VRS
Reference Question Analysis ^
|
Fall
2002 |
||
|
Lankes/McClure
Reference Question Typology* |
Number
of Questions |
Percent
of Questions |
|
|
|
|
|
Instructional |
163 |
39% |
|
Research or Subject Request |
136 |
32.5% |
|
Ready Reference |
93 |
22% |
|
Technical |
24 |
6% |
|
Out of Scope |
2 |
.5% |
|
Total |
418 |
100% |
|
^ Analysis by: Joseph Fennewald,
*Typology from: Statistics, Measures and Quality Standards
for Assessing Digital Reference Library Services: Guidelines and Procedures.
2002 |
||
________________________________________________
VRS Question Analysis
(excerpted from: "Ask a Penn
State Librarian, Live: Virtual Reference Service at
The 418 VRS questions asked during
Fall 2002 were similar to those typically asked of
librarians at the reference desk, by phone, or by email. The majority of the
questions were specific to class assignments. Students needed help getting
started on their research paper, finding a specific database, locating
electronic reserves, identifying a scholarly publication or valid web site,
completing a library assignment, or citing their sources correctly. At the same
time, the library, through VRS, continued to be seen as a campus information
center. 16% of the VRS questions dealt with non-library issues, such as exam
schedules, class cancellations, and campus events.
Knowing the types of questions asked
in VRS can provide practical insight into the development of user and service
support resources such as FAQs, pathfinders, and VRS
training exercises. Question analysis can also be used to inform collection
development and to improve web page design. The 418 VRS questions received in Fall 2002 and the 48 questions received during the pilot
service were analyzed in accordance with the field-tested Lankes/McClure
Reference Question Typology outlined in Statistics, Measures and Quality
Standards for Assessing Digital Reference Library Services: Guidelines and
Procedures. The greatest appeal of a standardized typology is the potential it
presents for longitudinal comparisons of data across libraries and the
identification of national and international norms.
Fall 2002 VRS reference questions
fell into five categories: Instructional, Research or Subject Request, Ready
Reference, Technical, and Out of Scope.Ý 39% of the
questions were Instructional. Most of them asked for the location of a specific
database or item. More than half of the Instructional questions asked how to
find ProQuest, Lexis Nexis,
ERIC, PsycInfo, or another recommended database.
Almost one-third asked for assistance in locating a book, yearbook,
dissertation, or journal in the collection. Questions that
were specific to locating electronic course reserves ranked third in
this category. Sixteen questions came from a library workbook assignment given
by one of the campus libraries.
32.5% of the questions were
Research or Subject Requests. Frequently, students identified the type of
material needed, and most often, they asked for scholarly, peer-reviewed, or
refereed publications. They also asked for resources that were good, reliable,
valuable, legitimate, reputable, recommended, or analytical. Professional or
trade journals, case studies, or technical reports were also in high demand.
However, approximately 60% of the questions in the Research or Subject Request
category were more general. Students often presented their research topic at
the onset, but few indicated whether they had conducted any database searches
before coming to VRS. Twelve questions asked for help getting started in
finding materials. One student presented different approaches to an assignment
and asked the VRS librarian to help narrow the search topic.
Ready Reference was the
classification assigned to 22% of the total questions. VRS librarians answered
most Ready Reference questions directly or by pushing a page or co-browsing to
a suggested web site. 75% of the Ready Reference questions involved issues
related to the University or to the libraries. These included questions on
class or exam schedules, campus events, or academic programs. Library-related
questions included a personís eligibility to use the
library, borrowing privileges, library hours, the availability of equipment, or
the location of materials (i.e., storage, audio-books, archives, childrenís section, or textbooks). Because librarians at so
many different campus locations cover VRS, those who were new to
Technical questions accounted for
24%, and they were fairly sophisticated. Users often described the difficulties
they were having connecting to the network. Most of them were trying to access
a specific electronic resource when they encountered technical difficulties.
Some were trying to connect to a licensed database. Others encountered error
messages when they were trying to use the libraryís
online catalog or access electronic course reserves. The remaining questions
involved general problems using a password or downloading materials found in a
database. Only two questions were classified as Out of Scope. Those questions
asked for clarification on a class assignment, and only the instructor could
answer those questions definitively.
Looking back at the pilot service
questions, the type and frequency of questions asked were consistent with those
asked when the service was expanded university-wide. Of the 48 pilot questions,
42% were Instructional. Students were seeking articles or books on a given
topic. Of these, four students wanted a specific item and asked for assistance
in locating a book, an article, or a reserve item. 31% of the questions fell
into the Research or Subject Request category. Students requested assistance in
locating information for a research paper or class presentation. Many of these
questions included phrases such as, "desperately trying not to
panic," or my searches, "came up with nothing.î
Ready Reference queries made up 16%. Most often, they asked for help with
citing sources or were questions about the exam schedule.
______________________________________________________
Lankes/McClure Reference Question
Typology Glossary*
|
Bibliographic |
|
A bibliographic reference
question relates to any aspect of authorship or publication of a work. Bibliographic
reference queries include verification of a citation, names of authors,
information about works in a series, edition information, copyright
information, etc. |
|
Instructional |
|
An instructional question asks for
assistance in using electronic resources that may be available to them, and
that may provide the answer to another reference question. Examples of
instructional questions include requests for information on how to construct
a search statement in an online periodical database, how to search the online
catalog (OPAC), how to request books and other materials from the catalog,
how to limit searches by domain in a particular search engine, and how to use
Boolean Logic. |
|
Literature Search |
|
A literature search is a request
for all of the published literature on a given topic or by a given author.
The literature search may be limited by such factors as date, place of
publication, peer-reviewed journals only, etc. |
|
Other |
|
ěOtherî questions are within the scope
of the service but do not fit into any of the other categories. Questions
that fit more than one category should be classified as ěother.î |
|
Out of Scope |
|
An out of scope question is one
that will not be answered because it does not meet the criteria set by the
service for provision of an answer. Out of scope questions are often referred
to another service within the organization or to an outside agency or
service. |
|
Readerís Advisory |
|
A readerís
advisory question refers to requests for information regarding material they
would like to read. Readerís advisory questions
often take the form of asking for similar books by plot, other books by
author, other books in a series, availability of
works in specific format or language, or information about the background of
a particular book. |
|
Ready Reference |
|
Ready reference (or quick fact) questions are those that usually have a single, finite answer. The answers can generally be found in common reference works such as almanacs, encyclopedias, directories, dictionaries, atlases, thesauri, and factbooks. |
|
Research or Subject Request |
|
A research request is one that
requests a variety of information on a particular topic. The research question will most likely have many components to the
answer (i.e. articles from journals, book citations, essays, statistics, raw
data) and the answer may consist of responses sent in many formats. |
|
Technical |
|
A technical question asks for assistance with the technology required to access the digital reference service or other aspects of accessing the libraryís or organizationís website. |
|
*Excerpted with permission from: Statistics, Measures, and Quality Standards for Assessing Digital Reference Library Services: Guidelines and Procedures. 2002, 64-65. |