Not everything a library wants to know is available via web-scale analytics tools such as Google Analytics. Often, custom instrumentation and logging are the best way to answer usability and analytics questions, and can offer better protections for patron privacy as well.
Maybe you’ve heard of or lived with a roommate who never washed the dishes, who talked loudly on the phone late into the night or who stiffed you on rent. Not fun. Bias in our research isn’t fun either. It distorts the nature of the data we collect, analyze and share.
Tiny Studies will feature informal notes and insights from research projects in progress throughout the University Library. This will be a focused place to consider how our individual inquiries contribute to the conceptualization of our organization as a whole. Posts by diverse authors will explore the connections in our work, especially during those ephemeral moments of growth or reflection, when whole new constellations emerge in our understanding of the library.