A FRAMEWORK OF CHAT REFERENCE COMPETENCIES AND TRAINING APPROACHES

1. A FRAMEWORK OF CHAT REFERENCE COMPETENCIES AND TRAINING APPROACHES Lili Luo luo@unc.edu

2. Overview • Problem statement • Research questions • Theoretical references • Significance of the study • Methodology • Preliminary results UNC-Chapel Hill

3. Problem Statement Discrete competency identification efforts associated with particular projects Few studies seeking to validate the identified competencies in terms of their importance to the reference profession Chat reference competencies Reports of training programs for individual projects Few studies examining different training approaches in terms their effectiveness in assisting learners Chat reference training UNC-Chapel Hill

4. Research Questions • What are the essential competencies that librarians need to master in order to provide chat reference service? • What are the effective training approaches for librarians to achieve the essential chat reference competencies? • How do context variables such as service mode, work setting and provision venue, etc., correlate with chat reference competencies/training approaches? UNC-Chapel Hill

5. Stage I Competency Validation Study Assisted by a literature review Determine the essential chat reference competencies Identify training approaches to achieve the above competencies Assisted by a literature review Training Approaches Evaluation Study Stage II Study Design UNC-Chapel Hill

6. Recognition of changing competency needs and requirements Demonstration of competency achievement in the workplace Determination of competency needs and requirements Design & implement education & training curricula & courses Establishment of education & training requirements Theoretical References – I Griffiths and King’s (1986) competency achievement model UNC-Chapel Hill

7. Theoretical References – II Competency-based Education/Training (CBE/T) Competency-based education/training (CBE/T) is an approach to developing curricula from an analysis of roles to be filled upon completion of the educational or training program (Wang, 2005). It is a behavioristic educational alternative and can be implemented in the training and education of chat reference, given the practical nature of librarianship. UNC-Chapel Hill

8. Significance of the Study Findings from this study can be utilized in building a general training model for chat reference that covers core competencies and corresponding instructional instruments. The methods employed in this study are generalizable to the educational setting of chat reference, and then lead to the establishment of an education model that could be customized to develop course syllabi in different contexts. UNC-Chapel Hill

9. Methodology Instrument Survey Population Chat reference practitioners Sampling Self-selection Participants rating competencies and training approaches on a seven-point Likert scale Questionnaire Administering Web-based survey; recruiting participants from list-servs Data analysis Descriptive reports; ANOVA UNC-Chapel Hill

10. Preliminary results • Survey I A total of 30 chat reference competencies identified from the literature were rated in terms of their importance to chat practice They were organized into 8 competency areas and these areas were rated as well UNC-Chapel Hill

11. Demographic information – Survey I How did you become a chat reference librarian? N=595 UNC-Chapel Hill

12. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey I How long have you been working as a chat reference librarian? N=597 UNC-Chapel Hill

13. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey I What is your comfort level with chat reference service? N=597 UNC-Chapel Hill

14. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey I Do you have a professional degree in LIS? N=596 UNC-Chapel Hill

15. Demographic information Do you have a professional degree in LIS? How long has it been since you got your LIS professional degree? (Only those who answered “yes” to the previous question needed to answer this one.) N=550 UNC-Chapel Hill

16. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey I What is the provision venue of the chat reference service you are staffing? N=597 UNC-Chapel Hill

17. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey I What is your work setting? N=597 UNC-Chapel Hill

18. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey I What is the service mode of the chat reference service you are staffing? N=597 UNC-Chapel Hill

19. Competency Ratings Top Five Competencies A Detailed summary of survey I results can be found here. UNC-Chapel Hill

20. Preliminary results • Survey II A total of 23 chat reference training techniques identified from the literature were rated in terms of their effectiveness in delivering the core competencies determined in survey I UNC-Chapel Hill

21. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey II How did you become a chat reference librarian? N=286 UNC-Chapel Hill

22. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey II How long have you been working as a chat reference librarian? N=286 UNC-Chapel Hill

23. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey II What is your comfort level with chat reference service? N=286 UNC-Chapel Hill

24. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey II Do you have a professional degree in LIS? N=286 UNC-Chapel Hill

25. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey II Do you have a professional degree in LIS? How long has it been since you got your LIS professional degree? (Only those who answered “yes” to the previous question needed to answer this one.) N=271 UNC-Chapel Hill

26. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey II What is the provision venue of the chat reference service you are staffing? N=286 UNC-Chapel Hill

27. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey II What is your work setting? N=286 UNC-Chapel Hill

28. Demographic information Demographic information – Survey II What is the service mode of the chat reference service you are staffing? N=286 UNC-Chapel Hill

29. Training Technique Ratings Top Five Training Techniques A Detailed summary of survey II results can be found here. UNC-Chapel Hill

30. More to do • Respondents’ suggestions • Trainer and trainee’s different perceptions of the effectiveness of training techniques • Statistical analysis • ANOVA • Paired T Test UNC-Chapel Hill

31. Limitation This study does not seek to develop a curriculum for chat reference training, but the results from the study can be utilized as the basis for general design of chat reference training programs. The scope of the study is limited since only chat reference training is discussed and no efforts are incorporated in examining chat reference education. Self-selection will be employed as the sampling method due to the unknown size of the chat reference population. One weakness of this method is the sample’s possible unrepresentativeness of the population UNC-Chapel Hill

32. Questions? UNC-Chapel Hill