Stats Don't Tell the Whole Story: Using Qualitative Data Analysis of Chat Reference Transcripts to Assess and Improve Services.

In the five years following implementation of a chat reference service at James Madison University (JMU), the service proved very popular but was not closely assessed for quality of service. Using grounded theory and qualitative data analysis techniques, a comprehensive assessment effort was begun i...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning Vol. 11; no. 1/2; pp. 25 - 37
Autor principal: Mungin, Michael
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jan-Jun2017
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:In the five years following implementation of a chat reference service at James Madison University (JMU), the service proved very popular but was not closely assessed for quality of service. Using grounded theory and qualitative data analysis techniques, a comprehensive assessment effort was begun in earnest and is in progress. Preliminary results indicate several patterns and difficulties that will inform the staffing model and training for this service and will potentially be generalizable to other similar libraries. Other libraries may find high value in assessing the transcripts of their chat reference interactions to gauge specific trends in their individual libraries.