Presentation by Kimberly Vardeman and Jessica van Haaften at Designing for Digital on March 5, 2018. We explore how to share user research results with library colleagues, students, and faculty. Our goal is to report information in a meaningful and useful way, while providing transparency and presenting the Library positively. We want to communicate how we take action—that user feedback doesn’t disappear into a data dungeon. We offer a review of how university library websites report findings publicly. We present successes and failures of sharing our work internally and externally. Any questions or feedback, please contact me.

1. Kimberly Vardeman
@kimberlibrarian
Jessica van Haaften
Texas Tech University
Libraries
Hello!

2. Escape the
data dungeon
Shedding light on
strategies to share
your findings
#d4d2018

3. Our road map
for today’s
presentation
We will discuss issues and strategies
for presenting user research findings.
Reporting to internal stakeholders
Sharing with external audiences
Exploring how ARL members
present their user research

4. Reporting to
internal
stakeholders

5. Reporting to
internal
stakeholders
1. The data are less valuable the
longer they stay in the dungeon

6. Reporting to
internal
stakeholders
2. “No one reads reports” -
Daniel Pshock at D4D 2017

7. Reporting to
internal
stakeholders
@TexasTechLib
Photo credit:
Ryan Burns

8. Reporting to
internal
stakeholders
3. Usability of the research

9. Data
visualization Face to face
meeting
Email
Reporting to
internal
stakeholders
Executive
summary

10. 3,650 participants
That’s ~10% of Texas Tech University!
54 topics
Commenting on a wide range of
Library services
1,411 comments
And a lot of data
LibQUAL+ 2017

11. 1
Theory Code
2
Develop
3
Fit
4
Test
5
Reporting to
internal
stakeholders

12. Reporting to
internal
stakeholders

15. Sharing with
external
audiences

16. Sharing with
external
audiences
1. Publicly share and respond to
the feedback received

17. Sharing with
external
audiences

18. Sharing with
external
audiences
2. Communicate the library’s value
and accountability to students

19. Sharing with
external
audiences
Photo credit:
Ryan Burns

20. Sharing with
external
audiences
Your opinion matters!
Created web pages to share project reports

21. Sharing with
external
audiences

22. Sharing with
external
audiences
UX Infographic
“You asked, we delivered”
sign posted to report
where we’ve made
improvements

23. How ARL members
present their
user research

24. Shares direct/raw quotes
or data from user
research
04 ● Often in the form of a list or filtering
system
Shares summary data
from user research03
● Shares descriptive statistics
● Usually included in a longer report with
graphs or charts.
Shares general findings
but no data from user
research
02
● Shares a summary of results from UX
studies.
● Typically short reports including mostly
text
Shares no user research01
● May still share data about the library in
annual reports or statistics
How ARL
members
present
their user
research

25. Shares direct/raw quotes
or data from user
research
04 ● Often in the form of a list or filtering
system
Shares summary data
from user research03
● Shares descriptive statistics
● Usually included in a longer report with
graphs or charts.
Shares general findings
but no data from user
research
02
● Shares a summary of results from UX
studies.
● Typically short reports including mostly
text
Shares no user research01
● May still share data about the library in
annual reports or statistics
How ARL
members
present
their user
research

26. Shares direct/raw quotes
or data from user
research
04 ● Often in the form of a list or filtering
system
Shares summary data
from user research03
● Shares descriptive statistics
● Usually included in a longer report with
graphs or charts.
Shares general findings
but no data from user
research
02
● Shares a summary of results from UX
studies.
● Typically short reports including mostly
text
Shares no user research01
● May still share data about the library in
annual reports or statistics
How ARL
members
present
their user
research

27. Shares direct/raw quotes
or data from user
research
04 ● Often in the form of a list or filtering
system
Shares summary data
from user research03
● Shares descriptive statistics
● Usually included in a longer report with
graphs or charts.
Shares general findings
but no data from user
research
02
● Shares a summary of results from UX
studies.
● Typically short reports including mostly
text
Shares no user research01
● May still share data about the library in
annual reports or statistics
How ARL
members
present
their user
research

28. Shares direct/raw quotes
or data from user
research
04 ● Often in the form of a list or filtering
system
Shares summary data
from user research03
● Shares descriptive statistics
● Usually included in a longer report with
graphs or charts.
Shares general findings
but no data from user
research
02
● Shares a summary of results from UX
studies.
● Typically short reports including mostly
text
Shares no user research01
● May still share data about the library in
annual reports or statistics
How ARL
members
present
their user
research

29. How ARL
members
present
their user
research
ARL Libraries by Sharing Code

30. How ARL
members
present
their user
research
1: No user research
Annual reports, statistics
2: General Findings, no data
As needed
3: Summary data
2-3 years, one survey per
year, annually, as needed
4: Raw data
As needed
Patterns and
habits of
sharing user
research with
the public

31. Infographics more dependent
on numbers and images to tell
the story. Piktochart.
Blogs & web pages may
include bullet points, graphs,
tables, What We Did, How We
Did It, What We Found...
Reports are usually longer and
might include raw data in
appendices, tables, graphs,
charts, or an executive summary.
Interactive visualizations
viewers can choose their own
adventure. Tableau.
Password protection can be
great for sharing raw data with
certain groups.
Methods for
sharing user
research with
the public
How ARL
members
present
their user
research

32. Limitations
and
Questions
● Viewed only ARL member sites
● Our method focused on a fairly
narrow range of reporting
● Content strategy — do users
find the reports valuable?

33. Positive
survey
feedback
“...I've participated in some usability
testing for library services. This has
been really educational for me as a
student, and it has given me the
impression that the library is doing its
best to improve its services for
students...”

34. Positive
survey
feedback
“Super happy that the library is
focused on proper UX!”
“I love that you guys are constantly
trying to seek out things to improve
on, I've noticed an increase in this
type of transparency. Thank you!”

35. Collect
Analyze
Share

36. References ● Emily Daly, “Lightweight User Testing
That Makes a Heavyweight Impact.”
Presentation at Designing for Digital,
Austin, TX, April 6, 2016.
● Daniel Pshock, “No One Reads Reports.”
Presentation at Designing for Digital,
Austin, TX, April 4, 2017. Slides

37. Credits Special thanks to all the people who made and released
these awesome resources for free:
● Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
● Icons:
○ Sun by Kamil Shah from the Noun Project
○ Tree by prasong tadoungsom from the Noun Project
○ Dead tree by parkjisun from the Noun Project
○ Broken window by Ronoir from the Noun Project
○ Tulip by Nikita Kozin from the Noun Project
○ Flower by Gilbert Bages from the Noun Project
○ Fountain by sasikiran from the Noun Project
○ Lightning by Tawny Whatmore from the Noun Project

38. Thanks!
Any questions?
You can contact us at
Kimberly Vardeman
@kimberlibrarian
Jessica van Haaften

39. Sharing with
external
audiences
Design credit:
Nora Hyman

40. How ARL
members
present
their user
research
University of
Saskatchewan

41. How ARL
members
present
their user
research
Cornell
University