2019 Charleston Library Conference

Registration Cost: $150

To meet the evolving needs of today’s scholars, libraries and publishers are designing a proliferation of new services and researcher platforms. In the April 18, 2019 Scholarly Kitchen post, Lettie Conrad provides this key point of caution: “If we are not investing in our working knowledge of researcher experiences, we are undoubtedly making uneducated assumptions and defaulting to outdated or self-serving modes of decision making.” In order to create services that will align with the changing workflows of researchers, librarians and scholarly communication practitioners can use the semi-structured qualitative interview method as a valuable tool for capturing the emerging needs of researchers.

This preconference workshop will focus on using semi-structured qualitative interviews to gain intel on researchers’ needs, expectations, and experiences to help improve or advance library services. Using hands-on exercises, you will gain skills spanning the logistics of interviewing from start to finish including identifying interview participants, developing interview questions, strategies for asking questions and moving through the interview experience, data capture techniques, and options for preparing the data for analysis. Based on our own experiences using semi-structured qualitative interviews, the presenters will share lessons learned and practical advice for those who are considering user-based research projects at their own organizations. We will discuss the benefits, challenges, and limitations of using interviews to learn about the workflows and needs of researchers.