Research Needs Assessment in a Business Capstone Course

Librarian and Faculty Partnerships

MGT 333I BizBlock Combines management, marketing, and

business communication Student teams create and present a

comprehensive business plan Focuses on applied learning and

teamwork - valuable skills in today's work environment

40-80 students each semester, co-taught by 3 instructors from management, marketing and communication

BizBlock & the Library Business Team

Identified resources needed by students to perform company, industry, market & demographic research

Performed an overview of research via instruction session

Delivered resources via a point-of-need blog timed to syllabus and linked into Vista Course

Blog allows for organization, interactivity & searchability

Professors Mary Bowers & Chris Scherpereel with BizBlock students

The Blog

Assessing What We Did: The Survey Process

Created a survey to assess library support and research needs for students in BizBlock, with Sue Peiper, Coordinator of Assessment at the E-Learning Center

Administered the survey in paper because the class was large and we did not have a computer available for each student

Response rate was 100% (75 students) however, some students did not answer every question

Survey was administered to students in late November a few weeks prior to the end of the Fall 2007 semester

Data was transcribed from paper into the Flashlight survey tool to allow for analysis using Flashlight. Some data was analyzed in Excel

Assessing What We Did: The Survey Process (cont.)

Results of the survey were shared with the BizBlock faculty via a 1 hr meeting, where we discussed implications of the results and next steps

Analysis of the quantitative data (student narratives) was the most time consuming • Required reviewing all the data then going back and trying to

tease out patterns among the data

• Tallied suggestions from all the narratives

• The quantitative data was invaluable and worth the time commitment. Resulted in specific changes to our approach with this class in Spring 2008

Assessing What We Did:The Survey Questions

How often did you use the blog?

If you didn’t use the blog, why not?

How well did the blog align the resources with the assignments in your syllabus?

If asked for assistance from the Business team, how would you rate the Business Team with regards to service and responsiveness?

If you did not ask for assistance from the Business team, why not?

Would you suggest using the blog again with the next class? Why or why not?

Was having access to the blog an advantage for researching your business plan, why or why not?

What improvements, if any would you make to the blog?

What we Learned: The Blog

Use of the Blog

54%41%

5%

Didn't Use Blog

Once a Week or More

1-2 Times per Semester

Number of Resources in Blog

62%

28%

5% 5%

Enough Resources

Too Few Resources

Too Many Resources

No Opinion

Some Surprises- Good & Bad Teams often designated 1-2 of the 4-5 members to

do the research• Instructors found this an enlightening and unexpected result. All

team members are now expected to contribute to the research Students were encouraged to communicate,

comment and share resources via the blog, but they chose not to

Confusion about how to contact the Business Team for help

Faculty reported that the teams that utilized librarian assistance did better on business plans

Student Suggestions

Link Blog posts to parts of the 15 Weeks to a Successful Business Plan map

Instructors should encourage and require students to use the blog

Better marketing and visibility of the Library Business Team

Better integration of the Library Business Team help into class

Faculty Suggestions

That the Library Business Team be on-site for the BizBlock research lab class to assist students at point-of-need and make students aware of Library Business Team assistance

Re-evaluate content resources to ensure best research tools for business program curricular needs• Resulted in obtaining MarketResearch

Academic.com, Hoover’s, & SRDS Online

Changes Implemented for Spring 2008

Linked Blog posts to the 15 Weeks to a Successful Plan map

Arranged for 2 Library Business Team Visits to BizBlock class at key times• Early in Course: Overview of Major Resources

• Peak Project Time: Research Lab-Class period devoted to addressing specific BizBlock team research questions that arose after initial research

Ample Contact Information for Business Team shared for student follow-up

15 Week Plan linked to Blog

Early Anecdotal Feedback: Spring 2008 Students appreciated the research lab and

opportunity to ask questions after doing some initial research• End of Spring 2008 the Library Business Team will

conduct a follow-up Spring Survey to assess the changes implemented as a result of the Fall 2007 Survey

Based on student feedback, the Library Business Team will continue to assess Library resources and services for the BizBlock course

Questions? Please Contact Us

Tina Adams & Sandra LahtinenCline Library Business TeamLibrary.Business@nau.edu928-523-6849

Mary BowersSenior Lecturer, ManagementMary.Bowers@nau.edu928-523-7359

Jennifer Mitchell

Lecturer of Marketing

Jennifer.Mitchell@nau.edu

928-523-8524