Board 103: Developing a User Experience Study (Work in Progress)

James M. Cox; Kari Kozak

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Engineering Libraries Division (ELD) Poster Session
Tagged Division: Engineering Libraries Division (ELD)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46659

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Paper Authors

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James M. Cox The University of Iowa

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James M. Cox has been a member of the University of Iowa Lichtenberger Engineering Library Staff since August 2014. In his current role as the Public Services and Emerging Technologies Librarian, since 2019, he oversees a team of 12 student employees at the Service Desk. Additionally, James manages the library’s technology resources, including the prototyping equipment available in the Creative Space/Makerspace and the extensive Tool Library containing over 275 pieces of equipment. James is interested in exploring how technology shapes our world and leveraging new developments to enhance library experiences.

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biography

Kari Kozak The University of Iowa orcid.org/0000-0002-5343-0659

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Kari Kozak has been the Director of the Lichtenberger Engineering Library at The University of Iowa since July 2011. In her capacity, she oversees library operations and supervises a team of three full-time staff members. Kari is dedicated to providing instruction, reference, and consultation services to students, faculty, and staff across various departments and research centers within the College of Engineering and the Department of Computer Science. Her professional interests encompass outreach, instruction, innovation, and design. Additionally, Kari also leads classes on library resources and offer guidance on topics such as standards, patents, information evaluation, copyright, and the Creative Space and Tool Library.

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Abstract

The library is interested in examining how people interact with physical spaces and services to discover trends, high use points, and needs. To accomplish this, the library has begun the process of developing a multi-phase user experience study. The path to performing a user experience study starts long before doing any work.

First, a review of user experience studies was conducted. This review looks at a wide variety of literature to determine best practices and to establish procedures for the upcoming study. Some best practices gleaned from the review include identifying the library's mission or what is the overarching purpose of the library service. Next, determining objectives that meet the mission statement. Finally, developing indicators that demonstrate if the objectives were being met.

The literature review allowed the researchers to understand the data collection process. Libraries naturally collect data – gate count, circulation statistics, event attendance – that can be used as indicators. However, developing tools to augment these traditional metrics is a challenge. The tools that a library can implement are endless - surveys, interactive displays, floorplan mapping, focus groups, etc. Reviewing previous studies allows the researchers to work on matching up the correct tool with the indicator to justify its inclusion in their forthcoming study.

Overall, the process from deciding to perform a user-experience study to conducting a userexperience study is lengthy. The authors hope that this review could inform what that process looks like and act as a template for implementing future studies.

Citation
Format

Cox, J. M., & Kozak, K. (2024, June), Board 103: Developing a User Experience Study (Work in Progress) Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46659