1. Grazing, Looping & Skimming:
Understanding Students’ Digital Habits
Deirdre Costello
Sr. User Experience Researcher
EBSCO Information Services
@deirdre_lyon
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/
deirdre-costello/12/440/593/

2. ABOUT ME
Deirdre Costello, Sr. User Experience Researcher
Experience:
Currently at EBSCO Information Services
5+ years experience in Library & Information Science
Education:
MSLIS from Simmons College
MA in English from Boston College
BA in English and Psychology from Lewis & Clark College

3. THE PROJECTS
Secondary Research
In-depth literature
review on search
habits of elementary,
middle and high
school students.
Video Diary Studies
High school students
self-reporting their
research habits and
preferences.
Contextual Inquiry
One-on-one
sessions with high
school and college
students discussing
their research habits
and how they
formed.

4. Personas:
The Who
High
School
Early
College
Late
College
Graduate
School
Some training
And exposure
Novice
Advanced,
field-specific
skills
Expert
researchers

5. Reader
Rule-Follower
Overachiever
All avatars created by Deirdre Costello using FaceYourManga.com
Naturally internally motivated

6. Supportive Home
Hates Homework
Relies on Hermione
All avatars created by Deirdre Costello using FaceYourManga.com
Learns from a Friend

7. Nervous
Clumsy
Very Little Support
All avatars created by Deirdre Costello using FaceYourManga.com
Finds His Subject

8. Motivation: The Turning Point
External Internal

9. BEHAVIORS: THE HOW
1 3 5
1st-4th 5th-8th
Loopers
Vascillating
between search
and results,
able to move
forward with
guidance.
Skimmers
Familiar with
conventions but
still not experts.
L’Efficient
Work smart, not
hard – until
motivation
strikes.
Researchers
Interest leads to
passion,
dedication and
advanced
research skills.
Grazers
Not interacting
deeply with
information, but
starting to learn
conventions.
9th-
12th 18-22 22+

10. Elementary School
Grazers
• Comfortable exploring new
interfaces
• Solve problems by trial
and error
• Skill mastery occurs when
students feel confident and
successful
• Students think very
concretely
• They have developing
motor skills
• Their reading
comprehension is still low

11. Elementary School
Grazers: In Short
•Interpreting information is a challenge
•Interacting with information is a
challenge
• Positive reinforcement for exploration
builds a foundation for future skills

12. Middle School
Loopers
• Keywords are a struggle • Positive view of technology
• Autonomy and
independence is extremely
important
• Motivated by familiarity,
authority and intellectual
challenge
• Have difficulty understanding
hierarchies
• Will reject anything
“childish”
• Unsure about how to
progress on their own

13. Middle School
Loopers: In Short
• Students are ready to search on their
own
• They can perform simple strategies
modelled for them
• They need consistent reassurance and
guidance to move forward

14. High School
Skimmers
• Comfortable with technology
• Familiar with web
conventions
• Capable of analysis and
synthesis
• Not expert users
• Quick to reject anything
unfamiliar or inconvenient
• Experience anxiety about
producing a high-quality product
• Difficulty formulating a search
strategy – defining a topic,
determining keywords, creating a
product
• Enjoy learning and finding
information

15. High School
Skimmers: Key Opportunity
9th Grade “Boot Camp”
• Students are resistant when they’re doing it
• When they get to college, they appreciate it
• They become the “helpers” that other students turn
to when they’re struggling

16. College
L’Efficient
• Can plan and execute a
research workflow
• Understand the value of
credibility
• When research is
personally interesting, feel
dedicated and productive
• Only willing to work as hard as
they need to
• Reject anything difficult or
inconvenient
• Struggle with the library
website
• Feel overwhelmed and
stressed by research

17. College
L’Efficient: Key Opportunity
Major-Specific Training
• Interest makes the research process easier
• Students declare an interest when they
choose a major
• This interest is an opportunity to provide them
with advanced subject-specific skills

18. Graduate School
Researchers
• Recognize credible, field-specific
sources
• Are willing to put in the work
necessary for a high-quality
product
• Feel a commitment to
produce unique,
interesting research
• May not have the advanced
skills we’d expect
• Feel there’s an expectation
that they can use library
resources when they get to
grad school

19. Graduate School
Researchers: In Short
• Graduate students have “turned the
corner”
• They have the interest and passion to
develop advanced research skills
• They’re often looking for mentorship

20. TAKEAWAYS
1 3 5
1st-4th 5th-8th
Loopers
Guidance,
frequent
checkins and
reassurance
Skimmers
Drills to Build
Skills – develop
that muscle
memory
L’Efficient
Help finding
topics, training
paired with
subjects of
interest
Researchers
Encourage that
passion
Grazers
Positive
reinforcement
for exploring,
modelling more
advanced
behaviors
9th-
12th 18-22 22+

21. Be In Touch!
dcostello@ebsco.com
@deirdre_lyon
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/
deirdre-costello/12/440/593/