A Repeated Survey Analysis of AskERIC User Survey Data, 1998-2002

Pomerantz, Jeffrey (2004) A Repeated Survey Analysis of AskERIC User Survey Data, 1998-2002, in Lankes, R. David and Janes, Joseph and Smith, Linda C. and Finneran, Christina M., Eds. The Virtual Reference Experience: Integrating Theory into Practice, chapter 1, pages pp. 11-41. Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc..

Full text available as:
PDF - Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF viewer.

Abstract

Four surveys of users of the AskERIC email reference service were conducted, during the years 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002. These surveys presented a snapshot of the AskERIC user population and user satisfaction at a single point in time. This paper reanalyzes the findings from these surveys utilizing repeated survey techniques. This paper presents the evolution of some of the demographics of AskERIC’s user population over time, as well as the evolution of AskERIC user behavior. As perhaps the oldest AskA service in existence, this analysis of AskERIC data sheds light on the evolution of all AskA services, and of email-based reference services in general.

EPrint Type:	Book Chapter
Keywords:	digital reference, AskERIC, repeated survey analysis
Subjects:	Reference Services
ID Code:	1889
Deposited On:	25 May 2007
Alternative Locations:	http://www.ils.unc.edu/~jpom/pubs/AskERIC_Repeated_Survey.pdf
Eprint Statistics:	View statistics for this eprint
Tell A Colleague:	Tell a colleague about it.

Bristow, Ann. 1992. “Academic Reference Service Over Electronic Mail.” College and Research Libraries News 53, no.10: 631-637. Retrieved March 10, 2004, from http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/reference/email/01.html.

Burchinal, Lee G. 2000. “The tale of two ERICS: Factors influencing the development of the first ERIC and its transformation into a national system.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science 51, no.6: 567-575.

Bushallow-Wilber, Laura, Gemma DeVinney, and Fritz Whitcomb. 1996. “Electronic Mail Reference Service: A Study.” RQ 35, no.3: 359-369.

Carter, David S., and Joseph Janes. 2000. “Unobtrusive Data Analysis of Digital Reference Questions and Service at the Internet Public Library: An Exploratory Study.” Library Trends 49, no.2 (Fall): 251-265.

Dewdney, Patricia, and Catherine Sheldrick Ross. 1994. “Flying a light aircraft: Reference service evaluation from a user’s viewpoint.” RQ 34, no.2 (Winter): 217-229.

Durrance, Joan C. 1989. “Reference Success: Does the 55 Percent Rule Tell the Whole Story?” Library Journal 114, no.7 (April 15): 31-36.

Educational Resources Information Center. 2002. ERIC Annual Report 2002: Summarizing Recent Accomplishments of the Educational Resources Information Center. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

Firebaugh, Glenn. 1997. Analyzing Repeated Surveys. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Fowler Jr., Floyd J. 2002. Survey Research Methods, Third ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Hodges, Pauline R. 1989. “Reference in the Age of Automation: Changes in Reference Service at Chemical Abstracts Service Library.” Special Libraries 80, no.4 (Fall): 251-257.

Howard, Ellen H., and Terry Ann Jankowski. 1986. “Reference Services via Electronic Mail.” Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 74, no.1: 41-44.

Janes, Joseph. 2002. “Digital Reference: Reference Librarians' Experiences and Attitudes.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 53, no.7 (May): 549-566.

Janes, Joseph. 2003. “Question Negotiation in an Electronic Age.” In The Digital Reference Research Agenda, edited by R. D. Lankes, S. Nicholson and A. Goodrum. (pp. 48-60). Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.

Janes, Joseph, David Carter, Annette Lagace, Michael McClennen, Sara Ryan, and Schelle Simcox. 1999. The Internet Public Library Handbook. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

Janes, Joseph, Chrystie Hill, and Alex Rolfe. 2001. “Ask-an-Expert Services Analysis.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 52, no.13: 1106-1121.

Kasowitz, Abby, Blythe Bennett, and R. David Lankes. 2000. “Quality Standards for Digital Reference Consortia.” Reference & User Services Quarterly 39, no.4: 355-363.

Kittle, Paul W. 1985. “Putting the Medical Library Online: Electronic Bulletin Boards... and Beyond.” Online 9, no.3 (May): 25-30.

Lagace, Nettie. 1999. Establishing Online Reference Services. In The Internet Public Library Handbook, edited by J. Janes, D. Carter, A. Lagace, M. McClennen, S. Ryan and S. Simcox. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

Lankes, R. David. 1998a. Building & Maintaining Internet Information Services: K-12 Digital Reference Services. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology.

Lankes, R. David. 1998b. Building the Virtual Reference Desk. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse for Information & Technology. Retrieved March 10, 2004, from http://www.vrd.org/TelEd.shtml.

Lankes, R. David, and Abby S. Kasowitz. 1998. AskA Starter Kit: How to Build and Maintain Digital Reference Services. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology.

LeJeune, Lorrie. 1997. “Before Its Time: The Internet Public Library.” The Journal of Electronic Publishing 3, no.2 (December). Retrieved March 10, 2004, from http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/03-02/IPL.html.

Lipow, Anne Grodzins. 2002. The Virtual Reference Librarian’s Handbook. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

McClure, Charles R., R. David Lankes, Melissa Gross, and Beverly Choltco-Devlin. 2002. Statistics, Measures and Quality Standards for Assessing Digital Reference Library Services: Guidelines and procedures. Syracuse, NY: Information Institute of Syracuse.

Nicholson, Scott. 2003. “On My Mind: Avoiding the Great Data-Wipe of Ought-Three.” American Libraries 34, no.9 (October): 36.

Penka, Jeffrey T. 2003. “The Technological Challenges of Digital Reference: An Overview.” D-Lib Magazine 9, no.2 (February). Retrieved March 10, 2004, from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/february03/penka/02penka.html.

Philip, Brenda. “mayihelpyou@theelectronicreferencedesk?: An Examination of the Past, Present and Future of Electronic Mail Reference Service.” Alberta, Canada: School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta. (March 1997) Available at: http://hollyhock.slis.ualberta.ca/598/brenda/emailref.htm.

Pomerantz, Jeffrey. 2003. Question Taxonomies for Digital Reference. doctoral dissertation, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.

Roysdon, Christine M., and Laura Lee Elliott. 1988. “Electronic Integration of Library Services Through a Campuswide Network.” RQ 28, no.1: 82-93.

Saxton, Matthew L. 1997. “Reference Service Evaluation and Meta-analysis: Findings and Methodological Issues.” Library Quarterly 67, no.3 (July): 267-288.

Still, Julie, and Frank Campbell. 1993. “Librarian in a Box: The Use of Electronic Mail for Reference.” Reference Services Review 21, no.1 (Spring): 15-18.

Virtual Reference Desk Project. “Virtual Reference Desk AskA Software: Decision Points and Scenarios.” Syracuse, NY: Virtual Reference Desk Project (September 1998) Available at: http://www.vrd.org/Tech/AskA-sw.PDF.

Weise, Frieda O., and Marilyn Borgendale. 1986. “EARS: Electronic Access to Reference Service.” Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 74, no.4 (October): 300-304.

White, Marilyn Domas. 2001. “Digital Reference Services: Framework for Analysis and Evaluation.” Library & Information Science Research 23, no.3 (Autumn): 211-231.

Yin, Robert K. 2003. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.