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Questions Asked in Face-to-Face, Chat, & E-mail Reference Interactions

Questions Asked in Face-to-Face, Chat, & E-mail Reference Interactions. Charlotte Ford Ph.D. Candidate ~ Indiana University Librarian ~ Birmingham-Southern College. Research question. How do face-to-face reference interactions differ from computer-mediated reference interactions?

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Questions Asked in Face-to-Face, Chat, & E-mail Reference Interactions

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  1. Questions Asked in Face-to-Face, Chat, & E-mail Reference Interactions Charlotte Ford Ph.D. Candidate ~ Indiana University Librarian ~ Birmingham-Southern College

  2. Research question How do face-to-face reference interactions differ from computer-mediated reference interactions? • questions • responses • interactivity

  3. This presentation’s focus: How do the types of questions asked by users vary across media?

  4. Research Methods • Case study in a library offering face-to-face, chat, and e-mail reference service • Observation and recording of reference interactions in all 3 media

  5. Interactions recorded

  6. Content analysis of questions Schemes drawn upon: • Lynch (1977): directional, holdings, and substantive questions • ARL (2000): directional vs. reference questions • Miwa (2000): categories for questions sent to AskERIC

  7. Questions scheme (1) directional (2) substantive (3) other

  8. Questions scheme (1) directional (1.1) needs to find building location (1.2) needs assistance with circulation procedures (1.3) needs info on library policies (1.4) needs administrative assistance (1.5) needs to use 'office' equipment or supplies (1.6) needs technical assistance using equipment or software

  9. Questions scheme (1) directional (2) substantive (2.1) needs to obtain a specific source ("holdings")(2.2) needs to find source(s) on a subject, by a certain author, or of a certain genre(2.3) needs to find fact(s)(2.4) needs evaluation or opinion(2.5) needs interpretation / explanation of source(s)(2.6) needs instruction(2.7) needs info on chat

  10. Questions scheme (1) directional (2) substantive (3) other (3.1) spam or nonsense(3.2) reporting an error(3.3) testing system or demoing system(3.4) looking for friend(3.5) requests personal info(3.6) can you answer?(3.7) verification(3.8) suggestion(3.9) question about my project

  11. FINDINGS How do the types of questions asked by users vary across media?

  12. Findings • No. & types of user info needs expressed • Directional, substantive, and “other” questions asked • Directional questions asked • Substantive questions asked • “Other” questions asked

  13. No. & types of user info needs • Not always posed as questions • May be multiple info needs expressed in a single sentence • May be one info need expressed over multiple sentences

  14. No. & types of user info needs

  15. Directional, substantive, & “other” questions asked

  16. Holdings questions & interactions in which they occurred

  17. Research questions & interactions in which they occurred

  18. Factual questions & interactions in which they occurred

  19. Evaluative questions & interactions in which they occurred

  20. Questions & interactions in which users requested interpretation / explanation

  21. Questions & interactions in which users requested instruction

  22. Chat questions & interactions in which they occurred

  23. Main points of interest • Preponderance of directional (circulation and policy) questions over e-mail & chat • No difference in the proportion of holdings questions, research questions, or requests for evaluation / opinion across media • No difference in the proportion of interactions in which some kind of instruction was requested

  24. Further research • How do the types of responses given in different media (e-mail, chat, ftf) relate to the types of info needs expressed? • How do the questions asked by librarians vary across media? • How does this case compare to other libraries?

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