Using transaction log analysis to assess student search behavior in the library instruction classroom

Abstract

1. Introduction Librarians have many tools at their disposal for assessing library instruction, but it is rare to assess each individual student as they search for information. Through the analysis of search transaction logs the authors of this article were able to observe this key student behavior for 29 sections of a general education communication course taught in the spring semester of 2011. This study includes a total of 1,636 unique searches performed by 579 students using Easy Search, the federated search system developed at the University of Illinois. The results and analysis provide suggestions for librarians teaching undergraduates to construct more relevant, targeted searches. These lessons can help librarians both in the classroom and at the reference desk. As libraries increase options for student searching, ranging from native databases to federated search tools to web-scale discovery systems, we must remain cognizant of how students search in order to determine how best to help them construct searches that provide quality, relevant results. The primary purpose of this study was to observe how students searched during a library instruction session. The authors were interested in assessing several things: whether students followed the teacher librarian and put into practice search strategies taught during the class, what resources the students selected, how they interacted with automated suggestions from the search tool, and whether they were persistent in revisions to their own searches. In each instruction session, students first participated in a

The use of OPAC query logs to support evidence-informed information literacy (IL) training at The University of Dar es Salaam

“…Previous studies (Nelson, 1992, Avery and Tracy, 2014) have used transaction logs to improve information literacy instruction. The current study noted that users face challenges when submitting their results using the expert search option.…”

“…Few studies have examined the existence of a reciprocal relationship between EIP and the use of OPAC search logs (Cheryl, 1983, Avery and Tracy, 2014). Cheryl (1983) examined usage of different OPAC features from three systems and identified the areas that require users’ training.…”

“…Through transaction logs analysis, Nelson (1992) found low use of medical subject headings and hence called for new instruction methods to improve end users' retrievals. Avery and Tracy (2014) use transaction logs to assess how students search for information during actual library instruction classrooms with the intention of finding the best practices for instruction. The results indicate that students were less successful in putting instruction elements in practice during independent searching.…”

The “Black Box”: How Students Use a Single Search Box to Search for Music Materials

“…Many students exhibited persistence in their searching, but the selection of search terms, sometimes compounded by spelling problems or problems in search string structure, likely did not yield the most relevant results. 3 Asher, Duke, and Wilson state in their study comparing student search strategies and success across a variety of library search tools and Google that there were "strong patterns in the way students approached searches no matter which tool they used. .…”

Measuring Query Complexity in Web-Scale Discovery: A Comparison between Two Academic Libraries

“…12 As library technologies have evolved over time, transaction log analyses have moved to other online library resources, including digital libraries, federated search tools, and websites. 13 Very few transaction log analyses have been performed for web-scale discovery systems, though. Meadow and Meadow evaluated nine hundred search queries from Summon and categorized each query into one of seven types, such as URL, natural language, or known item, prior to further analysis.…”