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Convergence & Synergy: Social Q&A Meets Virtual Reference Services

ASIS&T, 75 TH Annual Meeting 30 October 2012 http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synergy.html. Chirag Shah Assistant Professor Rutgers University chirags@rutgers.edu. Convergence & Synergy: Social Q&A Meets Virtual Reference Services. Marie L. Radford

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Convergence & Synergy: Social Q&A Meets Virtual Reference Services

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  1. ASIS&T, 75TH Annual Meeting 30 October 2012http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synergy.html Chirag Shah Assistant ProfessorRutgers University chirags@rutgers.edu Convergence & Synergy: Social Q&A Meets Virtual Reference Services Marie L. Radford • Associate ProfessorRutgers University • mradford@rutgers.edu Lynn Silipigni Connaway • Senior Research ScientistOCLC • connawal@oclc.org

  2. Where We Are Now VRS SQA

  3. Current Model of Virtual Reference Services (VRS) • POSITIVES • 20+ years • High quality/accurate • Professionals • Consortium collaborations • CHALLENGES • Funding cuts • Monolithic • Collaboration limited beyond consortia • Underutilized Question Answer

  4. Social Question & Answer (SQA) • POSITIVES • Community-based • Collaborative • Publicly available • Low cost • Quick turnaround • Easy build-up of social capital • CHALLENGE • No guarantee of quality of answers • Some questions receive no answers

  5. Convergence of VRS & SQA • Similar components • Previous efforts • Slam the Boards • Enquire • Rated best answer 79% of time • Collaboration possibilities intriguing VRS SQA

  6. Partners: OCLC & RutgersFunded by IMLS for $250K2-year project Cyber Synergy: Seeking Sustainability through Collaboration between Virtual Reference &Social Q&A Sites

  7. Research Questions • What is the effectiveness of various VRS & SQA services, quality of content provided, & their relative merits & shortcomings? • How does accuracy compare between VRS & SQA sites? • What lessons can be learned from SQA sites that could be applied to VRS & vice-versa? • How can VRS become more collaborative, within & between libraries, & tap more effectively into librarian’s subject expertise? • How can we design systems & services within & between VRS & SQA for better quality & sustainability?

  8. Project Phases Transcript analysis Telephone Interviews Constructing Design Specifications

  9. Phase I: VRS & SQA Transcript Analysis • 560 transcripts (296,158 total) • 350 live chat • 210 Qwidget (IM) • 11 coding schemes • 1000 Q&A pairs from Yahoo Answers! (>1 million total)

  10. Phase I: Transcript Analysis – Preliminary Results • Subject - Dewey Decimal Classification • Broad range • Social sciences & technology - largest percentages • Type of Question • Procedural & Ready Reference largest percentages • Accuracy • 90% accurate for Ready Reference • 75% correct with citation included • Difficulty • READ Scale (Gerlich & Berard, ‘07) • Most questions fall 2-3 on READ scale (require some effort & time)

  11. Phase II: Telephone Interviews • Librarians • 50 VRS librarians • Users • VRS • 50 QP live chat & Qwidget users • SQA • 50 services users & expert users

  12. Phase II: VRS & SQA Phone Interview Demographics Librarians 18 academic 16 other VRS/SQA Users 5 VRS only 12 SQA only 56 used both Participant geographic distribution Librarian VRS/SQA User

  13. Phase II: SQA FtF Interview Demographics • Major themes • Important for success • Topic • Length • Visibility • Timeliness • Clarity • Availability • Verifiability • Relevance, quality, & satisfaction on equal planes 36 SQA student users 24 undergraduate 12 graduate 10 subject librarians

  14. Phase II: SQA Interview Analysis • Exploratory • Uses & experiences in physical & digital libraries & SQAs • Preliminary results • “Goodness” of answers • Synergy of SQA & VRS • Collaboration • Leverage subject knowledge

  15. Phase II: Librarian Interviews • 34 phone interviews conducted to date • Major themes • Draft coding scheme developed • Important • Attaining sustained user satisfaction • Teaching search strategies • Better via electronic media • Cite sources

  16. The Takeaway

  17. Goals & Impact on VRS/SQA Services • Improve underutilized services • Understand how to leverage librarian subject expertise through virtual collaborations • Develop guidelines for practice • Make recommendations for evaluation of VRS & SQA • Inform systems design • Connect potential users with SQA services & VRS

  18. Next Steps

  19. Next Steps • Further analysis of SQA questions • Subject • Question Type • Questions failing to obtain answers • Continue interviews • VRS/SQA users • VRS librarians • Conduct design sessions with experts • Specifications for system design Nee help with English please? Answer Question ANSWERS(0)

  20. Funding & Acknowledgements Cyber Synergy: Seeking Sustainability through Collaboration between Virtual Reference and Social Q&A Sites • $250,000 for 2011-2013 • Funded by IMLS, OCLC, & Rutgers University • Co-PIs Marie Radford (RU), Lynn SilipigniConnaway (OCLC), & Chirag Shah (RU) http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synergy.html • We thank Eric Choi, Alyssa Darden, Kathy Juliano, Vanessa Kitzie, Hanna Lee, and Stephanie Mikitish for their assistance in coding, analysis, and data presentation.

  21. Selected Bibliography Connaway, L. S. & Radford, M. L. (2011). Seeking Synchronicity: Revelations and recommendations for virtual reference. Dublin, OH: OCLC Research. Retrieved on February 26, 2012 from http://www.oclc.org/reports/synchronicity/full.pdf Radford, M. L., & Connaway, L. S. (forthcoming). Not dead yet! A longitudinal study of query type and ready reference accuracy in live chat and IM reference. Library & Information Science Research,35(1). Radford, M. L., & Connaway, L. S. (2005-2008). Seeking synchronicity: Evaluating virtual reference services from user, non-user, and librarian perspectives. Funded by National Leadership Grants for Libraries program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synchronicity/default.htm Radford, M. L., Connaway, L. S., Confer, P., Sabolsci-Boros, S., & Kwon, H. (2011). “Are we getting warmer?” Query clarification in live chat virtual reference. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(3), 259-279. Radford, M. L., Connaway, L. S., & Shah, C. (2011-2013). Cyber Synergy: Seeking sustainability through collaboration between virtual reference and social Q&A sites. Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synergy/default.htm Shah, C., & Kitzie, V. (2012). Social Q & A and virtual reference-comparing apples and oranges with the help of experts and users. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(10), 2020-2036.

  22. ? ? Marie L. Radford: mradford@rutgers.edu Lynn SilipigniConnaway: connawal@oclc.org Chirag Shah: chirags@rutgers.edu ? ? Questions? ? ? ? ?

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