Content Analysis of Virtual Reference Data: Reshaping Library Website Design

Fan, Suhua; Welch, Jennifer M

doi:10.1080/02763869.2016.1189783

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A known issue with proactive chat, however, is that the pop-up can interrupt typing while a user is searching the catalogthis can be particularly annoying to librarians or other in-house users of the library and represents something that must be managed in the settings for the app (Rich and Lux, 2018). A pop-up chat on the libraries' home page might help mitigate the issue of interrupting users searching the catalog, but may result in less in-depth questions and follow a bit too closely a retail model for the desires of the academic library (Fan et al, 2017;Fan and Welch, 2016). However, it can help to have the chat box on the library's home page to virtually greet the user when they click on the library's home page, thereby promoting one of the library's most valuable services (Yang and Dalal, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A pop-up chat on the libraries' home page might help mitigate the issue of interrupting users searching the catalog, but may result in less in-depth questions and follow a bit too closely a retail model for the desires of the academic library (Fan et al. , 2017; Fan and Welch, 2016). However, it can help to have the chat box on the library's home page to virtually greet the user when they click on the library's home page, thereby promoting one of the library's most valuable services (Yang and Dalal, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Launching chat service during the pandemic: inaugurating a new public service under emergency conditions

Decker

Chapman

2021

RSR

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PurposeThis article details the implementation of a live online chat service which was suddenly necessitated by the worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The approaches used to train chat operators during this time inform both current and future training initiatives toward continuous improvement in this academic library setting.Design/methodology/approachChat transcripts from the period of March 2020–April 2021 serve as the dataset for this study.FindingsIn bringing a live chat service online during a global pandemic, chat transcripts from this period reveal 19.3% of all chat interactions related directly to COVID-19. The transcripts also reveal the types of questions, whether reference or directional, and these, combined with staffing patterns, indicate that staff were addressing reference questions more often than librarians. In addition, 25.2% of all transactions, whether by staff or librarians, resulted in tickets or referrals to hand off the question to a subject or functional specialist. These findings help to inform targeted face-to-face refresher training for chat operators.Originality/valueWhile bringing a live chat service online is certainly not novel, the impetus behind the quick setup was. This unusual circumstance allowed for an in-depth look at the nature of chat and its training requirements and limitations due to campus stay-at-home orders. It also provided a new understanding that influenced subsequent face-to-face trainings.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Launching chat service during the pandemic: inaugurating a new public service under emergency conditions

Decker

Chapman

2021

RSR

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“…These areas include acquisitions and discovery, e-resource management, website design and library FAQs. (Baskaran, 2019; Fan and Welch, 2016; Jones et al , 2009; Kimbrough, 2018; Powers et al , 2011). Within user experience librarianship, service design is an assessment methodology often utilized to holistically evaluate the variety of interactions, interfaces, departments and personnel users come into contact with that make up a discrete service (Marquez and Downey, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constructing citations: reviewing chat transcripts to improve citation assistance as a service

Wilkinson

Denneler

Nay

et al. 2021

RSR

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PurposeUsing chat transcripts from Indiana University Libraries, the authors examined a subset of transcripts involving citations. From this analysis, they propose improvements for citation assistance as a holistic service.Design/methodology/approachTwo years of chat transcripts were examined and questions containing citation-related keywords were segregated for further examination. The authors used a test data set to create a coding scheme for the questions and responses. This scheme was then applied to all the citation-related transcripts.Findings390 of 11,553 transcripts included interactions about citations. In 42% of the transcripts, no specific citation style was mentioned. American Psychological Association and Modern Language Association were the most frequently mentioned citation styles by chat users. Business reports (company data and market research), periodicals (journal, newspaper or magazine articles), websites and government documents were the most often asked about formats, but there was a wide variety of other unusual formats. Questions about EndNote were more common than other types of citation management software. Chat staff utilized a variety of responses including guiding the student by example, directing to an online resource for more information (85% of the responses) or referring to a citation management expert. An unexpected amount of hedging words in the responses indicates the presence of anxiety on the part of chat staff in responding to these types of questions.Originality/valueThis paper goes beyond most existing studies of chat transcripts by using chat transcripts as data to guide service improvements for a commonly asked but not typically discussed set of questions.

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“…Published studies include both quantitative and qualitative analyses, with a range of methodologies and coding schemas used. Common themes to the analyses include examining the efficacy of current staffing models (Bishop and Bartlett, 2013; Bravender et al , 2011; Fuller and Dryden, 2015; Scales et al , 2015), the usability of the library’s website (Fan and Welch, 2016) and the impact of discovery systems on chat reference question complexity (Copenhaver and Koclanes, 2016; Meredith, 2013). Many studies used the READ scale to categorize chat reference content (Bravender et al , 2011; Lenkart and Yu, 2017; Scales et al , 2015; Vassady et al , 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chatting while you work

Stieve

Wallace

2018

RSR

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Purpose To understand chat reference user needs at the University of Arizona Libraries, this study aims to analyze the differences in READ (Reference Effort Assessment Data) scores and content from two different chat reference origins: the library website and, course sites within the campus course management system, Desire2Learn. Design/methodology/approach The authors have used a mixed methods approach, whereby ordinal regression has been performed on READ scores and grounded theory on chat transcripts in the analysis of themes. This content comparison offers insight into the variations of how and why users ask for help at different chat reference service points. Findings The results of the content comparison inform the understanding of the reasons behind library users’ needs and questions at various stages in their academic workflow. The analysis also has implications for future chat reference training, as well as underscores the need for continued integration of library services and resources into online educational technology systems. Practical implications The findings support the importance of collocating research/reference support and course content, and underscore the value of library integration with course management systems. The analysis also serves as user-needs assessment data, with the potential to inform library services beyond reference, such as information literacy instruction or collection development. Originality/value This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by investigating differences in chat reference transcripts based on chat reference origin.

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Content Analysis of Virtual Reference Data: Reshaping Library Website Design

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Launching chat service during the pandemic: inaugurating a new public service under emergency conditions

Launching chat service during the pandemic: inaugurating a new public service under emergency conditions

Constructing citations: reviewing chat transcripts to improve citation assistance as a service

Chatting while you work

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