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How do C.O.D. students conduct research? What are their personal experiences using the C.O.D. Library? How would they answer these questions if given the opportunity in a personal interview or online survey? In my capacity as a Reference Librarian for over 25 years, I had become very curious to finally learn the answers to these questions.
Although I have informally posed these questions to students over the years, I decided that a more formal approach was necessary to gain a broader perspective of the individual experiences of C.O.D. students. I developed a set of interview questions followed by an online survey to learn about several pieces of the typical research process that students engage in to complete a course paper or oral presentation. I interviewed 17 students and 20 students responded to the online survey.
Students answered these questions with great enthusiasm. They were for the most part very thoughtful about their answers and were happy to be asked for their perspectives. Many of them had quite a bit of experience with research and were interested in sharing what they had learned. Others were relatively new students and novices to the research process.
Their answers to the survey and in the interviews were not altogether surprising to me nor would they be to other C.O.D. librarians. In our regular work with students in the classroom, at the Reference Desk, and over the Web, we learn a great deal about the research processes of students. However, there were still some "nuggets" of information that I gathered through the interviews and survey that gave me a snapshot of some of the common experiences of our students.
This snapshot is covered in the "Presentation to Library Faculty (PDF)" linked in the list below. All information is drawn from the digital recordings of the interviews (one example linked below) as well as the survey results (see below). Other documents that I used to publicize the project are also listed.
It is my hope that the Library faculty and administration will use the results of this project in future policymaking, especially as it pertains to the Library's information literacy program. Furthermore, I hope that the Library will continue to formally survey students on a regular basis. It is my contention that a student perspective is a necessary ingredient for any future plans to enhance the Library's programs, services, and collections.
Diana Fitzwater
Librarian/Professor
Earned Compensation Project
June 2009
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