Aaron L. Brenner

Using participatory design and visual narrative inquiry to investigate researchers’ data challenges and recommendations for library research data services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an information gathering study on users’ research data-related challenges and proposals for library research data services (RDS). This study probes how early career researchers visually conceptualize the research process in their disciplines, their self-reported research data challenges, and their recommendations for library RDS. Design/methodology/approach – Two focus group sessions were undertaken with a total of eight early career researchers. Adopting the visual narrative inquiry method, the participants were asked to sketch the general research process in their domain. The individuals’ illustrations of the research process were then used as the basis for reflecting on their data-related needs and potential RDS that would assist them during the research process. Findings – Participants presented a research process that was more personal and, in most cases, more imperfect than the research lifecycle models that academic libraries are increasingly usin...

Storytelling in an automated environment: Using metadata analysis to develop curated guides to a digital image collection

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to report the results of a project incorporating metadata analysis for the creation of curated guides to a digital library of historic photographic images.Design/methodology/approach – The general format and scope of the curated guides was determined by members of the project team. Automated processing was developed to analyze subject terms in metadata of digital images submitted to the digital library collection. The results of the metadata processing were used to narrow the themes of the curated guides, and to help create canned searches that would expose representative collection content. The curated guides were created and made available to users of the digital image collection.Findings – Processing and analyzing metadata can be a useful tool in the creation of digital library collection guides. However, the usefulness of this method is highly dependent upon consistency and accuracy of the source metadata records.Practical implications – Creators of digital libra...