European Studies

Course Syllabi

Stephanie Krueger, MSI/MAAssociate Director of Library Relations, ARTstor

Initial Findings: Integrating Non-Text Electronic Resources, including ARTstor, on the Open Web

Agenda

• Methodology /Research Overview

• Findability/e-resource awareness

• Structure of syllabi, with examples

• Text v. non-text resources

• Granularity/linking

• Remote access/access descriptions

• Conclusion

Methodology/Research

Overview• Collect Samples /Initial Experiment

• Not yet applying variables

• “Population”: Scholars with syllabi on open web

• “Sample”: 20 keyword searches in Google – 5 variations for four providers (ARTstor, JSTOR, Naxos, PBS)

• Hypothesis: More linking to objects directly for articles v. non-text resources, where item-level linking less prevalent

• Interpret/Analyze

• Chart results

• Identify trends

• Apply

• Refine methodology

• Course management software?

• Implications for library liaisons & resource providers

Methodology: Google keyword searches

• Terms (+artstor, jstor, naxos music, pbs streaming)

– European studies syllabus

– European history syllabus

– German studies syllabus

– Slavic studies syllabus

– Classical studies syllabus

• Tabulations (10 results for each initial search set)

– Course name

– Date

– URL

– Notes (any instructions on use, access mechanisms?)

– Granularity of linking (i.e., no link, main page, object level)

Sample result set (European studies syllabus artstor)

Sample result set (Classical studies syllabus pbs)

Setting the Stage:

Findability/e-resources

awareness• Literature review

• Search engine access points

• Open web (not gated course management software)

• Beyond common library effectiveness measurements – what are faculty doing outside measurable environment?

Literature Review• This area is wide-open for formal analysis and description

– Easy to find: articles on electronic resources and faculty integration of technology

– Difficult to find: anything specific on behavior patterns of faculty using technology in the humanities

– Discussion: is this an area more suited to case study examples? If so, how might the community share knowledge about this?

• Sample article titles:

– Apedoe, Xornam S. and Thomas C. Reeves. “Inquiry-based Learning and Digital Libraries in Undergraduate Science Education” in Journal of Science Education and Technology, 15, 5. December 2006.

– “Importance of alignment among critical pedagogical dimensions of an inquiry-based pedagogical framework”

– Covi, Lisa and Rob Kling. “Organizational Dimensions of Effective Digital Library use; Closed Rationale and Open Natural Systems Models” in Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 47, 9. September 1996.

– “…what constitutes effective Digital Library use, how faculty members are using DLs, and how useful they find them.”

– Talab, Rosemary. “Using Digital Materials in Online Courses: A Cautionary Tale of Georgia State University” in TechTrends. 52, 4. Jul/August 2008.

– “The professoriate and the YouTube culture… digital learning opportunities create more positive attitudes toward the subject matter and increased opportunities for interaction and different learning styles.”

Setting the Stage: Search and “Findability”

FOCAL POINT: Google Search/Open Web (See: Peter Morville * Mark Burelle, Search & Discovery Patterns, findability.org, 1/12/10)

Example: ARTstor accesses from search engines• In the past year, the public site (not library.artstor.org but www.artstor.org) received 1,847,744 hits, of those hits 16.21% (299,624) came from organic search results

– Referring sites (e.g., library pages): 50.6%

– Direct traffic: 33.73%

• Top Referring Google Searches

– artstor

– art stor

– artstore

– artstor.org

– www.artstor.org

Your library: use outside the measured e-resource/learning software environment?

• Something to consider – even for subject bibliography pages

• Discussion question: are you analyzing this regularly?

Example: Tracked in ARTstor usage?

1. Search, view and download images – Yes!

No:

2. Arrange images in PowerPoint presentation

3. Give lecture using PowerPoint presentation

4. Load PowerPoint presentation to Blackboard for student study

5. Use the same PowerPoint lecture the following semester

(etc. – also not tracked: linking to ARTstor from open web course syllabi)

Structure of Syllabi

• Well-designed and less well-designed

• Examples

• Note: To my surprise, even with course management software, many syllabi are recent, not from the days before course management software became popular

The Well-designed syllabus, defined

• Abdous, M’hammed and Wu He. “A Design Framework for Syllabus Generator” in Journal of Interactive Learning Research. 19, 4. 2008.

• Well-designed: “provides students with a roadmap for an engaging and successful learning experience”

• Poorly-designed: “impedes communication between faculty and students, increases student anxiety and potential complaints, and reduces overall teaching effectiveness.

• Discussion point: where is your library in this mix? Do you think the following examples show elements of good design?

Sample Syllabus: The Utopian Impulse in Early Modern Literature and Society (ARTstor)

Sample Syllabus: Imagining the Middle Ages (JSTOR)

Sample Syllabus: Music History Survey (Naxos Music Library)

Sample Syllabus: The Politics of Postcommunist Eastern Europe (PBS)

Text v. Non-Text

Resources• Current hypothesis from this small initial

sample set: Text (journals) then static objects (e.g., images), then far fewer streaming objects (music, video)

• Results do not show this

• Why this must be researched in more depth

• Subject awareness/familiarity with technology?

• Copyright fears?

• More streaming (music/video) within course management environment?

• Brand awareness (PBS v. databases)

Text v. non-text total results for each query (raw data, including all search results – starred items very few syllabi)

Query ARTstor JSTOR Naxos PBS

European studies

481 8,820 829 5,600

European history

560 9,930 865 6,440

German studies

316 5,700 830 22,200

Slavic studies 190 1,130 3,280* 1,370

Classical studies

327 5,460 1,070* 4,610

Granularity of Linking

• Initial generalization: It appears faculty still have difficulty understanding how to link to the object level, particularly for non-text resources

• Are such links difficult for them to find?

• What might content providers do to improve this situation?

“Findability” of Links: PBS

“Findability” of Links: JSTOR

“Findability” of Links: ARTstor

“Findability” of Links: Naxos Music Library

From results set (10 or less), % syllabi included any links?

Query ARTstor JSTOR Naxos PBS

European studies

60% 60% 20% 50%

European history

60% 40% 10% 50%

German studies

33% 40% 20% 50%

Slavic studies 75% 40% n/a 70%

Classical studies

40% 30% n/a 50%

From results set (10 or less), % syllabi included links beyond main page?

Query ARTstor JSTOR Naxos PBS

European studies

20% 33% 0% 50%

European history

20% 33% 0% 50%

German studies

17% 0% 0% 50%

Slavic studies 0% 20% n/a 70%

Classical studies

10% 10% n/a 50%

Remote Access

• Overall, remote access instructions are not clear

• At ARTstor, over 300 specific remote access inquiries over 2009

• Discussion: Is this also one of the largest areas of inquiry at your institution? Do you instruct faculty about this for non-text resources?

Remote Access and unclear instructions

Creating American Identity, Fall 2009

“These can be viewed on ARTstor, a database available from the library website…” (no link to library web site)

Conclusions/Next Steps

Contact:

stephanie.krueger@artstor.org

• Research method: larger sample/more data

• Also include institutional data/course management software data?

• Definitions of disciplines

• Is this an interesting topic for publication/further investigates?

• How do you work with faculty in promoting linking possibilities/building syllabi online?