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Overview of Evaluation Methods. Barbara M. Wildemuth Professor, SILS, UNC-CH. Questions that might be asked. Questions about the current users of the collection Purposes, methods, impact Questions about potential future audiences Purposes, methods, impact.
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Overview of Evaluation Methods Barbara M. Wildemuth Professor, SILS, UNC-CH
Questions that might be asked • Questions about the current users of the collection • Purposes, methods, impact • Questions about potential future audiences • Purposes, methods, impact NC sea rescue crew, NC State Archives
Focus of the study • Evaluation versus basic research • Object of study Univ. of Michigan football teams, 1884, 1994, Bentley Historical Library, Univ. of Michigan
Evaluation criteria Appalachian Trail, Shenandoah National Park, National Park Service Archives • Effectiveness • Utility/ usefulness/ impact • Satisfaction Pack train, Keystone-Mast Collection, 1870-1963, Online Archive of California
Using the criterion for evaluation • Criterion-referenced evaluation • Norm-referenced evaluation Ladies Hockey Team, ca. 1910, Collecting Toronto: Through the Eyes of Larry Becker, City Archives of Toronto
Data collection • Watching the users • Asking the users questions Nazaret ‘Chick’ Cherkezian and NET camera, National Public Broadcasting Archives, Univ. of Maryland
Methods for watching the users • Direct observation during use • Think-aloud protocols • Transaction logs Library of Congress Manuscript Division Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archives
Methods for asking questions • Questionnaires • Surveys • Measures • Interviews • Focus groups Campaign poster for UNC Daily Tar Heel editor, 1954 Univ. of North Carolina Southern Historical Collection
Sample satisfaction measure McKinney, Yoon, & Zahedi, 2002
Study sample • Define the population of interest • Consider sample size • Develop a sampling plan • Probabilistic sampling • Nonprobabilistic sampling Caroline Virginia Still Anderson (1848-1919), Presbyterian Historical Society
Research design • Controlling extraneous variables • Achieving internal validity • Achieving external validity Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Historic American sheet music, Rare Book, Manuscript & Special Collections Library, Duke University
Data analysis: quantitative • Descriptive statistics • Inferential statistics Quarantine Station, D. A. McLaughlin, National Archives of Canada, Canadian Genealogy Centre
From results to conclusions • Check for statistical significance • Check for meaningfulness of results • Draw conclusions University College, University of Toronto Archives & Records Mgmt. Services
Data analysis: qualitative • Qualitative content analysis • Specifying a unit of analysis • Recognizing themes • Looking for negative evidence Boy’s hat, Documenting the Southeast Asian Refugee Experience, Univ. of California, Irvine, Special Collections and Archives
From results to conclusions • Identify themes for further analysis • Weigh positive against negative • Draw conclusions Eleanor Roosevelt, 1937 Farm & Home Week, Cornell University Archives Richard Nixon & Elvis Presley, 1970, National Archives & Records Admin.
Review • The research/ evaluation question • Evaluation criteria • Data collection • Study sample • Research design • Data analysis • Drawing conclusions Bank, bottle, bumper sticker, Coca-Cola Company Archives
Photo/ image credits (1) • Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archives, www.archmil.org/aboutus/dept.asp?ID=469 • Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, www.umich.edu/~bhl/ • Canadian Genealogy Centre, www.genealogy.gc.ca • City Archives of Toronto, www.city.toronto.on.ca/archives/ • Coca-Cola Company Archives, www2.coca-cola.com/heritage/ourheritage.html • Cornell University Archives, rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/subjects/archives.html • Duke University, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/ Cunard Passenger’s log book, Mystic Seaport Library
Photo/ image credits (2) • Mystic Seaport Library, www.mysticseaport.org/library/home.cfm • Library of Congress Manuscript Division, www.loc.gov/rr/mss/ • National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov • National Park Service Archives, www.cr.nps.gov/history/hisnps/NPSarchives.htm • National Public Broadcasting Archives, University of Maryland, www.lib.umd.edu/NPBA/ • North Carolina State Archives, www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/archives/arch/ • Online Archive of California, www.oac.cdlib.org Back cover of “the state of Connecticut vs. new haven 9” Yale University Manuscripts & Archives
Photo/ image credits (3) • Presbyterian Historical Society, www.history.pcusa.org • University of California, Irvine, Special Collections and Archives, www.lib.uci.edu/libraries/collections/special/special.html • University of North Carolina Southern Historical Collection, www.lib.unc.edu/mss/shcabout.html • University of Toronto Archives & Records Management Services, www.library.utoronto.ca/utarms/archives/ • Yale University Manuscripts & Archives, www.library.yale.edu/mssa/ Winston Churchill to Lady Randolph Churchill, May 1882 Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge, UK, Churchill and the Great Republic (exhibit), Library of Congress Manuscript Division