Mosaic EvaluationUndertaken by CERLIM, Manchester

Metropolitan University

November 2009

Jenny Craven, Jill Griffiths

Method Online survey (quantitative and qualitative

data collected) Using libraries Using resources Using recommender services Resources other people are using

Trying out Mosaic (Mosaic web address with instructions for undertaking 2 tasks) Feedback on using Mosaic

Participants 1st year Undergraduate students (49) Department of Information and

Communications Age range:

18 – 24 (44) 25-34 (3) 35-44 (1) 45-64 (1)

Participants

Degree route of participants

6

9

16

9

7

2

0 5 10 15 20

Librarianship

Info Management

Info & Communications

Digital Media & Communications

Web Development

Combined Honours

Using the university library

Use of the library catalogue

14

37

3

05

10152025303540

Never: Daily: Weekly: Monthly:

Use of the university library

14

38

15

05

10152025303540

Never: Daily: Weekly: Monthly: Other (pleasespecify):

Using the university library

Usefulness of catalogue

03

11

25

10

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Not useful at all: Not very useful: Undecided: Useful: Very useful:

Use of library in relation to studies

17

31

0 105

101520253035

All use is related: Some Use: None of it isrelated:

Other (pleasespecify):

Using Resources Students use a variety of resources for

study, including books, e-books, e-journals, and online catalogues.

Online catalogues are used for a combination of leisure, study and work.

Books are used for a combination of leisure, study and work.

Online shopping is mainly used for leisure.

Using recommender services

Use of facets on shopping sites

35

59

05

10152025303540

Yes: No: Don't know:

Using recommender services

‘all the time’ or ‘most of the time’,‘it helps to narrow down the search’, ‘Every so often when shopping online, if the website uses that method of filtering’, ‘ I use it to see how many items are available, so I use it a lot’. ‘Mostly when shopping for clothes’, ‘Whenever I want to refine a search - in Amazon or Ebay for example’ ‘whenever shopping online and I am looking for a certain brand or price range’.

Resources other people are using 90% of students said

they would like to be able to find out what other people are using

Finding out what resources other people are using

45

3242

01020304050

People taking the samecourse as you:

People taking a similarcourse as you at

another university:

Lecturers teaching onyour course:

Finding out what resources other people are using

2127

14

05

1015202530

Lecturers teaching asimilar course at

another university:

People taking the samecourse as you in a

different year of study:

People taking a similarcourse at a different

university and a differentyear of study:

Resources other people are using To provide a bigger picture of what is available

‘it would give me a universal picture of what I should be looking at, reading etc.’

To aid retrieval of relevant resources ‘It would help filter out what information is useful to

me or not depending on how many people have used the resource’

To help with coursework ‘It may help me to find the resources that they would

use to get a better mark’

Use of reading lists 94% of students said

they use reading lists given to them by lecturers.

Importance of reading lists

0 14

2123

0

5

10

15

20

25

Not at allimportant:

Not veryimportant:

Undecided: Important: veryimportant:

Importance of reading lists To provide a bigger picture of what is available.

‘.. background reading provides an important foundation for future learning in a particular subject.’

To aid retrieval of relevant resources for studies ‘Essential for the information that you need’

To help with coursework ‘points you in the right direction for

coursework’

Using Mosaic: Preferred interface

Preferred interface/skin

19

15

4

11

0

5

10

15

20

Classic: iTunes: Neither: Liked bothequally:

Interface user friendliness

Userfriendliness of Classic interface

0 1

10

26

12

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Not userfriendly at all:

Not very userfriendly:

Undecided: User friendly: Very userfriendly:

User friendliness of the iTunes interface

0

69

23

11

0

5

10

15

20

25

Not userfriendly at all:

Not very userfriendly:

Undecided: User friendly: Very userfriendly:

Preferred interface for studies

Preferred interface for study

18

8

3

20

0

5

10

15

20

25

Classic: iTunes: Neither: Liked bothequally:

Refining options

Usefulness of refine options

05

1015202530

Not use

ful a

t a;;

Not very

usef

ul

Undecid

ed

Usefu

l

Very u

sefu

l

Refine by Institution

Refine by Year of Study

Refine by Course Title

Refine by AcademicLevel

Language and Terms

Language

1 18

30

9

05

101520253035

Not

unde

rsta

ndab

le

at a

ll:

Not

ver

yun

ders

tand

abl

e:

Und

ecid

ed:

Und

erst

anda

ble:

Ver

yun

ders

tand

abl

e:

Key findings:

Using the university library Students are using the university library in

relation to their studies Students find the library catalogue

useful/very useful

Using resources Students use a variety of resources for study,

and also for leisure and work They make use of facets on shopping sites Students are interested in resources other

students are using on the same course, a similar course or lecturers are using on the course

They use reading lists provided by lecturers They think reading lists are important/very

important

Resources other people are using Students are mainly interested in resources

used by People taking the same course Taking a similar course at another university Lecturers teaching on the same course

Reasons for interest are: To provide a bigger picture of what is available To aid retrieval of relevant resources To help with coursework

Using Mosaic Students mostly found both the iTunes and

Classic interface user friendly/very user friendly In general, they showed no preference for the

Classic or iTunes interface For studies, they showed a preference for

Classic or liked Classic or iTunes equally Students mostly found the refining options

useful/very useful They found the language/terms used

understandable