Kirsten Kinsley

Everything Old is New Again: The Criminology/Criminal Justice Freshman Research Seminar

This is a report of an action-research project undertaken in tandem with the development of a new freshman seminar in criminology and criminal justice. In the freshman seminar the goal is to teach the research, critical thinking and writing skills that are the underpinnings of scholarship and good citizenship. Utilizing a unique approach, this class focuses on resources available through the University library and is taught by a professor, two librarians and a graduate teaching assistant. We hypothesize that freshmen who experience this seminar will show improvement in critical thinking skills, and that this will contribute to greater levels of academic success. This report describes the educational innovation (seminar) in sufficient detail to make replication possible, and presents preliminary findings that indicate the seminar enhances research and writing skills, fosters ability to think critically, and has a positive influence on students’ academic careers.

Academic libraries – measuring up: assessment and collaboration for student success

Purpose – This paper aims to describe how the Florida State University Libraries used assessment data with other campus partners to gain funding and resources for new initiatives. When general funding sources were threatened, alternative funding sources from these campus partners were used to jump‐start new initiatives designed to enhance student success.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a case study of how assessment data fueled the creation of a new late‐night peer‐tutoring program at the Florida State University Libraries. The three main data conduits that inspired a new tutoring program were: an ethnographic study of undergraduate students, undergraduate courses with high failure/high enrolment/high drop rates, and an environmental scan of existing campus tutoring.Findings – Sharing assessment data with key partners can leverage funding and resources for new initiatives.Social implications – In hard budgetary times, opportunities for funding and resources may arise when shared values between...

Stories From the Stacks: Students Lost in the Labyrinth

Research shows that academic libraries can be difficult to navigate and that students are often frustrated with not being able to find the right materials. This current study attempts to identify access barriers in FSUs Strozier Library by assessing the effectiveness of signs and directories, as well as wayfinding patterns of both undergraduate and graduate students. Two different assessments are implemented: a directory survey and a tally of the directional questions received at multiple help desks. Results show that the majority of students prefer to speak with a human being when attempting to locate something in the library; however, the directories are seen as helpful. The results have immediate implications on staffing practices and directory design. Future research is discussed as FSU continues to assess access and wayfinding and the cognitive process of students as they navigate the library building.

Graduate Conversations: Assessing the Space Needs of Graduate Students

This article discusses the preferences, habits, and needs of graduate students as they relate to spaces for research and study. The findings are based on a large-scale ethnographic study of graduate students at Florida State University conducted between 2010 and 2013. Using a variety of ethnographic methods, researchers found that graduate students have diverse needs and unequal access to appropriate spaces and resources to meet those needs. Libraries can help fill the gaps left by home and academic departments by providing a range of spaces offering different noise levels, resources, and other amenities.

GoPro as an Ethnographic Tool: A Wayfinding Study in an Academic Library.

ABSTRACT In this study, researchers sought to capture students’ authentic experience of finding books in the main library using a GoPro camera and the think-aloud protocol. The GoPro provided a first-person perspective and was an effective ethnographic tool for observing a students individual experience, while also demonstrating what tools they use to find items. Using the think-aloud protocol, observers could hear students express their internal decisions, thoughts, and feelings about the process. Results confirmed trouble spots in the building and that directories are not typically used and need updating. GoPro footage revealed that there are certain qualities of the help-desk experience that can make a search more or less successful. No major sex differences were found in preference of wayfinding tools and behaviors, except that males appear to have used directories marginally more than females. In a debriefing survey, students still affirmed human help and online maps as the most useful wayfinding tools and advocated for better signage. Mapping of behaviors by floor also validated GoPro observations. At low cost to the library, the GoPro/think-aloud combination along with survey and mapping methodologies affirmed trouble spots in the building and provided suggestions for wayfinding improvements to library administration.

A research and class model for future library instruction in higher education

Purpose – The purpose of this article was to describe a university library instruction and research model that represents a collaborative effort between faculty, libraries, and the campus reading writing center. It uses rigorous research methods to measure whether the classroom intervention impacts student perceptions and success outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Longitudinal, mixed-methods approach that attempts to measure the outcome of an experimental class that uses precision (exact) matching to control for extraneous variables that impact student success and a survey to measure student perceptions. Findings – Librarians can benefit by collaborating with faculty to learn more rigorous research methods. Precision (exact) matching a control group with an experimental group is time-intensive, but easily replicated. Preliminary results are very promising for both the precision matching and the survey data. It appears that students are able to learn critical thinking, research and writing skills from...

When in Doubt, Go to the Library: The Effect of a Library-Intensive Freshman Research and Writing Seminar on Academic Success

The paper is an extension of a previous study, which examined student perceptions of a unique freshman seminar offered to Criminology and Criminal Justice students at Florida State University. The seminar is characterized by a heavy focus on interactive library sessions in which students learn how to conduct research and write a scholarly paper. The previous article reported on student perceptions of research and writing skills developed in the seminar. This report, using Multivariate Regression and Propensity Score Matching reveals that compared to a carefully constructed comparison group, first time in college students enrolled in the seminar have statistically significantly higher cumulative grade point averages and percentages of graduation within four years. The seminar’s emphasis on the library as a research tool is thought to have contributed to the differences seen on academic outcomes between students who took the seminar and a matched comparison group.

Embracing the Generalized Propensity Score Method: Measuring the Effect of Library Usage on First-Time-In-College Student Academic Success

Abstract Objective – This research focuses on First-Time-in-College (FTIC) student library usage during the first academic year as number of visits (frequency) and length of stay (duration) and how that might affect first-term grade point average (GPA) and first-year retention using the generalized propensity score (GPS). We also want to demonstrate that GPS is a proper tool that researchers in libraries can use to make causal inferences about the effects of library usage on student academic success outcomes in observation studies. Methods – The sample for this study includes 6,380 FTIC students who matriculated in the fall 2014 and fall 2015 semesters at a large southeastern university. Students’ library usage (frequency and duration), background characteristics, and academic records were collected. The Generalized Propensity Score method was used to estimate the effects of frequency and duration of FTIC library visits. This method minimizes self-selection bias and allows researchers to control for demographic, pre-college, and collegiate variables. Four dose-response functions were estimated for each treatment (frequency and duration) and outcome variable (GPA and retention). Results – The estimated dose-response function plots for first-term GPA and first-year retention rate have similar shapes, which initially decrease to the minimum values then gradually increase as the treatment level increases. Specifically, the estimated average first-term GPA is minimized when the FTIC student only visits the library three times or spends one hour in the library during his/her first semester. The threshold for first-year retention occurs when students visit the library 15 times or spend 21 hours in the library during their first semester. After those thresholds, an increase in students’ library usage is related to an increase in their academic success. Conclusions – The generalized propensity score method gives the library researcher a scientifically rigorous methodological means to make causal inferences in an observational study (Imai & van Dyk, 2004). Using this methodological approach demonstrates that increasing library usage is likely to increase FTIC students’ first-term GPA and first-year retention rates past a certain threshold of frequency and duration.