These slides accompany a paper presented at ACRL 2013. In this paper I propose three criteria for selecting library impact research methods including creating credible connections between library use and student learning outcomes, getting behind the numbers to answer how and why questions of library impact, and working at scale. Examples illustrating these criteria are drawn from recent projects using the Understanding Library Impacts protocol.

1. ANSWERING HOW AND WHY
QUESTIONS OF LIBRARY IMPACT
ACRL 2013 -- INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA--APRIL 13, 2013
CONTRIBUTEDPAPER 29A
Derek Rodriguez, MSLS, Ph.D.
PI, The Understanding Library Impacts Project
DRC Research LLC
derek@uliproject.com
www.uliproject.com
© Derek Rodriguez, 2013, All Rights Reserved

2. Student
use of
the library
Supports
student
learning
Problem definition
?
Communicate
library impact
to stakeholders

3. Student
use of
the library
Discovery
Resources
Services
Facilities
Supports
attaining
SLOs
defined
and
assessed
by faculty
Communicated
to stakeholders
using
recognized
frameworks
(Tuning and
VALUE)
Understanding Library Impacts protocol
Learning activities crosswalk
Critical incident
questionnaire
?
During
high-
impact
learning
activities
in the
academic
major

4. Library assessment tools should
Create credible connections
Answer how and why questions
of library impact
Work at scale

5. Create credible connections
Credible (adj.)
1. Able to be believed in, justifying
confidence; convincingly honest
…
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2013

6. “what faculty intend for students to think, know, or do
as a result of their education” (Nichols & Nichols, 2005)
Student learning outcomes (SLOs)
Image by Horia Varlan
expected abilities vary by discipline and level
Image by Duke Yearlook

7. CapstoneSeminars
Gateway
course
Library & information use
Choosing levels of analysis
Developing Practicing Demonstrating SLOs
Undergraduate major curriculum

8. Answer how and why questions
of library impact
?

9. Critical Incident Technique (CIT)
“Please think back to a time when …”
- Questions
- Probes
CIT is widely used in LIS research
Tenopir, King, Marshall, Radford,
Durrance & Fisher, Urquhart,
Zach, Choo and many others
“I thought it was a great
experience to hold a book
from the 19th century.”

10. ULI
Database
History
Capstone
ULI questionnaire
Library use,
by learning
activity
Helps
Problems
Challenges
Anxiety &
confidence
Developing Practicing Demonstrating SLOs
Undergraduate major curriculum
Critical Incident Technique (CIT)

11. Learning objectives
“… My professor wanted us to
work with many sources learning
how to decide which ones are the
best to put towards our paper.
She also wanted us to learn how
to become better writers.”
Student C-12 is a history major and a 5th
year senior completing her capstone project
She used 24 types of library resources,
services, and facilities/equipment
One student’s experience
SLOs
- employs sources
appropriate to the
thesis
- presents a well-
organized argument in
written form
Image courtesy of finaid.org

12. Student C-12's most important library uses & challenge by learning activity
getting
started
choosing
a topic
developing
thesis
gathering
evidence
finding
secondary
sources
citing writing preparing
presentation
e-journals
books I checked out from the library
research consultation
computers in the library
challenge challenge
Her Challenge
“Narrowing down my topic as much as the teacher wanted. I
was concerned that I was not going to be able to find
enough information and write such a big paper on a narrow
topic.”

13. How she overcame her challenge
“[I] did a [research consultation] session and worked
with a librarian to find many more sources through
different databases and journals.”
Confidence
Image courtesy of
Fairfield University

14. Working at scale
Image by flickr user slaunger

15. Capstone
questionnaire
Seminar
questionnaire
Gateway
questionnaire
id id id
ULI Database
Working at scale
Developing Practicing Demonstrating SLOs
Undergraduate major curriculum
Encryption

16. institutional
datasets
departmental
rubric scores
pedagogical
influences
id
retention &
attainment
Working at scale
“These resources were
very easy to use, but
without meeting with
library staff, I would have
never known they were
there …” (E-14, fall 2011)
ULI Database
demographics
CLA or CAAP
scores
id
student learning
outcomes
frameworks

17. Create credible connections
Answer how and why questions
of library impact
Work at scale
Derek Rodriguez, MSLS, Ph.D.
DRC Research LLC
derek@uliproject.com
www.uliproject.com