ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 644 / C &RL News EERHFRSAC ORUM ‘'Bonnie Cjratcfi, editor Academic community analysis: Discovering research needs of graduate students at Bowling Green State University B y M arilyn P arrish R eferen ce L ibrarian Bow ling G reen State University To be successful in reaching the goal of produc ing life-long learners who are information literate, we need to teach students how to understand their specific information needs and provide ways for those needs to be met. During an 18-month period (fall 1987-spring 1989) I carried out on a part-time basis a large-scale study of graduate students and their research behavior at Bowling Green State University (BG SU ). Graduate students were se lected because they make heavy use o f the library and have been identified as apriority by the univer sity administration. The goal of this study was to better understand the research environment in which graduate students function. The following summary describes the methodology and high lights some of the data findings. The full report, Analysis o f G radu ate Student R esearch at Bowling G reen State University by Marilyn Parrish, has been submitted to E R IC . The model of academic community analysis used here is based on the methodology employed by public libraries to better understand and serve their clientele, particularly the work of Roger Greer and Marty Hale in developing community analysis studies.1 It is a descriptive type of community 'Roger C. Greer and Martha L. Hale, “The Community Analysis Process,” in Jane Robbins- Carter, P ublic L ib ra ria n sh ip (Littleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1982), 3 5 8 -6 6 . See also H. Achleitner and E. Neroda, “Community Analysis in a Bi-Cultural University Milieu,” in Proceedin gs o f survey which provides the basis for better under- standingthe informational relationships which exist within a particular community. This type of multi method approach has not been traditionally ap plied to academic library user groups. It utilized a multidimensional data collection approach which consisted o f an analysis of library and graduate college data; interviews with department chairs/ graduate advisers; a syllabus study o f graduate courses; and a questionnaire sent to all graduate students. Collection of available data The first step in this process was to collect eveiy available piece o f information about graduate stu dents. Printed materials, descriptions of services provided, annual reports, and statistical reports were collected from the graduate college, other related organizations on campus, and from within the library. These data were organized into broad groups relating to demographics, academic pro grams, and services. Examination of these data resulted in a different picture o f the average graduate student at BGSU than expected. Overall there are more part-time students than full-time students in graduate pro grams. N early half of all graduate students are over th e 7th A nnual M eeting, S ou th -C en tral R egional G rou p, M edical L ib r a r y A ssociation, O klahom a City, 1978, pp. 6 8 -8 3 . S e p te m b e r 1 9 8 9 / 645 30; 66% of th e p a rt-tim e stu d en ts are over 30; and 74% of th e intern atio n al stu d e n ts are from Asian countries. Extrem ely surprising to th e public serv ices librarians was th e finding th a t only 22% of the graduate students attend the university-wide, one- w eek g raduate o rie n tatio n sessions, and th e p e r centage o f th ese who select library/research skills instruction sessions is even smaller. Analysis of library statistics (library u se r e d u ca tion, database searching, interlibrary loan, and cir culation) resu lte d in several significant findings. Examination of interlibrary loan requests (993 filled request form s, w hich is a sam ple o f 8% o f the requests m ade over a th re e year period) reveal that the highest n u m b er o f requests w ere for m aterials in the areas of health and hum an services, English, and history. W hile IL L was used by 50% o f those graduate students who resp o n d ed to th e q uestion naire, in 1987-88, only 8% o f th e total n u m b e r of graduate students and 12% o f th e graduate faculty had database searches done for them . Interviews D e p a rtm e n t chairs/graduate advisers o f 17 d e p a rtm en ts w ere interview ed for this study (these included all of th e P h . D . departm ents and th re e of th e larger m asters program s). Q uestions asked included: basic inform ation c oncerning th e n u m b e r o f stu d e n ts (with and w ithout funding); p e r centage of students who com plete degree program; percentage of students who w rite theses; the nature of research in th eir field; skills which are necessary to succeed in th e field; how those skills are learned; common problem s faced by students; and availabil ity o f funding for database searches. M ost o f th e g raduate program s w ere d escrib ed as interdisciplinary. This findingis apparent by the types o f research topics graduate stu d en ts choose to p u rsu e , th e courses w hich are o ffered w ithin d e p a rtm e n ts, th e n u m b e r of stu d e n ts w ho take courses in re la te d disciplines, and th e problem s associated with accessing materials. Com m on prob lems for graduate students (identified by interview ees) include tim e m anagem ent and access to library m aterials for research. T hese access problem s in clude m aterials checked out or missing, or special ized resources not in th e library collection. Surpris ingly, not all faculty interview ed w ere aware th at th ey could access th e library’s online catalog via th e ir office or hom e com puter. Syllabus study A fter a w ritte n req u e st to all g rad u a te faculty, and th e n a second re q u e st to d e p a rtm e n t chairs, 360 course syllabi w ere o b tain e d for analysis. O f th e se , 324 w ere usable, which re p re se n ts 39 de- partm ents/program s and approximately 25% of the total n u m b e r o f courses listed in th e g raduate catalog, although th e percentage is probably higher since m any of th e courses listed are not cu rren tly offered. This data collection m ethod focused on gaining an u n d e rsta n d in g of th e assignm ents r e q u ire d in grad u ate courses which m ade use of library m ate rials. T he syllabi w ere exam ined for th e following course requirements: research papers, them e papers (notinvolvinglibraryresearch), literature reviews, bibliographies, research projects, oral p re s e n ta tions, keeping up with c u rre n t reading in th e field, and th e use of reserve materials. M ention of library p rese n tatio n s was also noted. D a ta analysis was c a rrie d out using Lotus 1-2-3. It shows a wide variety o f assignm ents req u irin g th e use o f the library. R esearch m ethods classes te n d not to as sign one long research p a p e r b u t to in stru ct s tu d e n ts th ro u g h req u irin g m any sm aller research assignm ents. Only 41% o f th e courses req u ire stu d e n ts to w rite a research paper. Q uestionnaire M uch o f the inform ation collected for this study is a b o u t th e en v iro n m en t in w hich grad u ate s tu dents carry out th e ir research , so h earin g from g raduate students, them selves, is essential in fully u n d e rsta n d in g w hat research o p p o rtu n itie s and obstacles th ey face. T h e questio n n aire was in te n tionally developed to yield inform ation about their research environm ent, not an evaluation o f library services. Additionally, it was purposefully adm ini stered to all graduate students, not lim ited to those using th e library, so th a t bo th library users and nonusers w ould be included. Q uestio n n aires w ere m ailed to th e 1,799 c u r ren tly e n ro lled g raduate stu d en ts in January of 1988, followed by a second m ailing to those s tu d en ts who had n o t resp o n d ed . C o m p lete d q u e s tionnaires w ere retu rn ed by 826 students, resulting in a 46% response rate. In addition to th e basic d em ographic inform ation, stu d e n ts w ere asked abo u t th e n u m b e r and types o f assignm ents r e q u ire d in th e ir g raduate courses; how th ey picked topics for th e ir research assignm ents; areas o f dif ficulty in research; data collection in thesis or dissertation research; which library resources and services th ey had used; and w hat previous library' research experience th ey h ad had b e fo re th e ir c u rre n t d e g re e program . M any o f th e questions offered th e o p p o rtu n ity for stu d e n ts to express answers not anticipated and to detail ways in which th e library m ight fu rth e r assist th em in th e ir r e search. D ata analysis was accom plished usingSAS. Findings reveal th at resp o n d en t characteristics are q u ite sim ilar to th e grad u ate stu d e n t p o p u la tion, except that m ore of th e respondents w ere full tim e. T h e vast m ajority o f resp o n d e n ts w orked at 6 4 6 / C & RL News least 11-20 hours each week and almost half worked 31 hours or more each week. Graduate students are not solely dependent on the BGSU library collec tion for their research, as more than half said they use other libraries. It is significant (though not surprising) that most of the students writing theses and dissertations did not examine the library collec tions before deciding on their topics. However, 82% of the students made use of library materials in their thesis or dissertation research. Although most students had some experience with library research before beginning their degree program, they experienced difficulties with many parts of the research process. More than half of the respondents made use of librarians, and said that assistance at the reference desk was most helpful in reducing time spent looking for material. Many of the written comments indicate that these students lacked an awareness about basic library services and would like the library to publicize its services more effectively. Conclusions and outcomes The most common research problem s facing graduate students at BGSU include time manage m ent and access to materials. Many faculty m em bers assume that students know how to do research by the time they get to graduate school, but the data dem onstrate that students experience difficulty with each step of the research process and about two-thirds had received only basic library orienta tion. Many graduate students pursue research that is interdisciplinary in nature, which results in the C&RL News production now computerized You may notice a slightly different look for C&RL News, beginning with this issue, because we are now using Aldus PageMaker software for page layout and composition. This means that instead of spending hours preparing the maga zine with scotch tape and scissors, we now spend hours with a mouse and computer screen. Major elements, such as the fonts we use and the type size, have rem ained pretty much the same (we are still using Caledonia, but a differ ent version o f it that looks rounder and more elegant). The big difference, in addition to reducing our composition costs even further, will be an increased control over the design elem ents that go into every page. We also ex pect graphic improvements (note the new col umn heads in this issue) with the use of such additional software as Corel Draw! and Micro soft Excel.— GME. need to access a wide variety of m aterials. As might be expected, faculty members are key factors in successful graduate education. Most students described their advisers as helpful, and most find out about services that the university provides through their classes. Yet many of these faculty members are not aware of library research services available for themselves and their stu dents. The library staff s response to the data findings is still evolving. A study com m ittee has drafted rec ommendations, which address most of the needs docum ented by this study. Both the study report and com m ittee recom m endations have been dis tributed to all deans, departm ent chairs, and the vice-president for academic affairs. These recom mendations focus on the areas of publicity, library usereducation/reference services, automated bib liographic access, physical access, and collection developm ent/m anagem ent. Examples of new or enhanced services for graduate students resulting from the findings of this study will be an improved individual research consultation service with sub ject specialist librarians for targeted departments; a new brochure describing services to graduate students which will be mailed to their homes and distributed to graduate faculty; and other strategies for orienting graduate students besides the univer sity-wide orientation week. This multi-methods approach offers important benefits to academic libraries, as users can be studied from a variety of vantage points. The variety of data collection methods ensures the opportunity to corroborate findings. Valuable assistance was provided by the university research and statistical consulting offices, services that are available on most campuses. The end result of analyzing and interpreting these data is well worth the effort and may reveal a surprisingly different view of users than anticipated. Needs are more clearly un d er stood, and new ways of reaching those users are likely to be suggested by the data findings. ■ ■ Directory of curriculum centers The ACRL Education and Behavioral Sci ences Section is currently compiling a mailing list of curriculum centers serving teacher edu cation institutions for the third edition of its Directory o f Curriculum Centers, scheduled for publication in 1990. If you are interested in being included in the Directory, you may re quest a questionnaire from Donald V. Osier, Education/Psychology Reference, 110 W alter Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455; (612) 624-5718. The deadline is O ctober 1,1989.