The researchers conducted a task-based usability test of the effectiveness of online research beginning on the library Web site homepage. The participants included five university faculty members, six graduate students, and six undergraduate students. All participants reported feeling satisfied with their overall research experience, though most were unable to effectively complete all the research tasks of the test. The researchers identified weaknesses in the approach and process of many participants, and overall usability issues of the library discovery tool and other library Web site pages and research interfaces. Findings indicate the need to strategically incorporate self-service information literacy and research skills help into the library Web site, and to implement navigation and design changes to the library homepage, discovery tool interface, online catalog, and across all the library's Web services. Keywords academic libraries, database searching, information literacy, information retrieval, research methodology, user experience, user interfaces, website designIn the fall semester of 2014, researchers at the Stony Brook University (SBU) Libraries conducted a usability test of the effectiveness of online research beginning at the library Web site homepage. During the summer of 2014, the library Web site was redesigned, and it incorporated several changes and enhancements, including the launch of the EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) and movement from Serials Solutions to the EBSCO Electronic Resource Management System (ERMS). The new Web site design and new online tools and interfaces presented our users with a wholly new online research experience. This article describes the development of the usability test of our discovery service, its administration, and the findings.
Crowdfunding leverages the opportunities of online social networks to share ideas and connect individuals by seeking small donations from a large number of supporters in order to complete a project or develop a product. Research crowdfunding is emerging as a dynamic alternative or supplement to grant-funded research, particularly for low-cost research, researchers at institutions without strong traditions of grants-funded research, and high-risk or unconventional research with few or no sponsors. For some researchers, crowdfunding enables new and novel collaborations between researchers, entrepreneurs, artists, social and environmental activists, as well as facilitating unexpected uses and expressions of research.Through the lens of three qualitative crowdfunding campaign studies this article explores how crowdfunding conventions and platforms influence and impact the way research is used, communicated, shared, and in some cases performed. Successful crowdfunding relies on engagement and audience support -- higher levels of support include exclusive affordances, including opportunities to participate in events, acknowledgement in publications, and access to the researchers via online or in-person meetings. Crowdfunding platforms offer researchers the framework to appeal for support and communicate the details and progress of their research in a personal, narrative style, often utilizing video and social networks. This article will examine the new opportunities for communicating, sharing, and using research that crowdfunding facilitates through a case study of three crowdfunding campaigns.
Recent studies show that few online users begin their information searching on library Web sites and that an overwhelming percentage of users access social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. This article describes methods used by Stony Brook University Health Sciences Library (SBUHSL) staff to build user communities and share library resources in online destinations widely visited by college students. Approaches include tagging and sharing selected links on del.icio.us, developing a WordPress blog to share online tutorials and podcasts, and establishing a Facebook presence.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.