How do you track reference interview data for quality improvement?

1 Why track reference interview data?

Tracking reference interview data can help you assess the quality and consistency of your reference service, identify the strengths and weaknesses of your reference skills, discover the trends and patterns of your patrons' information behavior, and evaluate the impact and value of your reference service. Comparing your performance with standards and best practices can help you understand the effectiveness of your communication, questioning, and searching techniques. Examining queries, sources, and feedback can provide insight into the satisfaction, learning, and outcomes of your patrons.

2 What data to track?

When conducting reference interviews, you can track different types of data depending on your purpose and scope. This data can include demographics like age, gender, education, and affiliation; transactional data like date, time, duration, mode, and location; behavioral data like the topic, question, purpose, and urgency of the patron's information need; interactional data such as rapport, dialogue, instruction, and referral; and outcome data like the answer, source, satisfaction, and follow-up. Collecting this data can help you gain valuable insights into your patrons' experience.

3 How to collect data?

When collecting reference interview data, there are various methods and tools you can use depending on your resources and preferences. Observation is a popular method, where you or someone else can record the reference interview using a checklist, rubric, or rating scale. Alternatively, you could ask patrons to complete a survey after the reference interview, either online or on paper with a questionnaire, Likert scale, or open-ended question. Additionally, you could conduct a follow-up interview with patrons after the reference interview, either face-to-face or by phone. Lastly, you can keep a log of your reference interviews manually or electronically using a spreadsheet, database, or software.

4 How to analyze data?

Analyzing reference interview data requires various techniques and tools, depending on your objectives and questions. Descriptive statistics can be used to summarize and display the data, such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Calculations can be done with a calculator, spreadsheet, or software. Inferential statistics can test and compare the data with correlation, regression, t-test, and ANOVA; these analyses can be conducted using SPSS, R, or SAS software. Qualitative analysis is used to interpret and explain the data through coding, categorizing, and thematic analysis; NVivo, Atlas.ti, or MAXQDA software can be used to facilitate this process.

5 How to report data?

When reporting reference interview data, there are various formats and tools you can use depending on your audience and purpose. Writing a report with a word processor like Word, Google Docs, or LaTeX is a popular choice to present and discuss the data. Alternatively, you could create a presentation with software such as PowerPoint, Keynote, or Prezi to share and explain the data. Or you could build a dashboard with software like Tableau, Excel, or Google Data Studio to visualize and monitor the data.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?