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Site Visit and Quarterly Reports send comments or questions to: l-neuma1@uiuc.edu |
1997
June through October, 1997During the past quarter, the Social Science Team has been involved in the iterative design and testing of DeLIver; new analyses of data collected earlier in the project; the design and implementation of user registration, authentication, and transaction logging procedures for DeLIver; the development of a summative user survey instrument; ongoing research related to work practices in the digital era; and the redesign of the Teams web pages. Team members re-worked the registration form that all public users are required to fill out before using DeLIVer. Because people expect the web to operate on an open and, largely, anonymous basis, crafting a user registration form that would collect demographic data as non-intrusively and accurately as possible has become a delicate balancing act. Team members also worked with the Testbed Team to develop user authentication procedures for DeLIver and to set up analysis and reporting procedures for DeLIver transaction logs. The Social Science Team implemented an online usability survey meant to provide user feedback during the trial rollout period from August to October. When the user pushed the submit survey button, email with the results of the survey was sent directly to the team member responsible for analysis. The email message held an attached MIME file with the survey results formatted for direct import into a database. Only several DeLIver users submitted surveys. We do not know how many people aside from DLI project members used DeLIver during this trial period, so we have no way of estimating a survey response rate. Nonetheless, we feel that we will need to be more inventive and careful if we expect to get good compliance with optional user surveys from our anonymous user base in the future. The Social Science Team conducted usability tests of DeLIver, and participated in a radical redesign of the systems interface based on these results. The usability test represented a new approach -- subjects were instructed to use DeLIver on their own, in the course of their work over a two-week period. They kept a log of their impressions the first time they used the system, and participated in a group interview to discuss and demonstrate system strengths and weaknesses. In addition, two researchers have begun their own user studies as independent affiliates of the DLI Social Science Team. Michael Twidale, a professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science and an acknowledged leader in the study of collaboration in online system use, has initiated a study that draws students from courses in which DeLIver has been demonstrated. Students are invited to sign up for individual help sessions with Twidale, during which they try using the system to retrieve literature for some current assignment. These usability sessions reveal basic problems with DeLIver, which are forwarded to DeLIver designers, but they will also support Twidale's own development of new interfaces that include visualizations of search. Najmuddin Shaik, a PhD student in Educational Psychology who previously has worked on evaluations of the Museum Educational Site Licensing (MESL) project, has begun designing a series of usability tests for the DLI Iodyne client. The aim of this study is to do a close task analysis of the search process in Iodyne in order to produce a new mock interface that explicitly represents typical search paths in the system. Team members developed preliminary drafts of user survey instruments that will provide summative data on the extent and nature of testbed use, the level of user satisfaction with the system, and reasons for use and nonuse. The complexities of developing a reliable survey instrument for a system that is in flux and designing survey delivery mechanisms that will encourage response are proving challenging. Finally, Social Science Team members continue work on their studies of work practices and the changing nature of digital information infrastructure. These include research on the use of document components, the organization of office workspaces, the manner in which people deal with new computer-based information systems, and information convergence. March to May, 1997Over the winter our team focused on system design, testbed usage evaluation, and the conduct of research aimed at producing new insights into the intersection of digital infrastructure with scientific and engineering work and communication. Team members became heavily involved in the early phase of design and implementation for our web client. They also began producing more detailed analyses of registration and transaction log data. A study of the work and information practices of an engineering workgroup was launched, a preliminary analysis of data on the use of document structure was completed, and a study of office classification practices continued. The Social Science Team also continued its efforts to foster the emerging research community in the social informatics of DLs through presentations, publications, and planning for the production of a monograph devoted to human-centered design and analysis of DLs. Specifically, we have all collaborated on design and instrumentation of the new web client. A focus group with science and engineering librarians provided suggestions for design as well as deployment. Librarians contributed ideas about how to enhance use of the web client through improved functionality and interface design, marketing, user instruction and support, and increased involvement of librarians in the design and implementation process. The Social Science Team began meeting on a weekly basis with web client designers. Cece Merkel and Bob Sandusky have also been working on transaction log analysis and reporting of usage data produced by the custom clients registration and transaction logging procedures. The usage data reveal such things as the field and career level of testbed users, the number of searches performed by patrons in different fields, the frequency of log-ins per user, and the number of transactions per search session. In addition, the in-depth analysis of individual sessions was begun. Our presentation at the partner's workshop this spring has more information. Laura Neumann conducted interviews with a research group in mechanical and industrial engineering and began observing their work practices. This study will contribute to understanding work and information practices and will lead to further development of the concepts of information convergence and floating information. Ann Bishop began work on a study of how researchers use the individual components of journal articles. This study will seek insights into the nature of document disaggregation as well as produce data on usage of DLI testbed capabilities related to searching and viewing, via SGML, the individual components of journal articles. Social Science Team members continued their efforts to foster a research community focused on human-centered studies of information systems. One significant contribution in this area was Leigh Stars service as co-organizer, with Rob Kling, of the Social and Organizational Section for an NSF Workshop on Human Centered Computing and Intelligent Systems held in February, 1997. As a culmination of the Allerton Institutes, Ann Bishop is working with Barbara Buttenfield (from UC Santa Barbaras DLI project) and Nancy Van House (from Berkeleys DLI project) to publish an edited volume devoted to human-centered design and analysis of DLs. Authors will be solicited, primarily from Allerton participants, to write chapters (1) serving as case studies of particular DL user needs and evaluation projects, (2) describing relevant theories and methods for human-centered DL analysis, and (3) discussing important social, political, and management issues related to DL design and evaluation. Ann Bishop participated in a grantees workshop sponsored by NSFs Information Technology and Organizations Program. The goal of the workshop, held in Arlington, VA on April 18-20, 1997, was to build on the cross-fertilization of research in ITO and help plan for the future of ITO-related research initiatives. Laura Neumann, Geoffrey Bowker, and Leigh Star co- authored a paper entitled "Things Come Together: Information Convergence." It concerns the dynamics of information flows across individual, community, and infrastructural levels. The focus is on the way that processes of getting at some information and becoming a member of a community or a working piece of infrastructure draws along with it other paths of information flow, reinforcement of memberships, and a bolstering up of use. It was submitted to and accepted by the JASIS special issue on social informatics. January to February, 1997So far our team has been concerned with planning the activities of the upcoming year. As mentioned in the Nov- Dec 1996 section, we will be hopefully working with a new group of potential users. We hope to learn about their work habits, computer use, journal use, as well as DLI Testbed use. This project is still in the planning stage. Other things our team hopes to work on are continued interaction with interface designers on the DLI, further analysis of registration and user logs, as well as development of new instrumentation of other interfaces. We are also considering surveying users of the DLI Testbed.
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