For higher education students, learning can happen anytime and anywhere, however not much is known about how students actually conduct research. A User eXperience (UX) approach, which deploys an anthropological lens, has typically focussed on how library users are interacting with space and services. In this paper I will present the findings of an ethnographic study which shifted the traditional focus of UX to understand how students are engaging with the research process. Using participant observation, behavioural maps, student diaries and retrospective interviews, I was provided with unique access that enabled me to capture the behaviours of these students in their own environments. The research examined the practice of undergraduate research both inside and outside the library walls and found that the research process can be influenced by a number of factors including age, experience, work commitments, family, peer, academic and library anxiety. I was acutely aware of my responsibility as a researcher to build trust and honesty with the students. Working so closely with them enabled me to discover patterns in their research behaviour, discuss their approach to research and identify gaps in support. This was collaborative ethnography; as I observed research practice, I was able to provide instant advice to help them improve their research skills. In addition, I have discussed my findings with academic colleagues and together we have been making improvements to undergraduate study skills modules. This paper will discuss how an ethnographic approach has informed my professional practice and ultimately improved how I deliver research skills support to undergraduate students. I will also reflect on the role ethnography can play in empowering librarians to perform a leading research role within their own institutions.

1. Image source: https://flic.kr/p/qHpEnS

2. Overview
• Rationale for this research
• Literature review & methodology
• Professional challenges
• Recommendations and future research
• Reflections on ethnography

3. Rationale
• Primary research requirement: MSc Education & Training
Leadership
• To capture the student voice - very little prior knowledge
of the undergraduate research process
• To advance a prior study on first year undergraduate
research behaviour (Dunne & Sheridan, 2012)
• ‘Library as lab’ - a natural habitat for observing research
behaviour

4. User Experience
web metrics
usability testing
surveys
focus groups
learning analytics
ethnography

5. The Ethnographer
“participates, overtly or covertly, in
people's daily lives for an extended
period of time, watching what
happens, listening to what is said,
and/or asking questions through
informal and formal interviews,
collecting documents and artefacts
- in fact, gathering whatever data
are available to throw light on the
issues that are the emerging focus
of inquiry”
(Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007)

6. Library Anxiety
1. Fear of the library as a place, often
described by its impressive size
2. Not knowing where to find
information, nor how it's organised
3. Lack of self-confidence concerning
how to conduct a search
4. Fear of library staff resulting in an
inability to ask for help
5. Feeling like they're the only one not
to understand how the library works
6. Feeling of paralysis when starting an
information search
Source: Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, A. Jiao,
Q. and Bostick, S. 2004 . Library Anxiety:
Theory, Research, and Applications

7. The Participants
• 5 final year undergraduate students:
3 Communications + 2 Intercultural Studies
3 Generation X + 2 Millennial
• Recruited through lecture call; follow on emails &
flyers
• Incentivised participation through offer of
dedicated consultation & on the fly advice
• 6 week ethnographic study

8. Methodology
• Study approved by DCU Research Ethics Committee:
students received outline of research, plain language
statement & informed consent
• Data collection:
2 X 1 hour observation sessions
Maintain a student diary
1 X retrospective interview
• Data triangulation: validated by cross referencing
observation data & diary data
• Data analysis: colour coding & assignment of broad themes

10. Emergent Themes
• Time and space for research
• Research behaviour
• Uncertainty about the research process
• Harnessing social media
• Support networks
• Organising research

11. Time & Space
“Finished analysing five articles. Went home
and examined work on bus”

12. Time & Space
“Went for a run – thought about my dissertation and how I
would approach it. Began breaking it down into its
constituent parts”

13. Millennial Student Behavioural Map

14. Generation X Student Behavioural Map

15. Research behaviours
“What I have been doing up till
this point is taking notes as I read.
I mark the page numbers and
either quote or summarize the
passages. I intend to use what I
write as an index of the main
ideas. While taking these notes
I’ve been mindful of writing in an
academic fashion, as I believe I
may be able to cut and paste
some of what I’ve written directly
into my dissertation”
(diary entry - millennial student)
Research Behaviour

16. Extract from my field notes (millennial student)
12.37 Opens article, takes notes in spiral bound notebook
Opens tab containing Word document
Flicks to another tab
12.39 Opens a different tab containing another article, this time
from acadmia.edu. Reads some text from it
Picks up phone to respond to Facebook message
Returns to Word and types text
12.41 Repeats this.
Checks word count and records in notebook
Opens up text book, scans index
Looks up body of text
Continues to flick between index and text.

17. 12.42 Places book back on desk and opens Google
Opens library catalogue and enters search
Moves to Advanced catalogue search
Scans results and opens book record
12.44 Opens tab containing Google Book search
Scans table of contents
12.45 Opens tab with ‘different’ journal article
Scans first page
Returns to Word doc
Flips to Google results tab
Returns to Word doc and types for a minute
12.47 Returns to article
Returns to Word doc and types for another minute
Scrolls through Word doc (finger on screen) this lasts for about a minute

18. Uncertainty about
the Research Process
Lecturer’s Advice
“The research process is non
linear – each step can influence
subsequent and previous steps”
Student’s Reality
“Today I’m starting my
methodology chapter, I’ve no
idea how to do it. I have to get it
done today”

19. Source Evaluation
Millennial Student
“While waiting on articles to load, I begin to examine
other ones I already have open. There is a slight problem
in that I’ve found articles covering [blank] and [blank] and
[blank] but none covering all three”.
Generation X Student
“So it’s looking at the value of things, it’s looking at the
whole thing. It’s not looking at the title and going ‘that
title doesn’t match what I need’. And I think a lot of
people do that, they look at it and go I don’t know, this
isn’t what I’m looking for”

20. Crowdsourcing research advice
“there was one girl who went on [Facebook ] & said: ‘I’m doing
this all wrong’ and eight or nine hours later said ‘I’m doing it this
way anyway’. Even though there was people who said you are
doing it wrong... so you have this kind of rationalisation, they all
picked each other up...I wanted to go on and say just take your
finger out, you still have three days, just do it, you can still
salvage it. But all there was was no, its gonna be ok cos everyone
here has said so”
[Generation X student]

21. Support Networks
“it’s easier to ask classmates
because they’re my peers, we’re in
the same boat. We often share
assignments with one another if
we’re stuck. A gang of us work
together in the same group study
room. That way then we can study
independently but collaborate if we
need advice”
(Generation X student)

22. Organising Research
“Still in the coffee shop, checking
two references on my phone but I
can’t find them. I’m sure I have
written them down somewhere
but I have too many little notes.
I’m so disorganised this semester.
I don’t know what’s going on with
me”
(Generation X student)

23. Key Learning Moments
• Increased student diversity brings new challenges for intercultural
communication: cultural library anxiety means some students avoid
seeking the help they require
• Issues of trust and the co-production of knowledge: as co creators of
data, this was collaborative ethnography
• Ethnographic approach uncovers information difficult to elicit by other
means and complements traditional feedback mechanisms such as The
National Survey of Student Engagement
• Students strongly desire extra supports to teach them research skills

24. Sharing findings with students & staff
(academic; student support;
teaching enhancement)
Longitudinal study
- different disciplines
A study of faculty understanding of
UG research process
A life logging study?
Actions & Future Research

25. Professional Challenges
• Knowing when to wear the most
appropriate hat:
student | participant| observer|librarian
• Capturing genuine research behaviour &
mitigating against participants telling me
what I wanted to hear
• Ensuring participants didn’t feel like
objects of external scrutiny but rather
partners & co producers of data

26. References
• Asher, A., and Miller, S. 2011. So You Want to Do Anthropology in Your Library? or A Practical
Guide to Ethnographic Research in Academic Libraries. [Online] Available from:
http://www.erialproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Toolkit-3.22.11.pdf
• Dunne, S. 2016. How Do They Research? An Ethnographic Study of Final Year Undergraduate
Research Behaviour in an Irish University. New Review of Academic Librarianship. [Online]
Available from:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13614533.2016.1168747#.V1GW1vkrLcs
• Dunne, S. and Sheridan, V. 2012. The bigger picture: undergraduate voices reflecting on
academic transition in an Irish university. Innovations in Education and Teaching
International, 49(3), pp. 237-247. [Online] Available from:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14703297.2012.703019#abstract
• Fried Foster, N. and Gibbons, S. 2007. Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research
Project at the University of Rochester. [Online] Available from:
http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/publications/booksanddigitalresourc
es/digital/Foster-Gibbons_cmpd.pdf
• Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. 2007. Ethnography: principles in practice. London:
Routledge.
• Healey, M. and Jenkins, A. 2009. Developing undergraduate research and inquiry. [Online]
Available from:
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/developingundergraduate_final.pdf
• Lanclos, D. 2015. Ethnographic Techniques and New Visions for Libraries, in Library Analytics
and Metrics: Using Data to Drive Decisions and Services. Ed. Ben Showers. London: Facet
Publishing, pp. 96-107.
• Priestner, A. and Borg, M. 2016. User Experience in Libraries: Applying Ethnography and User
Centred Design. London: Routledge.

27. Questions?
siobhan.dunne@dcu.ie
@dunnesiobhan