrp was established in response to public outcry over unethical research practices (some of it conducted by the u.s. government!).
the common rule requires
compliance by research institutionsresearchers to obtain and document
informed consentadditional protections for certain
vulnerable populationspregnant women, in vitro fertilization,
and fetusesprisonerschildren
irb categories
exempt studies usually involve research on normal educational practice, i.e. in the classroom
expedited studies usually involve minimal risk to participants—most social science falls into this category
full review studies usually involve serious potential risks to participants—many medical studies fall into this category
undergraduate study habits ethnography project @ cuny
getting started
other models & inspiration
university of rochester
project information literacy (pil)
erial (five illinois libraries)
research sites
borough of manhattan community college, 2-year degrees
hunter college, 4-year degrees
nyc college of technology, 2- and 4-year degrees
bronx community college, 2-year degrees
brooklyn college, 4-year degrees
city college, 4-year degrees
institutional context
17% asian27% black29% hispanic26% white
228,484 undergraduates at cuny in fall 2010
43% born outside the u.s.mean age = 2428% over age 2544% 1st generation in college38% household income <
$20,00031% work for pay > 20 hrs/wk14% support children
CUNY OIRA. (2010). A Profile of Undergraduates at CUNY Senior and Community Colleges: Fall 2010. http://owl.cuny.edu:7778/portal/page/portal/oira/OIRA_HOME/ug_student_profile_f10.pdf
guiding questionswhat are faculty expectations for student scholarly work and assignments?
how do students study, research, and complete their assignments?
how do students use the library for their coursework (and, if they don’t, why not)?
research methods
faculty interviews
studentsmapping diariesphoto surveysresearch interviewsstudy habits survey
research preliminaries
irb approvalfundingincentivesrecruitment
undergraduate study habits ethnography project @ cuny
preliminary results
faculty interviews
“we need to instigate parts of [learning to do research and writing] earlier on” in the curriculum
“there isn’t time for hand-holding with the teaching load”
obstacles to good student work on research-based assignments
faculty interviews
“the central weakness […] is the inability to think and to analyze clearly”
“oh so many [ . . . I] would really expect complete sentences”
the inability to “identify a topic area and then realize that, well, maybe there’s no literature in that topic area”
perceived student weaknesses
faculty interviews
“I am firmly convinced that all of this has to be practicum based—the kids are much, much, much, much more interested when they find out there’s a use for what they know”
“I’m overt about the actual steps to research and writing the paper”
“I like them to do the papers in stages”
best practices for teaching research & writing
faculty interviews
[I tell them] “if you need a friend, try a reference librarian because they will be there for you”
“we send students over with half-formed, half-baked, half-conceived notions of what we want from them”
“they don’t use the library—it’s rare that they’ll go see a librarian.. . they’ll come see me first and I’ll show them the library website”
where librarians fit in (or don’t)
mapping diaries
mapping diaries
mapping diaries
mapping diaries
most frustrating part of the day“having lunch, because I had to
have lunch in the train station”
parts of the day to look forward to“I guess going home” “the gym”
a walk to target“if I need a little burst of inspiration”
mapping diariesmost frustrating part of the day“the time I have breaks in
between. . .because I'm usually like rushing and eating at the same time to get to my next class ”
best part of the day“the time in between ‘cause it's just a nice
window where I can lay down, relax for a while, go get some food, and then start the second half of my day. . . so it's a nice little break period, which I like”
photo surveys
all the stuff you take to classsomething you would call
high-techone picture of the library to
show to a new studentyour favorite place to studya place at school you hang
outa place at school where you
studyyour communication devices
how you manage your time or keep track of your work
a place at home you studyyour favorite part of the
daythe tools you use for
writing assignmentssomething you can’t live
withoutthe night before a big
assignment is due
some locations students were asked to photograph
photo surveys
the things you always carry with you
photo surveysthe place you keep your books
photo surveys a place in the library you don’t like
photo surveys a place at school where you study
photo surveys a place at home where you study
retrospective research process
retrospective research process
retrospective research process
retrospective research process
data analysis
application
how can what we learn(about how undergraduates study and do
research)(about what that experience is like for them)
(about faculty expectations for student research)
help us to improve ourlibrary outreach & services
and the student (research)
experience?
dissemination
acrl/ny annual symposium 2010
acrl national conference 2011
mobilityshifts: an international future of learning summit 2011
american anthropological association 2011
publication: articles, books and beyond!
