conceptualizing collaboration & community in virtual reference & social q&a
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CoLIS Copenhagen, Denmark 19-22 August 2013. Conceptualizing Collaboration & Community in Virtual Reference & Social Q&A. Marie L. Radford, Ph.D . Chair, Dept. of Library & Information Science Rutgers University, NJ. Mark Alpert Ph.D. Student Rutgers University, NJ. Chirag Shah, Ph.D. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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The world’s libraries. Connected.
Conceptualizing Collaboration & Community in Virtual Reference & Social Q&A
Marie L. Radford, Ph.D.Chair, Dept. of Library & Information ScienceRutgers University, NJ
Nicole A. Cooke, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.Senior Research ScientistOCLC
Stephanie MikitishPh.D. StudentRutgers University, NJ
Mark AlpertPh.D. StudentRutgers University, NJ
Chirag Shah, Ph.D. Assistant ProfessorRutgers University, NJ
CoLISCopenhagen, Denmark
19-22 August 2013
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• Provide evidence for modeling new ways to collaborate in VRS
• Collaboration with Social Q&A (SQA)
• Three phases• Transcript Analysis• Telephone interviews
• 50 librarian interviews, 50 user interviews
• Design Sessions• Construct design specifications
Cyber Synergy: Seeking Sustainability through Collaboration between Virtual Reference & Social Q&A Sites
http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synergy/default.htm
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• VRS• Global reach
• Anytime/anywhere access
• Cooperative services may reduce costs
• Librarians have deep subject expertise
Virtual Reference Services (VRS) & Social Q&A (SQA)
• SQA• Crowd-sourcing
• Good in lean economic times
• Social & collaborative
• Anyone can provide answers
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• Lack of library funding• Service reductions• Some VRS discontinued or
endangered
• Empirical data needed to explore possibilities to enhance VRS
Why Cyber Synergy?
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• How can VRS become more collaborative, within and between libraries, & tap more effectively into librarians’ subject expertise?
• What can VRS learn from SQA to better serve users & attract potential users?
• How can we design systems & services within & between VRS and SQA for better quality and sustainability?
• In what ways can the Communities of Practice (Wenger, 1998, 2004) framework contribute to our understanding of collaboration barriers & opportunities in the VRS environment?
Research Questions
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Theoretical Framework: Communities of Practice
(CoP)
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Communities of Practice (CoP):
“Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.”
(Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002, p. 4)
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• Joint enterprises• Feature mutual
engagement• Shared repertoire of
resources & sensibilities
Distinct Dimensions of CoP
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• Learning focus• Depend on interactions
between members• Voluntary• Customizable• Individual• Encourage members to
solve problems & develop new approaches/tools
• Share expertise, share weakness
More Dimensions of CoP
(Wenger, 1998, 2004)
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• Insufficient time• “Information hoarding”• Low levels of collegiality• Shifting group memberships• Lack trust building opportunities• Geographical gaps• Promotes heterogeneity
Barriers to CoP
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• VRS librarians• Shared interest in serving
user information needs• Operate within community
for sharing information• Hold shared practice
through MLIS degree
VRS Librarians as CoP
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• Phone interviews with 25 VRS librarians
• Recruited via professional list-servs, personal contacts, & OCLC’s QuestionPoint (QP) librarian blog
• Responses collected with SurveyMonkey
• Anonymous
Data Collection – Phone Interviews
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• Combination of open & closed questions
• Topics• Collaboration• Referrals• Comparison of VRS to
SQA• Critical incidents
(Flanagan, 1954)
Interview Questions
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• Descriptive for demographic data & Likert style questions
• Line-by-line qualitative analysis to identify:
• Recurring themes • Representative
quotations
• Code book developed• NVivo software
Data Analysis
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Results
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Librarian Demographics (N=25)
76%, n=19
11.76
60%, n=15
52%, n=13
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Participants reported that VRS
were slightly busier than FtF
services
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40% reported that overall reference
volume was increasing
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Successful Interactions
“There were lots of happy faces, so the user seemed
pleased.”
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Successful Interactions
provided an “opportunity to educate the patron”
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Referrals
One-quarter mentioned referring question to another librarian
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Difficulties
Barrier to Referrals
Lack of lead time, usually because “the
paper was due too soon for me to answer.”
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Collaboration• Majority collaborated
>once a week • E-mail most common
mode, then FtF• FtF easiest in shared
physical settings
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Reasons for Collaboration
• Unable to answer question• Give user more
comprehensive answer
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Facilitators to Collaboration• Perceive other librarians as willing to help • Know who to ask for help
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“There are librarians who are hostile in body language and sometimes verbally
if it interferes with their other duties. They have made it very clear that I should not ask and so I do not.”
Barriers to Collaboration
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VRS & SQA Compared
VRS
More synchronous
Authoritative
Complex questions
Objective
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Collaboration with Subject Experts
Librarians expressed a willingness to consult non-librarian experts,
particularly professors
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Questions Appropriate for SQA
• Objective, ready reference, fact-based • Yes/no questions• Questions based on experience or opinion
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Conclusion
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• Usually refer to another librarian• Factors in addressing/referring
difficult questions• Content knowledge• Shared professional standards• Technological familiarity
Difficult Questions
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• Believe other librarians are willing to collaborate
• Shared professional ideals and expertise
• Seen as value-added service
• FtF enables collaboration
Collaboration
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• Analysis of data from• Remaining librarian interviews• 50 VRS/SQA user interviews• 3 expert design sessions
SQA & Collaboration• Librarians view SQA as:
• Less authoritative• Less complex• Less objective
• Not against collaborating with experts
• Willing to expand CoP to other experts if demonstrate
• Professional expertise• Extensive knowledge
• Demonstrate professional expertise or extensive knowledge
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VRS librarians constitute a CoP in approach to referrals & collaboration
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The world’s libraries. Connected.
• Analysis of data from• Remaining librarian interviews• 50 VRS/SQA user interviews• 3 expert design sessions
Next Steps
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Ardichvili, A., Page, V., & Wentling, T. (2002). Motivation and Barriers to Participation in Virtual Knowledge-Sharing Communities of Practice, Paper presented at 3rd European Conference on Organizational Knowledge, Learning and Capabilities (OKLC), Athens, Greece, 5-6 April.
Correia, A. M. R., Paulos, A., & Mesquita, A. (2010). Virtual communities of practice: investigating motivations and constraints in the processes of knowledge creation and transfer. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management 8(1), 11-20.
Cramton, C. (2001). The mutual knowledge problem and its consequences for dispersed collaboration. Organization Science, 12, 346–371.
Ellis, D., Oldridge, R., & Vasconcelos, A. (2004). Community and virtual community, Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 38, 145–186.
Faraj, S., & Wasko, M. M. (2001). The web of knowledge: an investigation of knowledge exchange in networks of practice. Retrieved from http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/Farajwasko.pdf
Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327–358.
Gannon-Leary, P., & Fontainha, E. (2007). Communities of practice and virtual learning communities: Benefits, barriers and success factors. eLearning Papers, 5. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract id=1018066
Gibson, C.B., & Manuel, J.A. (2003). Building trust: Effective multicultural communication processes in virtual teams. In C.B. Gibson & S.G. Cohen (Eds.), Virtual teams that work (pp. 59-86). San Francisco, CA: Wiley & Sons.
Jarvenpaa, S., & Leidner, D. (1999). Communication and trust in global virtual teams. Organization Science, 10, 791–815.
Kirkup, G. (2002). Identity, community and distributed learning. In M. Lea, & K. Nicoll, (Eds.), Distributed learning: Social, cultural approaches to practice (pp. 182-195). London: Routledge/Falmer.
References
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Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
McDermott, R. (1999) Learning across teams: How to build communities of practice in team organizations. Knowledge Management Review, 8, 32–36.
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Radford, M. L., Connaway, L. S., & Shah, C. (2011-2013). Cyber Synergy: Seeking Sustainability through Collaboration between Virtual Reference and Social Q&A Sites. Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Rutgers University, and OCLC. Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synergy/default.htm
Ranganathan, S.R. (1957). The Five Laws of Library Science. Madras: Madras Library Association; London: G. Blunt and Sons.
Roberts, J. (2006). Limits to communities of practice. Journal of Management Studies, 43(3), 623-639.
Smith, P., Barty, K., & Stacey, E. (2005). Limitations of an established community of practice in developing online innovation, breaking down boundaries: international experience in open, distance and flexible education. Proceedings of the 17th ODLAA conference, 1-6, ODLAA, Adelaide.
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Cyber Synergy Grant
•Cyber Synergy: Seeking Sustainability through Collaboration between Virtual Reference and Social Q & A Sites
• $250,000.00 grant funded by IMLS, OCLC, and Rutgers University
• Co-PIs• Marie L. Radford, Rutgers University• Lynn Silipigni Connaway, OCLC• Chirag Shah, Rutgers University
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Questions?Marie L. Radford, Ph.D.Chair, Dept. of Library & Information ScienceRutgers University, [email protected]@MarieLRadford
Nicole A. Cooke, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorUniversity of Illinois [email protected]
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.Senior Research [email protected]@LynnConnaway
Stephanie MikitishPh.D. StudentRutgers University, [email protected]
Mark AlpertPh.D. StudentRutgers University, [email protected]
Chirag Shah, Ph.D. Associate ProfessorRutgers University, [email protected]