Doing Ethnographic Research in Libraries (UCSD)

Doing Ethnographic Research in LibrariesFOR UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGOFEBRUARY 2017

CELIA EMMELHAINZ – ANTHROPOLOGY LIBRARIAN – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY

Introductions

Image: Saad Aqeel & R Campbell, contextualresearch.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/the-ethnographic-research-cycle.png

Stages of qualitative research:

1. Develop a questionRead and converse to focus your question

3. Choose a method4. Choose a sampling strategy5. Collect data ethically6. Analyze data by coding for themes7. Share results and apply what you learned!

Isaacs (2014) “An Overview of Qualitative Research Methodology for Public Health Researchers,” p. 318-21

1. Asking a good question

1. Develop a question worth asking:

* Relevance to work & actionable changes

* New insights / Under-researched

* Value to profession

* Fascinating to you!

Exercise, part 1:

List any topics or questions you’re curious about

(three minutes)

Asking Anthropological Questions: Look for the whole picture

What is the larger context for this practice?

* How do departmental expectations for research affect how students approach our library?

Consider interpretations What do people mean by [X], and how do they use it to explain, defend, or change their world?

* What do librarians and administrators mean by the “value” of a library?

Compare two groups

Do other libraries or people also do this?

* Do international vs. American students use library resources in the same way?

Look at change over time

How is this practice or idea changing?

* How have vendor-librarian negotiations changed with consortial spending? What strategies do vendors deploy to negotiate with libraries?

Remember place and biology

How do human biology, culture & physical environments interact?

* How do plants or therapy animals affect study space? * How do disabled students interact with our physical and digital spaces?

Look at power and structures

How do power dynamics and policies affect our interactions or those of our students?

* How does the success or failure of collective bargaining affect librarian career strategies?

Reflect on your own position

How does my perspective influence what I research and what I hear from respondents?

* Do librarian values change as their taskload increases? Have mine?

Get in dialogue What do the people I work with need from this research, and are they shaping the study?

* How do first-generation sociology majors approach library consultations? (Hire them to co-design and lead a project with you)

Thomas Mathle, Accordion Players on Buchanan, Glasgow, on Flickr

Exercise 2:

Revise your idea to fit one of these types of questions

(five minutes)

Focus: Know your concept when you see it

Broad• “Experiences of

nontraditional women in libraries”

• “Student worker motivation”

Focused• “Factors that build student

confidence in finding archival materials”

• “Transmission of beliefs about “real” vs “practice” work among student library employees”

Exercise 3:

Get specific with a concept you’ll know when you see it.

(five minutes)

2. Choosing a good method

(Image of fieldnotes: Dunne 2016, dx.doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2016.1168747; image of librarians by Celia Emmelhainz)

Participant observation (fieldnotes)

Interviews

Focus groups

Pile sorts

Image: www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2014/12/revisiting-the-pile-sort-method-of-user-research.php)

(Image: Donna Lanclos, http://www.donnalanclos.com/?p=21 )

Cognitive mapping

Digital observation

(Image from Judi Briden, “Photo Surveys,” (p. 40-47), in Foster & Gibbons 2007, Studying Students)

Patron diaries (photo, audio, video, text)

Document / ephemera analysis

Exercise 4: Methods

Choose a method and note why you’re interested.

(three minutes)

Sampling for qualitative research

Convenience: who can I get easily? Snowball sampling: find hard to reach peopleHomogenous: shared characteristics in depthMaximum variation: diversity of viewsQuota sampling: sample to represent known pop.Random sampling: draw from full population

Exercise 5: Sampling

Write down how you might gather people for your research.

(two minutes)

3. Code the Results

Coding is a: “Systematic way to condense extensive data into smaller analyzable unitsthrough the creation of categories & concepts.”

– Lockyer 2004

““

We can mark text (“code”) for: ■ Your research question ■ Relevant text ■ Repeating ideas ■ Themes you notice ■ Ideas you’ve seen in literature

Auerbach and Silverstein (2003, p. 35)

Coding on paper

Image: from Summer Starling – QDA with MaxQDA presentation for the D-Lab, UC Berkeley

Coding in software

Reasons to use

• Complex codes • Test relationships• Handle large data• Good for teams

Reasons not to use

• Cost• Learning curve• Few interviews

Student & librarian pricing for software

Atlas.ti

• Students $99/2 yrs

• Librarians $670

MaxQDA

• Student $115/2 yrs

• Librarians $345 / base

NVIVO

• Students $120/1 yr

• Librarians $350/ starter

Dedoose

• $13/month• Web based

Reflect and note ideas with memos

Start with close reading, and notethoughts and ideas you notice.

For documents and concepts: Mark an interesting section Reflect on an idea Note connection to related ideas

Tag recurring themes and concepts with codes

Exercise 6: Hand-coding

Hand-code the interview or the survey for themes or topics.

(five minutes)

4. Moving to Conclusions

From Coding to Conclusionsa. Develop further questions to ask or code for.b. Explore differences by place, social group, etc.c. Draw maps or visualize links between ideas.d. Build narratives or case stories of why your ideas matter.e. Relate your resulting ideas back to conversations in your

field or workplace.

Adapted from Shelly Steward, Changing Gears: From Coding to Conclusions, presentation in the UCB D-Lab, October 28, 2016

Results: Articles

Emmelhainz & Bukhtoyarova 2016 “I Fell Into Librarianship…”

5. Next Steps: Planning for Research

Plan time for research… 2 months: Learn research skills: book, course, mentor 1 month: Develop a clear question, method, and goals 2 months: Gain library and human ethics (IRB) approval 2-3 weeks: Recruit participants 1-4 months: Do research and take notes / transcribe 2-3 months: Reflect on and analyze your data (“coding”) 2-4 months: Write up and share results

Optional Budget for… ■ Research assistance ($10-15 hour)

◦Literature review◦Transcription (five hours for every hour of audio)◦Data collection◦Coding

■ Incentives and awards (e.g. $20 for focus groups or interviews, $5 for a survey) ■ Poster or presentation materials

Exercise 6: Planning

Note how much time you have available, and funding sources.

(two minutes)

Questions & Feedback

Celia: emmelhainz@berkeley.edu