Have you wondered why customers use your library, or more importantly, why they don't? Surveys and other data gathering methods can help you find out, but creating and interpreting them can be difficult. Every four years, the WPLC has surveyed Wisconsin residents to understand more about library users and non-users. This year, the WPLC is taking a different approach - rather than conduct a statewide survey, we're offering a series of webinars to help library staff learn how to gather and interpret data that is meaningful to them.
In conjunction with Joshua Morrill of Morrill Solutions Research, the WPLC and the WPLC User/Non-User Survey Workgroup will offer a series of four, free one-hour webinars to help library staff gather and use data from their local communities in order to broaden and improve library service. Each webinar will cover a different topic, including the development of survey questions, gathering different kinds of information, and understanding data.
Libraries who attend or view these webinars will be invited to submit proposals to receive private and free consultations with Morrill Solutions Research to refine and implement their own research projects and analyze their results. Up to five projects will be selected. A final webinar, available to all library community members, will focus on learning to analyze data, using the data gathered from the selected projects and other available data. All materials developed and data gathered from these projects will be freely shared with the WPLC community, and libraries will be able to use that material to develop their own future survey or research projects.
The webinar dates and topics follow, along with other key dates for the program. Each webinar will be recorded and shared. Anyone interested in submitting a proposal must attend or view all four of these webinars in order to be considered. Registration to attend the live webinar is limited to 40 people per webinar on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Tuesday, April 4 at 2:30 pm: Orientation: Setting Goals and Developing Questions
In this webinar, you’ll be introduced to the WPLC Research Program proposal process and learn how to develop quality research questions.
View the slides or watch the recording.
Tuesday, April 11 at 2:00 pm: Survey Design and Measurement
This webinar will walk through considerations in quantitative approaches to collecting data with an emphasis on survey development and administration.
View the slides or watch the recording.
Tuesday, April 18 at 11:30 am: Qualitative Approaches
This webinar will explore multiple approaches to collecting and effectively using qualitative data.
View the slides or watch the recording.
Tuesday, April 25 at 2:00 pm: Using Other Data
This webinar will explore issues and techniques around analysis of data collected by others. There will also be time to discuss any questions about the WPLC selection process for proposals.
View the slides about the program, view webinar content slides, or watch the recording.
Friday, April 28th: Call for proposals open. See the selection criteria and the proposal guidelines for more information, or find potential partners on the bulletin board.
Friday, May 26: Proposal submission deadline.
Friday, June 9th: Selected proposals notified.
Week of July 3: Selected projects launch.
Friday, September 1: Data collection ends (est.)
Tuesday, September 26, 1:00pm: Data Analysis Webinar with Morrill Solutions Research. View the slides or watch the recording or learn to calculate standard deviation.
Materials from both funded projects can be found at https://www.wplc.info/rpmaterials.
Wednesday, Oct 18, 4:40 - 5:25: The WPLC User / Non-User Research Program: Gathering, Using and Sharing Data at WLA in Wisconsin Dells
-----
Please contact wplc-info@wils.org with any questions.