A Conjoint Analysis of Reference Services in Academic Libraries (Research Note)

Abstract

Conjoint analysis has been used by market researchers for the development ofne of the primary goals of marketing is to provide products or services that will appeal to the preferences of consumers. Preferences, however, may vary among individuals and the final product or service offered must involve trade-offs of specific levels of the attributes desired by consumers. As a result, marketing strives to develop products or services that match the preferences of the consumers in such a way as to make them as appealing as possible to the largest number of consumers.Similarly, one of the primary goals of libraries is to provide services that meet the information needs and desires of their patrons. In a recent RQ editorial addressing the promotion of libraries, Susan S. DiMattia says, "Our promotional efforts tell about how libraries make information affordable, accessible, and available. We keep telling the public how wonderful we are, but we don't ask the public what they need. We don't seem to listen too much, we're so busy talking."

Investigation of priority needs in terms of museum service accessibility for visually impaired visitors

“…For the past 50 years, this technique has been used by market researchers to assess user preferences concerning products and services. Recently, attempts have been made to apply this technique to studies of services in public institutions (Sanagi, 2001) such as libraries (Crawford, 1994;Son et al, 2005). By utilizing this technique, the priority needs of the visually impaired can be identified, providing useful information for promoting further advancement in museum accessibility.…”

“…For this purpose, conjoint analysis, a technique that quantifies some of the seemingly intractable qualitative aspects of services (Crawford, 1994), was utilized to investigate the priority needs of visually impaired visitors to museums. For the past 50 years, this technique has been used by market researchers to assess user preferences concerning products and services.…”

Rational choice and valuation of public libraries

“…The majority of these focus upon one specific service, e.g. the reference service, and not the value of library services as a whole, and they use the method of conjoint analysis (Landrum, 1995;Crawford, 1994;Halperin, 1981;Halperin and Strazdon, 1980). There are, however, exceptions to the general tendency.…”

Combining Economic and Conjoint Analysis to Determine Optimal Academic Services

“…In 1994, Katzenstein et al used it to design an ideal introductory course in direct marketing based on student preferences (Katzenstein, Kavil, Mummalaneni, & Dubas, 1994). Another conjoint analysis was conducted by Crawford (1994) within the university settings of Moravian College, Rutgers University, and Warren County Community College. Crawford evaluated the reference services of the academic libraries in these New Jersey and Pennsylvania institutions.…”