Shaping Research Habits Deirdre Costello

Sr. UX ResearcherEBSCO Information Services

ABOUT ME

Deirdre Costello, Sr. UX Researcher

Experience:1.5 years at EBSCO Information Services5+ years experience in Library & Information Science

Education:MSLIS from Simmons CollegeMA in English from Boston CollegeBA in English and Psychology from Lewis & Clark College

THE PROJECTS

Secondary Research

In-depth literature review on search habits of

elementary, middle and high school students.

Video Diary Studies

High school students self-reporting their

research habits and preferences.

Contextual Inquiry

One-on-one sessions with high school and

college students discussing their

research habits and how they formed.

TIME LINE

Loopers

Vascillating between search and results,

able to move forward with guidance.

Skimmers

Familiar with conventions but still

not experts.

L’Efficient

Work smart, not hard – until motivation

strikes.

Researchers

Interest leads to passion, dedication

and advanced research skills.

Grazers

Not interacting deeply with

information, but starting to learn

conventions.

3 51

1st-4th

5th-8th

9th-12th

18-22 22+

OPPORTUNITIES

To Shape

Research Habits

Elementary School• Skill mastery occurs when students feel confident and successful

• Comfortable exploring

• Students think very concretely

• They have developing motor skills

• Their reading comprehension is still low

Middle School• Autonomy and independence is extremely important

• Motivated by familiarity, authority and intellectual challenge

• Positive view of technology

• Keywords are a struggle

• Have difficulty understanding hierarchies

• Will reject anything “childish”

• Unsure about how to progress on their own

OPPORTUNITIES

To Shape

Research Habits

High School• Comfortable with technology

• Familiar with web conventions

• Capable of analysis and synthesis

• Enjoy learning and finding information

Key Opportunity: 9th Grade “Boot Camp”Students describe this kind of experience as being “frog marched”: through research skills training, but there’s a positive correlation between students who go through this kind of training and those who feel ready for research at the college level when they get there.

• Difficulty formulating a search strategy – defining a topic, determining keywords, creating a product

• Not expert users

• Quick to reject anything unfamiliar or inconvenient

• Experience anxiety about producing a high-quality product

OPPORTUNITIES

To Shape

Research Habits

College

• Can plan and execute a research workflow

• Understand the value of credibility

• When research is personally interesting, feel dedicated and productive

Key Opportunity: Major-Specific TrainingStudents turn a corner when they start taking advanced major-specific courses. While they don’t tend to absorb much when learning research for what feels like research’s sake, this is the point when they are most motivated to research and the most likely to recognize the value of training.

• Only willing to work as hard as they need to

• Reject anything difficult or inconvenient

• Struggle with the library website

• Feel overwhelmed and stressed by research

OPPORTUNITIES

To Shape

Research Habits

Graduate School• Recognize credible, field-specific sources

• Are willing to put in the work necessary for a high-quality product

• Feel a commitment to produce unique, interesting research

• Feel there’s an expectation that they can use library resources when they get to grad school

Grad Students are students who have “turned the corner”. They have developed the motivation and the skills to pursue research at an advanced level.

TAKEAWAYS

Loopers

Guidance, frequent checkins and reassurance

Skimmers

Drills to Build Skills – develop that muscle

memory

L’Efficient

Help finding topics, training paired with subjects of interest

Researchers

Encourage that passion

Grazers

Positive reinforcement for

exploring, modelling more advanced

behaviors

3 51

1st-4th

5th-8th

9th-12th

18-22 22+

Thanks!

Deirdre CostelloSr. User Experience Researcher

dcostello@ebsco.comwww.linkedin.com/pub/deirdre-costello/12/440/593/