Reflections of Reference Practice: Analyzing Virtual Reference Transcripts

1. Reflections of Reference Practice: Analyzing Virtual Reference Transcripts Presented by Marie L. Radford and Lynn Silipigni Connaway 2007 ALISE Conference Seattle, WA, January 15-18, 2007

2. Presenters • Marie L. Radford, Ph.D. • Associate Professor, • Rutgers University, SCILS • Email:mradford@scils.rutgers.edu • www.scils.rutgers.edu/~mradford • Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D. • Consulting Research Scientist • Email: connawal@oclc.org • www.oclc.org/research/staff/connaway.htm

3. Seeking Synchronicity:Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives • $1,103,572 project funded by: • Institute of Museum and Library Services $684,996 grant • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and OCLC, Online Computer Library Center, Inc. $405,076 in kind contributions

4. Seeking Synchronicity:Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives • Project duration • 10/1/2005-9/30/2007 • Four phases: • Focus group interviews* • Analysis of 1,000+ QuestionPoint transcripts • 600 online surveys* • 300 telephone interviews* *Interviews & surveys with VRS users, non-users, & librarians

5. 24/7-QuestionPoint Transcript Analysis • Previous sample: 24/7 • July 7, 2004 through June 27, 2005 • 263,673 sessions • 25 transcripts/month = 300 total • New sample: QuestionPoint • December 1, 2005 through August 31, 2006 • 298,237 sessions • 50 transcripts/month= 450 total • Total transcripts analyzed: 750

6. 6 Analyses • Geographical Distribution • Originating library • Librarian respondent • Type of Library • Wait Time & Session Time • Type of Questions • Katz/Kaske Classification • Subject of Questions • Dewey Decimal Classification • Interpersonal Communication • Radford Classification

7. VRS Session Times • Wait time • Mean – 1.87 Minutes • Median – 1 Minute • Minimum – 1 Second • Maximum – 67 Minutes • Session time • Mean – 12.42 Minutes • Median – 12 Minutes • Minimum – 12 Seconds • Maximum – 71 Minutes

8. VRS Transactions by Library Type

9. VRS Questions by Location of Originating Library

10. Location of VRS Librarian Respondents

11. Wait Time for VRS

12. VRS Mean Wait Time by Library Type

13. VRS Mean Session Times by Library Type

14. VRS Questions by Type

15. VRS Questions by Subject

16. Results Interpersonal Communication Analysis 2 Major Themes • Relational Facilitators • Aspects with positive impact on interaction that enhance communication. • Relational Barriers • Aspects with negative impact on interaction that impede communication.

17. Comparison of Relational Facilitators N=558

18. Comparison of Relational Barriers N=558

19. Transcript Reading • Positive Transcript Example • Question Type: Ready Reference • Subject Type: Economics • Duration: 19 min., 21 sec. • Negative Transcript Example • Question Type: Subject Search • Subject Type: Parapsychology & Occultism • Duration: 7 min., 29 sec.

20. End Notes • This is one outcome from the project Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, & Librarian Perspectives, Marie L. Radford & Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Co-Principal Investigators. • Funded by IMLS, Rutgers University and OCLC, Online Computer Library Center, Inc. • Special thanks to Jocelyn DeAngelis Williams, Patrick Confer, Julie Strange, Susanna Sabolcsi-Boros, & Timothy Dickey. • These slides available at project website: http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/synchronicity/