Navigating Statistical Challenges in Institutional Research
Discover the importance of statistical reporting, assessment, and accountability in academic libraries, as well as explore the impact of national reporting and campus requests. Dive deep into the value of statistics and assessments for the institution's strategic direction.
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Presentation Transcript
Conquering the Statistical Landscape One Institution s Approach
Statistical Reporting 363 Days a Year Charlie Sicignano Head of Technical Services Ingram Library, University of West Georgia charlie@westga.edu
Why should we care about statistics? Assessment is always a buzzword SACS (sacs.org)- UWG s most recent on site visit was in April 2014 Southern Association of Institutional Research (sair.org) Funding & grant implications
Recent Literature Association of College and Research Libraries. Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report. Researched by Megan Oakleaf. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2010. Albert, A. (2014). Communicating Library Value The Missing Piece of the Assessment Puzzle. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 40(6), 634-637. Dole, W. (2013). Strategic Planning and Assessment: Pigs of the Same Sow? Journal of Library Administration, 53(4), 283-292. Hiller, S., Kyrillidou, M. & Self, J. (2008). When the evidence is not enough. Performance Measurement and Metrics, 9(3), 223-230. Stewart, C. (2011). An Overview of ACRLMetrics. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 37(1), 73-76. Spindler, T. (2009). Statistical Analysis Models: Applications for Libraries. Library Leadership & Management, 23(1), 12-16. Stewart, C. (2012). An Overview of ACRLMetrics, Part II: Using NCES and IPEDs Data. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 38(6), 342-345.
What should assessment provide? Accountability Transparency Measurement of the institution s strategic direction Trust between library faculty and campus administration Proactive metrics & assessment
We need to get away from the face value view of statistics and dig deeper into what we are doing, why we are doing it and ask ourselves if it is really providing a useful measurement. Are we making an argument in favor of ourselves as to the value we offer the institution?
Campus Requests University Fact Book Common Data Set Peterson Survey Internal campus audits
National Reporting National Center for Educational Statistics - Academic Library Survey Association of College and Research Libraries Association of Research Libraries How will all of this be affected by IPEDS?
Statistical Reporting: An Administrative Perspective Julie Dobbs Administrative Manager Ingram Library, University of West Georgia jdobbs@westga.edu
The Painful History of Statistics Reporting Extracting statistics from several individuals Recalculating statistics every year The struggle to meet deadlines Transition from paper to computer
Timelines of Statistical Reporting Fiscal, Semester, and Calendar Year Reporting Annual Reports ACRL, ARL, IPEDS, Factbook, CDS, etc. Sporadic Reports Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Kennesaw, etc.
Importance of statistics to library and campus Student Success Grants Campus Allocations Assessment Accreditation
Statistics Tracking in Excel Melissa Farley Serials Associate Ingram Library, University of West Georgia mfarley@westga.edu
Statistics Excel File2 Types of Sheets Statistics Inputting Sheets Survey Compilation Sheets Acquisitions Circulation ACRL Government Documents IPEDS (ALS) Common Data Set Instructional Services Your university s Factbook Interlibrary Loan Special Collections Administration Library Expenditures Online Collections
Creating Statistics Inputting Sheets Determine which statistics need to be tracked by reviewing surveys and consulting with statistics reporters 1. Create each statistics inputting sheet to reflect exact statistics required 2. Include a row for each statistic, and monthly inputting cells At the end of each row, include a total cell Each sheet can be customized according to departmental needs 3. Style colors, fonts Content Notes and statistics not needed for survey questions Examples of Statistics Inputting Sheets
Survey Compilation Sheets The statistics committee determines the method to answer each survey question, meeting with other library and university personnel as necessary. 1. Example: ACRL question 7A Library Expenditures: One-time Resource Purchases Includes: Expenditures for Monographs, Audiovisual materials, Microforms, One-time electronic resources, and any other materials Create links on the survey sheet to automatically calculate the survey answer from all relevant statistics inputting sheets 2. Place cursor in cell, and type = Click each cell with the relevant statistics, typing + in between each one Hit enter to finish formula Example of resulting formula: ='Library Expenditures'!C8+'Library Expenditures'!C10+'Library Expenditures'!C11+'Library Expenditures'!C12+'Library Expenditures'!F9 Examples of Survey Compilation Sheets
Automatically Calculating ACRL Question 7
='Library Expenditures'!C8+'Library Expenditures'!C10+'Library Expenditures'!C11+'Library Expenditures'!C12+'Library Expenditures'!F9
='Library Expenditures'!C8+'Library Expenditures'!C10+'Library Expenditures'!C11+'Library Expenditures'!C12+'Library Expenditures'!F9
='Library Expenditures'!C8+'Library Expenditures'!C10+'Library Expenditures'!C11+'Library Expenditures'!C12+'Library Expenditures'!F9
='Library Expenditures'!C9+'Library Expenditures'!F7+'Library Expenditures'!F8+'Library Expenditures'!F10
='Library Expenditures'!C9+'Library Expenditures'!F7+'Library Expenditures'!F8+'Library Expenditures'!F10
='Library Expenditures'!C9+'Library Expenditures'!F7+'Library Expenditures'!F8+'Library Expenditures'!F10
='Library Expenditures'!C18+'Library Expenditures'!C22+'Library Expenditures'!C19+'Library Expenditures'!C20+'Library Expenditures'!F15+'Library Expenditures'!F13
='Library Expenditures'!C18+'Library Expenditures'!C22+'Library Expenditures'!C19+'Library Expenditures'!C20+'Library Expenditures'!F15+'Library Expenditures'!F13
='Library Expenditures'!C18+'Library Expenditures'!C22+'Library Expenditures'!C19+'Library Expenditures'!C20+'Library Expenditures'!F15+'Library Expenditures'!F13
Adding Administrative Presentation Statistics to Instructional Services Statistics
Statistics from Instructional Services to ACRL Questions 14 and 15
Demonstrations: Compilation Survey Formulas Locking the Sheets to prevent editing
Statistical Reporting in Voyager Miriam C. Nauenburg Serials & Electronic Resources Cataloger Ingram Library, University of West Georgia nauen@westga.edu
Counting in Voyager Access Reports Preliminary work what to exclude Suppressed records (bibs and MFHDs) Certain locations or item types Lost/missing items Unbarcoded items Catalog structure/past practice Are there multiple MFHDs on bibs in certain locations? Are missing/lost items noted in Voyager?
Totals Queries Used for statistical queries Counts some or all of the records returned by a query Count bibs and MFHDs Sum item pieces Use WHERE clause(s) to specify criteria Use GROUP BY to display results
BLOB Queries Use BLOBs to find fields or subfields in Voyager bibs, authorities, and MFHDs that are not indexed in Voyager Access Reports Examples: 049, 866, 852$z, 852$x BLOBs are slow: approximately one hour per 100K records Always run BLOB queries on data subsets (e.g., a table or query of all items in a particular location) Avoid placing a criterion on a BLOB query, as it will search every MARC record in your database
Excluding Lost Items From Counts: Subquery
Excluding Lost Items From Counts: Main Query Example: title count for items in BM call number range
Overview of Counting Process Preliminary work 1. Create a table of bib IDs, MFHD IDs, and item IDs in the location(s) to be counted Exclude missing items and suppressed bibs Volume count 2. Count the items in the table from step 1 Title count 3. Group the bib IDs in the table from step 1 The number of records returned by this query is your title count Grouping by BIB_ID prevents bib overcount if >1 MFHD attached to bib
Step 2: Volume Count Table from Step 1
Microform: Number of Titles, Pieces Similar process as before, with two exceptions: In step 1, include ITEM.PIECES value in table Sum on PIECES to get sheet or roll count Will only work if the number of sheets or rolls has been entered in the "Pieces" field of item record If not, one option is to use a blob query to retrieve 533 $e subfield: GetSubField(GetFieldRaw(GetBIBBLOB([YOUR_MICROFORM_ TABLE.BIB_ID]),"533",1),"e",1)
Ebooks: Number of Titles This is the simplest count we do No item records One MFHD per bib Use MFHD_MASTER table and turn on totals Count on MFHD_ID WHERE clause on CREATE_DATE and LOCATION
Ebooks: Number of Titles (Query)
Audiovisual Materials: Local Cataloging Practice Use Bib 049 codes to distinguish AV formats. Examples: GWCA [Cass.] GWCA [Video][Cass.] GWCA [Slides] GWCA [Film] Many audiovisual items are distinguished by item type rather than location
Audiovisual Material: Counting by Format Type This practice can cause challenges in Voyager reporting system 049 field not indexed in Voyager Access Reports Solution: Use blob query to create table of 049 codes by location Searching for phrases in square brackets can be problematic, as these are reserved operators in Access
