How to Conduct a Survey: Part 3 3/17/20

Here is the survey itself:

NSU Libraries Website User Experience Survey

Contact information for the PI and faculty sponsor:
Brian Desmarais, brian.p.desmarais-1@ou.edu
Dr. Pamela Louderback, 918-449-6452, louderba@nsuok.edu

Purpose of the Study:
This research study will gather information regarding patron use of the NSU Libraries website (https://library.nsuok.edu/). The purpose is to understand better who uses the website, how the website has been used, what the website is doing well in its users’ opinions, and what could be improved about the website in the future.

Procedures to be followed:
You are being asked to participate in a brief survey consisting of 13 questions. These questions will address your usage of the NSU Libraries Website, and what you think the website is doing well and what could be improved. You must be at least 18 years of age to participate in the study, and you must have used the NSU library website in the past.

Discomforts and Risks:
There are no risks in participating in this research.

Benefits:
The information we get from this study, disseminated to other librarians, may help to inform them of how the website is helping library patrons and what areas might need improvement. You will have an opportunity to request the results of the survey by e-mail.

Duration:
It will take approximately 3-8 minutes to complete this survey.

Statement of Confidentiality:
This study is online and anonymous. Your responses will contain no information that identifies you personally. Your place of employment will not be informed in any way of your participation or the content of your responses.

If you wish, you may include your e-mail address at the end of the survey in order to be informed of the results of the study once it has concluded. There is no way of connecting your answers to your e-mail address.

Right to Ask Questions:
Please contact either of the principal investigators if you have questions about the study.

Brian Desmarais, brian.p.desmarais-1@ou.edu
Dr. Pamela Louderback, 918-449-6452, louderba@nsuok.edu
You may also ask the IRB by contacting: Dr. Jim Ferrell, irb@nsuok.edu, 918-444-3722.


Voluntary Participation and Right to Withdraw:
Participation in this study is voluntary. You may withdraw at any time and may also decline to answer any questions that you do not want to answer. You can end your participation at any time by simply closing the browser before submitting your response.

Informed Consent
Your completion and return of this survey implies your consent to participate in the study and your assertion that you are over 18 years of age and either work or have worked in a library.

Please select your affiliation with the Northeastern State University Libraries

Undergraduate Student

Graduate Student

Faulty or Staff

Public User

Other:

How far away from an NSU campus library do you live?

0-5 miles

5-10 miles

10-30 miles

30 or more miles away

How often do you visit one of the libraries on campus? (if you are a student or staff member, this applies to when school is in session)

Never

Infrequently

Monthly

Weekly

Daily

What is your most common reason for visiting the NSU libraries website?

Library catalog or journal search

Find library hours or directions to the library

Contact research librarians

Find instructional resources or research guides (called “libguides”)

To request an interlibrary loan

“Ask a Librarian” live chat

Other:

On a scale of 1-5 (1=worst, 5=best), please rank your experience with searching the library catalog:

Poor

1

2

3

4

5

Excellent

On a scale of 1-5 (1=worst, 5=best), please rank your experience with accessing electronic journals and/or e-books.

Poor

1

2

3

4

5

Excellent

On a scale of 1-5 (1=worst, 5=best), please rank your experience with using writing and citation style resources.

Poor

1

2

3

4

5

Excellent

On a scale of 1-5 (1=worst, 5=best), please rank your experience with “Ask a librarian” live chat.

Poor

1

2

3

4

5

Excellent

On a scale of 1-5 (1=worst, 5=best), please rank your experience with ordering interlibrary loans.

Poor

1

2

3

4

5

Excellent

On a scale from 1-5, please rank your satisfaction with the overall NSU libraries website.

Poor

1

2

3

4

5

Excellent

Are there any “libguides” (resource pages centered on a particular topic) that you would like to see on the NSU libraries website?

Your answer

If you were building the NSU libraries homepage, list up to five things you would like to see and access directly on that page.

Your answer

Do you have any additional comments about anything you would like to see on the website?

Your answer

Submit

How to Conduct a Survey: Part 2 3/17/20

The next step in this process was submitting an application to the IRB, or Institutional Review Board at NSU.  Academic insitutions have their own IRBs that review and approve all research activities involving human subjects done under the auspices of their institution. Dr. Louderback assured me that my application qualified for an "expedited review", which meant that I would not have to wait for the entire board to convene a meeting. The survey was anonymous in nature and constituted minimal risk to those who participated. In addition, it did not specifically target "vulnerable" populations.

This required extreme specificity in many areas. For example, I had to state clearly what I thought the benefits were to the participants of the survey. It was not good enough to state that the survey would help the institution; I had to argue how the survey would (eventually) directly benefit the participant. I argued that the survey would result in more data from users to help librarians to improve the user interface of the website, but would also give participants a feeling of control and empowerment over that process.

The survey itself had to have a question confirming they were above 18 years old, and that participants were not required to answer all questions. We also needed to provide participants a chance to contact myself or Dr. Louderback with any questions or for a chance to view the results of the survey.

We submitted the survey just before the unprecedented closings of non-essential businesses and institutions in our area in response to the COVID-19 health crisis. As most academic institutions quickly transitioned to online activities and services, this crisis did not effect the speed at which the IRB application was approved. After a few small changes to the language of the survey, the application was approved within a week.

How to Conduct a Survey: Part 1 3/9/20

One of the goals that I set with Dr. Louderback was to conduct patron survey and perhaps publish the results by the end of my internship. Conducting surveys at academic institutions are not simply a matter of drafting and distributing a questionnaire, however. You have to fill out an application with an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to get permission to conduct any survey of people. The IRB is concerned with protecting the rights and privacy of human subjects in any research done under the auspices of the university.

I struggled to find a survey topic. As a graduate assistant at Schusterman Library, I helped gather data on research regarding space usage, and felt comfortable in that area. But I soon found out that NSU Broken Arrow had recently conducted their own physical space usage survey, so I didn't think doing another one would be very helpful to them. I consider myself very fortunate for turning away from on-site surveys now that Covid-19 has most libraries operating in a virtual world.

The night before my proposal was due (around March 9th), I remembered my frustration with the NSU libraries website. I also knew from a prior conversation with one of the librarians that the website was under review and would soon be redesigned. With this in mind, I proposed a simple website user survey. Dr. Louderback though it was a great idea and suggested that I meet with two librarians who were on the committee for reviewing the website. After receiving a positive response from them, they suggested that I add a question about what main features patrons wanted to see on the homepage. 

Well then... 3/31/20

As I write this blog post in my home office, one of my open browser windows is the live chat feature at the Schusterman library (where I work as a Graduate Assistant). There haven't been many questions coming in during these last two weeks, but we are ready to answer when they do!  Yes, I am working a shift from the comfort of my own home. The Covid-19 pandemic has now shut down all non-essential businesses and operations in the State of Oklahoma.

Are libraries "non-essential" institutions? If some are essential, what makes them essential? How will I prepare my daughter for the third grade, now that school is finished two months before the end of the year? What will happen to the economy? Why was the Unites States so slow to respond to this pandemic compared to other nations? Will I be able to find a job when I graduate at the end of this year? These are all questions that have been bobbing up and down in my consciousness for the last several days - all while I spend relatively a peaceful time at home with my family.

One burning question - if I was going to be able to complete my Spring internship - was thankfully answered this week. I received approval from the NSU IRB review board regarding my IRB application.  Over the next few weeks, students faculty and staff will receive a survey regarding their usage of the NSU libraries website. I will then look at the data and Dr. Louderback will help me publish the results, which will hopefully aid NSU librarians. Since it is all online, I should be able to complete this project without returning to the NSU campus.

The view from my virtual library.