Reference service in a digital environment:

An Exploratory Case Study

- Dissertation Proposal -

Elisa Minardi

MA/MSc Information StudiesUniversity of Northumbria

Parma, 11 / 10 / 2002

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CONTENTSIntroduction

p. 4Aims and Objectives p. 6

Aims p. 6Objectives p. 7

Research questions p. 8Background p. 9

The scenario p. 9Digital Reference Service: a brief history p. 9

What’s new in Italy? p. 11

Methodology p. 15Case focus p. 15Qualitative vs. quantitative p. 16

The case study method p. 17

Advantages of case study research p. 18

Limitations of case study research p. 19

The exploratory case study p. 19

Methodological triangulation p. 20

Suggested analysis p. 22The focus groups p. 22The questionnairep. 23The interviews p. 25

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Planning p. 26Data analysis p. 28Anticipates outputs p. 29Limitations p. 30

Bibliography p. 31

Appendices p. 40(A) TIME PLAN OF RESEARCH PROJECT p. 41

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INTRODUCTION The purposes of this research project are two-fold:

To raise awareness within the university community of the potential value of digital reference service in the user service framework.

To provide information to assist library decision makers in effective delivery of reference service within the digital environment.

Access to library collections is becoming more and more complex as libraries supplement their books, journals, and print indexes with resources in various electronic formats including databases accessed through the Internet and electronic full-text sources.According to Harvey Sager (1995):

It would not be an exaggeration to say that technology has validated BI [bibliographic instruction] as an essential library mission, and revolutionized the “what”, the “way”, and the “why” we think about, write about, and deliver bibliographic instruction to our user populations (p.51).

While the author refers to “emerging technologies” such as computer databases, CD-ROMs, and so on – which require instruction because they differ both from the older forms of library resources and from each other and he indicates that it is the technology that increases the need for and validates the instruction – the same statement may be related to the nowadays situation of reference service, particularly in academic libraries.In their landmark paper, Ferguson and Bunge (1997) lay the conceptual foundation for change in the delivery of reference services. They assert that the evolution of the digital library must include:

The metamorphosis of the library's core user services, particularly reference and instruction, in ways that enable delivery over the network in order to achieve a high degree of user independence, anywhere the network goes and at any time the user chooses.

There is no doubt that the library user will benefit as the services are expanded to include among other technological innovations. The services expanded beyond the walls of the library and its physical collection, the new forms of instructional media will be potentially useful to academic reference librarians for different reason. First of all, because there are more and more students requiring a general, basic instruction that overcome the librarians’ ability to provide these information with lecture or demonstration classes or face-to-face at the reference desk. Secondly, because printed materials such a workbooks or manuals are expensive and time-consuming to edit. Finally, because teaching many classes repeatedly, and in the basic forms of research instruction may cause loss of interest and enthusiasm, and fatigue for the staff. Developing other forms of reference should be done to save time, both for students and librarians, to provide consistent instruction, and to reduce stress.

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Understanding the reference service in digital environments would make important theoretical and pragmatic contributions toward information services design and operation. The proposed exploratory case study aims to gain such knowledge.

The overall structure of this research project can be summarized as follow :

The definition of reference service and information literacy in general.

A comprehensive description of the University of Parma Faculty of Law structure, organization and services.

The investigation on how reference service is delivered and organized at the University of Parma Faculty of Law.

The exploration of the users demand, needs and requests in regard to the reference service.

The exploration of the librarian’s behavior, thoughts and desires in regard to the reference service.

The investigation of benefits and barriers in delivering reference service, and the obstacles and limitations of existing reference service.

The most important goal of this study is to maintain the dialogue about the reference service and to examine some of the ways in which this service might be improved. This study attempts to provide evidence of the necessity of digital reference service at the University of Parma Faculty of Law. One possible outcome of this project is that digital reference will become more relevant to the University of Parma librarians and decision makers.

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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

AIMS

The aims are developed to describe and reach a further understanding of digital reference service at the University of Parma Faculty of Law.Given the lack of information about the use of the digital reference in the University of Parma Faculty of Law, it was decided to carry out a specific investigation.

The research aims to:

Verify what is the reference service delivered at the University of Parma Faculty of Law.

Establish if the University of Parma Faculty of Law employs some kind of digital reference service.

Establish how the University of Parma Faculty of Law uses the digital reference service.

Establish if a real-time reference service is advantageous in the University of Parma Faculty of Law.

Provide evidence of the necessity of digital reference service at the University of Parma Faculty of Law

Identify issues requiring further investigation.

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OBJECTIVES

The following objectives have been designed to enable the achievement of the research aims.

To investigate how and under what circumstances reference user-intermediary interactions occur.

To determine the nature of digital reference service available at the University of Parma Faculty of Law.

To survey Faculty of Law stakeholders and determine the current situation in respect of the digital reference service.

To describe and analyze the data on whom uses the service, when, and why.

To evaluate current practice in the use of digital reference service.

To suggest approaches which may be useful in the establishment of a permanent service.

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Considering stakeholders’ perspectives, the study will be guided by the following questions:

1. What kind of support users need?

2. How the library responds to those needs?

3. Does users understand and know the reference service?

4. What kind of reference service the University of Parma Faculty of Law offers today?

5. What are the obstacles and the limitations of the existing reference service at University of Parma Faculty of Law?

6. Is there some kind of digital reference at University of Parma Faculty of Law?

7. How the existing reference service can be improved?

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BACKGROUND

The scenario

A new information-seeking scenario has been created with the pervasive use of the Internet: users from remote locations have direct access to information resources and human expertise (Barcellos, 2000).The dramatic increase in accessing information resources due to the World Wide Web, the lack of organization of information resources on the Internet, the inadequacy of search engines, the difficult database interfaces and networked full-text periodical databases have revolutionized and have given a new dimension to the library reference services. Although users in this situation feel empowered in their ability to access information, many of them may experience inefficiency in their search activities and uncertainty in the quality of the retrieved resource (Vishik, 1999).In that electronic and digital environment, intermediaries play an important role in helping users with their information-seeking activities. As with many organizations that have established an Internet presence, libraries are becoming an increasingly visible presence on the Internet, with many launching Web sites. Traditionally, human intermediation occurs in a face-to-face mode where users express their information problems (or what they know about them) to intermediaries. Libraries are currently exploring ways in which to expand their services by interacting with users and responding to inquiries via the Internet (Wasik, 1998). The Internet-based information delivery is an effective and cost-efficient alternative to traditional communication methods.

Digital Reference Service: a brief history

Digital or electronic reference has been mentioned in the library literature since the 1980s (Wiese and Borgendale, 1986). According to McClure and Lankes (2001), digital reference is defined as human-intermediate assistance offered to users through the Internet. In other words electronic reference is considered any type of reference service designed for remote users and linked to a specific site on the library’s Web site. Digital or virtual reference includes several types of reference service ranging from e-mail, chat, e-commerce Web contact center software, to videoconferencing services.The origins of digital reference can be traced to the library field, where libraries sought to augment traditional services by providing reference assistance in an electronic environment.

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Analysis of professional literature reveal that academic libraries have been the first institutions to provide digital reference services and that these services began in the early 1980s. One of the first services to go online was the Electronic Access to Reference Service (EARS), launched by the University of Maryland Health Services Library in Baltimore in 1984 (Wiese and Borgendale, 1986). Since that time, the number of academic and public libraries offering email reference has continued to grow making email the most common vehicle to provide digital reference services.

Interest in "digital" reference is exploding, as evidenced by the proliferation of discussion groups, conferences, reports, and articles.

Professional literature demonstrates the increasing interest in exploring benefits of and barriers in delivering reference service by electronic devices.

Advances in technology have been the main impetus for electronic reference service that provides the users with access to a knowledgeable librarian at the user’s convenience rather than just during hours when the reference desk is open.

Although initial e-mail-based digital reference efforts received little attention from patrons (Still and Campbell, 1993), digital reference services proliferated over time and became increasingly popular, eventually spawning such internationally-known services as AskERIC in 1992 and the Internet Public Library in 1995.A growing number of libraries are offering this service, and professional literature reflects the popularity of the topic. During the past several years, digital reference services have become important and effective resources for meeting the information needs of thousands of users, and the number of user requesting these services has continually increased.There are dozens of projects described in the reference literature, and each demonstrates experimentation with new technology-based strategies for general or introductory bibliographic instruction (Bartle, 1999; Boyer, 2001; Clark, 1997; Cullen and Huanwen, 1999; Frank, 1998; Stormont, 2001; Kibbee et al. 2002; Wasik, 1999; Yue, 2000).Despite this trend, a lack of knowledge still exists concerning the effectiveness of this medium. The success rate of these services, measured by the number of people who use them, ranges from low, as in the case of academic libraries’ digital reference services (Schilling-Eccles & Harzbecker, 1998) to high, as in the case of the growing demand for AskA services (Lankes, 1998). Although it appears that discussion and experimentation within library services in the digital realm has begun there are still many issues, both practical and theoretical, that must be addressed

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What’s new in Italy?

It is important to note that the greater part of the Italian library and librarianship history has been influenced by the nineteenth-century culture, more concerned to the history of the book and its preservation. Historically the library was a place for erudite and researchers (Aghemo, 1992). After the second world war the attention in Europe was concentrated on the cataloguing, while in America, as early as 1883, the Boston Public Library created the first full time workplace for a reference librarian, and in 1891 the Library Journal first adopted the term reference work in its index (Galvin, 1978; Martinucci, 1983). Although the admiration for the Anglo-American library organization, the professional library environment in Italy remains the same. The first step in taken order to partially adapt the Italian situation to the European level was the conception of reading room that was addressed to erudite and researchers and not to the common readers (Del Bono, 1992). Between 1970 and the 1980 begun the professional debate in Italian librarianship field. Fundamental reference works like Totok-Weitzel is translated. In 1985 Giovanni Solimine analyses and discusses on the user service (Solimine, 1985); in the same year a symposium is held in Florence at the Marucelliana Library concerning reference service (Candalese, 1986). In 1990 Agemo emphasizes the strong difference between United State of America and Italy on reference service because of different historical culture.Pensato in 1991 asserts that:

Italy is the only one in Europe that creates reserved rooms while in America these rooms are born as function of an appropriate service

In the paper Dallo scaffale aperto alla biblioteca elettronica, presented at the convention held in Cagliari in November 1996, Alberto Petrucciani noted that the most serious delay of Italian librarianship it has been overwhelmed only with words but without make significant organizational choices (Petrucciani, 1997).In its article Il reference librarian nel contesto multimediale, issue in Biblioteche Oggi, July 1998, Aghemo noted that the new technologies have changed the reference scenario. In particular the multimedia documents represent a challenge for the reference librarian in regard to the organization, the delivery and the evaluation of sources (Aghemo, 1998).The debate on digital reference that, since 1990s, was dominant in the Anglo-Saxon professional literature has arrived to Italy but only in the second half of 2000, strongly characterized by the concern that libraries can lose users to advantage of the e-commerce service.

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In particular, the topics of the on-line reference services and the use of technologies ICT in the libraries are predominant in the relations of conventions and seminaries of the last years, among which for instance, the Convention Comunicare la biblioteca (Milan, 15-16 March 2001). Specifically, the contribution of Elena Boretti presents an overview of non-Italian experiences such as AskJeeves and Webhelp, or The Internet Public Library and Virtual Reference desk (Boretti, 2001).

Additional and more specific convention about the Reference service in the digital era is that one held in Bologna (30th November – 1st December 2000) in which several Italian librarians presented the different aspect of the digital reference service in Italy. The aspiration of the Bologna convention was to make a point on the Italian situation, to point out old and new problems and to identify the future scenarios of libraries.Annamaria Tammaro has prefigured the future of the reference librarian that has to quickly become a "Virtual Librarian". According to Tammaro the library is not only and exclusively "a physical" place but the librarian role is being a virtual librarians in contact whit remote users. She also suggest that copying models that badly could be adapted to the Italian existing realty is not effective. Yet it is necessary to consider "the other" in order to understand, through the comparison, who we are and where we want to go, and above all with which means. As noted by Tammaro, the traditional services should be much more self-service, and much more user services through computers should be enhanced. The model to which the Italian reference librarian needs to inspire itself is the service "Ask to librarian" used in the major Anglo-Saxon libraries. In some of these libraries the librarians are in contact whit the users not only via telephone or email, but also through videoconferencing, in order to safeguard the "Human Touch" that has always characterized library profession (Tammaro, 2001).Sonia Minetto agrees with Tammaro on the future libraries in which there will be much more remote and virtual customers. She suggest that because of the new technologies there are new forms of reference and it is essential to integrate the resources already existing with the new planning realties (Minetto, 2001).Manuela D'Urso spoke about the Ask a Librarian at University of Trento Library, that is one of few examples in Italy of digital reference service. She showed the project under several aspect: organizational, staff training, locations, tools and publicity (D’Urso, 2001).Launched in the 2000, the service was born and developed in order to satisfy the users needs and the information requests. A survey carried out in 1999 has shown the users problems in interacting with the catalogue and with the data. The aim of this service is therefore to educate the library users to better utilize the library resources. The United States are the model for reference service. On the library Web site there is a specific link to this service. The service was publicized through the leaflets and through an article appeared on the review of the University of Trento.

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Another interesting contribution was the one presented by Anna Galluzzi about the evaluation of the reference service. After a brief historical overview on the reference service, she analyzed the methodologies and the tools by which the service can be evaluated (Galluzzi, 2001). While Paola Gargiulo spoke about the training of the today reference librarian in making comparison with the Anglo-American contest. Gargiulo noted that before establishing courses for the reference staff, it necessary to recognize the information needs, the aims and the objectives, and primarily it is essential to know deeply the library mission. Paola Gargiulo moved the debate focus on the gap existing between the Italian and the much more advanced Anglo-Saxons realities. She underlined that it’s imperative to think in a different manner and to go on by phases. The Italian scenario is completely untouched and therefore there are different choices to begin with (Gargiulo, 2001).During the afternoon session Elena Borretti suggested that is crucial to adapt the libraries to changes and that is imperative to drive libraries to the users and not the users in the libraries. Finally, a significant contribution was the one of Tarantino who asserted that the reference service is the library itself! At the beginning Tarantino analyses and discusses the traditional reference service, in other word he examines the fundamental steps and activities of reference service such as the face-to-face interview, the models of question that the reference librarian can ask and so on. Later on Tarantino noted how the traditional role of reference librarian is evolving in the new environment because of the new technologies. He analyses the several forms by which nowadays the reference service takes place, from e-mail reference service to videoconferencing and so on. Tarantino also talk about the staff training, and the evaluation and monitoring of the service. For the author it is necessary, however, that users will be considered the center of the reference work also by organizing courses in order to help them to better locate, access and evaluate the resources (Tarantino, 2001)About the Italian situation on electronic reference service in comparison with other European and American realities is interesting the complete and accurate article of Brunella Longo issue in Biblioteche Oggi in April 2001. Longo noted that between 1999 and 2000, also in Italy, there has been the definitive affirmation of Internet and the access of information topic has begun to being faced also in its social and cultural aspects. The Italian librarians have begun to promote the topic of reference on-line. In October 2000 the first edition of the course “Reference on line in the public library” has had place. Tanks to Panta Rei, and a second edition were held in March. With her contribution the author intended to make a general map of topics, data and reflections used in the planning of formation courses on the reference services and the Internet for librarians.Because, in Italy do not exist data and official statistics on the penetration of Internet in library neither searches nor surveys on local base, the data and statistics of Longo’s study was collected by using the survey via web (Longo 2001).The first section of the survey, realized between July 2000 and January 2001, was dedicated to the topic Internet in library mainly in order to obtain more quantitative than qualitative indications about the availability of access to

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Internet for the users in libraries. The 90% of participants have answered that the users have access to the Internet but not since long time and few PC station are at disposition.The Longo’s survey clearly shows that it was necessary firstly to solve practice and managerial problems, concentrating much more on the “how” to introduce the service that on the user demand. On the other hand Longo underlined that, tanks to the new resources of information and new technologies in libraries, there is a new attention for the reference service (p. 49).The same meaning of the information services has assumed one more Anglo-Saxon shading, more careful to the user needs and the answers and less to the products or the software.The author emphasizes that today in Italy a new dimension and attitude have emerged, that allows exceeding the limited conception of the reference service as the support on use of catalogues. With the new technologies also grow, the helpfulness the curiosity and the librarian interest to listen, to interpret, to formalize, to satisfy and to share the user needs. (p. 50) Recently another more specific convention about the Changes in the reference service during the information digital era was held in Rome (16th October 2002). In this convention several Italian librarians discussed the changes that have took place during the last years in the Italian libraries and information centers in the reference service. The discussion focused on the new services activated and how the traditional reference service was modified after the diffusion of Internet access, after the increase of digital text, and the promotion and the evaluation of reference service.Eugenio Pelizzari, director of the Library of Economics and Law at the University of Brescia, presented a significant relation about the digital reference started in his library. He described not only the reasons that promoted the activation of this service, but he also submitted statistical data after one year.The prevalent reasons to launch the Ask a Librarian service, activated on September 1st 2001, were the necessity to offer adequate answers to the users’ information needs and the lack of professional staff at the front office.Human intermediaries evaluate incoming questions via a Web interface. In addition to answer questions, experts may also provide users with referrals to other on-line and printed sources of information.In a face-to-face interview, experts determine the appropriate amount of information for the user, the applicability of that information, and the level of information required. At the beginning of the web form there is an explanation of what the service is intended for. This service offers support to the users that begin a research or that need specific data and information. In this way the library tries to help them to make their own research independently through the referrals to papery or electronic resources.In conclusion, Pelizzari noted that after a year the service have not had a great success possibly either because users are not sufficiently aware and confident whit this type of service, or because the service was not sufficiently promoted by the library (Pelizzari, 2002). In spite of this scarce success, the case of the

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University of Brescia remains one of the few examples of digital reference in Italy and certainly one of the few examples, whit Trento University, at academic level.

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METHODOLOGY

The research will be an exploratory study of the University of Parma Faculty of Law reference service and it will adopt the case study approach to investigate the phenomenon.

This study will be performed throughout the University of Parma Faculty of Law and data will be collected utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The research plan will be very simple in concept. First, the researcher will establish a "baseline" profile of reference service using focus group discussions with librarians. Next, the researcher will collect both quantitative and qualitative data through questionnaires and personal interviews whit faculty and students. Finally, the researcher will compare the data and will write the final report.

Case focus

The University of Parma Faculty of Law has been selected as case focus first of all because the researcher works at the Faculty of Law Central Library as reference librarian and consequently she has a great interest in investigating the research topic in her own environment. Secondly, the Faculty of Law is one of the most significant department at the University of Parma showing the highest numbers of students enrolled whit different background and knowledge. Moreover, there is the larger number of librarians among the all Faculties at University of Parma, so that the data collected will be much more representative. In addition, the researcher understands the structure and the library services organization, so that the collection of documentary and statistical data will be reasonably uncomplicated and direct. Furthermore, the case focus is an academic context and, as mentioned above, the Italian professional literature analyzed shows only two example of digital reference in Italy: Trento and Brescia University. For this reason there will be the opportunity of benchmarking with those cases of digital reference in Italy.

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Qualitative vs. quantitative

In 1996, the “Research Record” column of the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science (Kim, 1996) presented a relatively comprehensive listing of “research strategies, including data collection and analysis techniques,” based on a synthesis of various classification schemes used in previous analyses of research method and research literature.The two research paradigms most widely discussed in the literature are quantitative and qualitative. Researchers have long debated the relative value of qualitative and quantitative inquiry (Patton, 1990). According to Kelley (1999) quantitative research is “measurement with numbers” and its purpose is to provide statistically valid data about a research sample, from which generalizations may be made about the population from which the sample is taken.Where quantitative researchers seek causal determination, prediction, and generalization of findings, qualitative researchers seek instead illumination, understanding, and extrapolation to similar situations (Hoepfl , 1997)Qualitative research, broadly defined, means "any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification" (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Several writers have identified what they consider to be the prominent characteristics of qualitative, or naturalistic, research (Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Patton, 1990; Eisner, 1991). There are several considerations when deciding to adopt a qualitative research methodology. Strauss and Corbin (1998) claim that qualitative methods can be used to better understand any phenomenon about which little is yet known. They can also be used to gain new perspectives on things about which much is already known, or to gain more in-depth information that may be difficult to convey quantitatively. Thus, qualitative methods are appropriate in situations where one needs to first identify the variables that might later be tested quantitatively, or where the researcher has determined that quantitative measures cannot adequately describe or interpret a situation. The ability of qualitative data to more fully describe a phenomenon is an important consideration not only from the researcher’s perspective, but from the reader’s perspective as well. According to Lincoln and Guba (1985)

If you want people to understand better than they otherwise might, provide them information in the form in which they usually experience it.

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Eisner (1991) points out that all knowledge, including that gained through quantitative research, is referenced in qualities, and that there are many ways to represent our understanding of the world:This sentiment echoes that of an earlier writer. Cronbach (1975) claims that statistical research is not able to take full account of the many interaction effects that take place in social settings. Cronbach states that qualitative inquiry accepts the complex and dynamic quality of the social world. Furthermore, some researchers believe that qualitative and quantitative research can be effectively combined in the same research project (Strauss and Corbin, 1998; Patton, 1990; Russek and Weinberg, 1993). The researchers assert that by using both quantitative and qualitative data, it is possible to gain information that neither type of analysis could provide alone.

The case study method

The nature of this study brings the researcher to prefer the intensive research methods and to select the case study as the main research strategy. The professional literature defines the case study as a method for learning about a complex instance, based on a comprehensive understanding of that instance obtained by extensive description and analysis of that instance taken as a whole and in its context.The literature contains numerous examples of the use and application of case methodology. Well-known case study researchers such as Robert E. Stake and Robert K. Yin have written about case study research and suggested techniques for organizing and conducting the research successfully. Books (Abramson, 1992; Bassey, 1999; Merriam, 1988; Yin, 1994) have emerged in which research methodologies to conduct case studies have been described. There are some areas that have used case study techniques extensively, particularly in government and in evaluative situations. There are also specific examples in education, and management information systems.Case study research is not sampling research, which is a fact asserted by all the major researchers in the field, including Yin, Stake, Feagin and others.Yin (1993) has identified some specific types of case studies: Exploratory, Explanatory, and Descriptive. The researcher listed several examples along with the appropriate research design in each case and gave suggestions for a general approach to designing case studies.Exploratory cases are sometimes considered as a prelude to social research. Explanatory case studies may be used for doing causal investigations. Descriptive cases require a descriptive theory to be developed before starting the project (Tellis, 1997b).Stake (1995) included three others types of case study: Intrinsic - when the researcher has an interest in the case; Instrumental - when the case is used to understand more than what is obvious to the observer; Collective - when a group of cases is studied. Analysis of professional literature reveal that case studies can be single or multiple-case designs, where a multiple design must follow a replication rather

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than sampling logic. When no other cases are available for replication, the researcher is limited to single-case designs. Yin (1994) pointed out that generalization of results, from either single or multiple designs, is made to theory and not to populations. Multiple cases strengthen the results by replicating the pattern-matching, thus increasing confidence in the robustness of the theory.

While Yin (1994) states that:

The body of literature in case study research is primitive and limited in comparison to that of experimental or quasi-experimental research.

More recently, the popularity and frequency of case studies has increased and according to Bachor (2000)

The acceptance of case studies as a viable research tool has re-emerged, in part, because people want a convenient and meaningful technique to capture a time-framed picture of an individual's-or some other aggregate that can be construed as an unit or collective-characteristics and performance.

Advantages of case study research

A very important advantage of the case study lies in the richness of its detailed understanding of reality (Amaratunga and Baldry, 2001).Case studies are multi-perspective analyses. This means that the researcher considers not just the voice and perspective of the actors, but also of the relevant groups of actors and the interaction between them. This one aspect is a salient point in the characteristic that case studies possess (Tellis, 1997a).While the case study approach may be complex because it involves multiple sources of data, and produces large amounts of data for analysis, the advantages of the case study method are its applicability to real-life, contemporary, human situations and its public accessibility through written reports. Case study results relate directly to the common reader’s everyday experience and facilitate an understanding of complex real-life situations. As Feagin, Orum, and Sjoberg (1991) observed:

The quintessential characteristic of case studies is that they strive towards a holistic understanding of cultural systems of action.

Cultural systems of action refer to sets of interrelated activities engaged in by the actors in a social situation.

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Limitations of case study research

Although the case study method has many advantages, there are also criticisms. The unit of analysis is a critical factor in the case study. Case studies tend to be selective, focusing on one or two issues that are fundamental to understanding the system being examined (Tellis, 1997a)A frequent criticism of case study methodology is that its dependence on a single case renders it incapable of providing a generalizing conclusion (Tellis, 1997a). Another limitation of the case study method is that it suffers from a lack of rigor and an excess of bias, and that the use of ‘‘subjective’’ judgements during the data collection stages can render constructs invalid (Amaratunga and Baldry, 2001).Yin (1993) presented Giddens' view that considered case methodology "microscopic" because it "lacked a sufficient number" of cases. Hamel (Hamel et al., 1993) and Yin (1993, 1994) forcefully argued that the relative size of the sample whether 2, 10, or 100 cases are used does not transform a multiple case into a macroscopic study. The goal of the study should establish the parameters, and then should be applied to all research. In this way, even a single case could be considered acceptable, provided it met the established objective.

The exploratory case study

The exploratory case study is a shortened case study, undertaken before launching into a large-scale investigation.This is a descriptive method but is aimed at generating hypotheses for later investigation rather than illustrating. Its function is to develop the evaluation questions, measures, designs, and analytic strategy for the bigger study.It is most helpful where considerable uncertainty exists about program operations, goals, and results. In fact, where considerable uncertainty exists, exploratory case studies help to identify questions, to select important measurement constructs, which can be used later in larger-scale tests.An exploratory case study can save time and money in implementation as well as improving the confidence the researcher has in her/his results.For this research project researcher chooses the exploratory case study because is a flexible method of scientific research and it seems to satisfy the three dogma of the qualitative method: describing, understanding, and explaining. The case study approach emphasizes detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships The researcher also will adopt the case study method because it posses what might be termed “face-value credibility”. That is, it can provide evidence or illustrations with which some readers can readily identify.Case study research, with its applicability across many disciplines, seems to be the appropriate methodology to use in this research also because case study

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research has been used in Library and Information Science to examine reference service practices in university library settings (Barcellos, 2000; Diamond and Pease, 2001).

Methodological triangulation

It is widely know that the protocols that are used to ensure accuracy and alternative explanations are called triangulation (Stake, 1995).The fundamental notion of the triangulation technique is that qualitative and quantitative methods should be viewed as complementary rather than as rival camps (Jick, 1979); triangulation is the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in the study of the same phenomenon.Denzin (1984) identified four types of triangulation: Data source triangulation, when the researcher looks for the data to remain the same in different contexts; Investigator triangulation, when several investigators examine the same phenomenon; Theory triangulation, when investigators with different view points interpret the same results; and Methodological triangulation, when one approach is followed by another, to increase confidence in the interpretation.The same case study approach is known as a triangulated research strategy. According to Creswell (1994)

A case study explores a single entity of phenomenon (‘the case’) bounded by time and activity (a program, event, process, institution, or social group) and collects detailed information by using a variety of data collection procedures during a sustained period of time.

Snow and Anderson (cited in Feagin, Orum, and Sjoberg, 1991) asserted that triangulation can occur with data, investigators, theories, and even methodologies. The need for triangulation arises from the ethical need to confirm the validity of the processes. In case studies, this could be done by using multiple sources of data (Yin, 1984). According to Mitchell, Klein and Balloun (1996)

“Data quality can vary tremendously based upon gender, the methodology used for data collection, and other experimental aspects”

Because an increasing number of authors (Bradley 1993; Harricombe 1993; Powell and Raber, 1994; Sechrest and Sidani 1995; Trautha and O’Connorb, 1997) are citing the need to employ a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods in order to increase the reliability and the validity of results, researcher decided that a methodological triangulation will be appropriate. Triangulation consists in looking at the same research question from more than one source of data that in this study will be focus group, questionnaire and personal interviews. Information coming from different angles will be used to corroborate, elaborate or illuminate the research problem.

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The methods used in this study will be both qualitative and quantitative. Since each method presents limits and partialities, using multiple methods allow obtaining more credible and dependable information.Triangulation (via multiple methods) will be used in this research for two purposes:

1. To use quantitative methods to support the findings of the qualitative research.

2. To use the quantitative findings to uncover formal relationships between the constructs (derived from the qualitative research).

The specific methods and techniques to collect data are described in the next section.

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SUGGESTED ANALYSIS

A key strength of the case study method involves using multiple sources and techniques in the data gathering process. The researcher can determines in advance what evidence to gather and what analysis techniques to use with the data to answer the research questions. Data gathered is normally largely qualitative, but it may also be quantitative. In this study, tools to collect data will include focus group, questionnaires and interviews.

The focus groups

The focus groups will be used whit librarians in order to collect background data, to explore the opinions, knowledge, perceptions, and concerns on reference service and in particular on digital reference service. In addition, focus group will be used in order to obtain baseline information for the research and then design guidelines for the following interviews. The researcher will conduct the focus group early in the research project because the findings would be valuable to develop hypotheses that were tested using other methods (individual interviews and questionnaire).

The focus group technique is an example of a qualitative research methodology as a variation of the group interview. This technique has been used extensively to ascertain the perceptions and the feelings of participants about a particular area of inquiry. The participants tend to give candid information, this technique is fairly inexpensive, and the whole procedure can be carried out quickly.The literature review reveals that the use of face-to-face focus groups is well established in the social science. Numerous examples of its use can be found also in library and information science (Chase & Alvarez, 2000; D’Esposito & Gardner, 1999; Glitz et al., 2001;Widdows et al., 1991).

Lynne Chase and Jaquelina Alvarez (2000) examined face-to-face and online focus group modes through a review of research experience using the two approaches.The two researchers have finally established that:

“The online focus group approach will facilitate data gathering from groups who find expression of ideas through writing more appealing than verbal interaction. The face-to-face approach will continue to allow the collection of data from those who express ideas more readily in the personal setting” (p. 367).

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Joann D’Esposito and Rachel Gardner (1999) have explored the role of the library, librarians, and traditional library resources in relation to the Internet. In this case the focus groups were chosen as the most appropriate method for a qualitative study and in order to explore students' perceptions of the Internet, their evaluation criteria for Internet resources, and their views about the role of the library and librarians.

Beryl Glitz et al. (2001) have described the focus group process used with hospital librarians in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region, in order to illustrate how focus group can be effectively used in the library setting to plan programs around identified needs. This study explores the focus group methodology by discussing why it is used and examining the process involved in its use. Glitz et al. are confident that focus groups are an effective tool for program planning, needs assessment and decision-making for all types of libraries.

Widdows et al. (1991) explained the rationale and method of the focus group interview and they demonstrated how focus group interviews were used to gauge student-user opinions of service quality for the Purdue University's library system. Finally the researchers state that:

“focus group as a qualitative technique can often be used to collect information that may not emerge from a more traditional quantitative procedure”.

According to Chase and Alvarez that affirm that: “the focus group can be used as an initial step in questionnaire development or to elicit in-depth information”, in the present study a face-to-face focus group rather than an on line focus group will be utilized. Firstly because the face-to-face focus groups are more comfortable for participants contacted, secondly because in-depth information can be obtained also through the observation of body language and facial statement.

The questionnaire

The researcher resolved to use the questionnaire as a survey instrument with the students because such fits the most the kind of respondents.They would have responded less to interviews or focus groups because the questionnaire is much more direct, simple to understand less time-consuming.In particular, the questionnaire will be used whit students in order to obtain valuable background information and to achieve in-depth information about respondents’ use of library service.

A questionnaire will be as a further survey instrument for the present study. Most research that is undertaken on library users is based on questionnaire technique (D’Elia & Walsh, 1983; Doll & Torkzadeh, 1988; Kinsella & Bryant, 1987; McClure, 1993; Simmonds & Andaleeb, 2001)

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As Bell (1987) points out:

“The questionnaire are a good way of collecting certain type of information quickly and relatively cheaply”.

While Kidston (1985) underline that:

“The questionnaire is a very common method of gathering information about such difficult-to-measure subjects as library usage or information needs.”

According to Sheila McClure (1993)

“The questionnaire provides valuable background information during the evaluation of new services.” (p. 31)

About questionnaire there are also numerous studies that evaluated techniques for increasing the response rate, and thus, reliability in mail questionnaire survey (Cox et al., 1974; Kiesler & Sproull, 1986; Mitchell et al., 1996; Sanchez 1992;). The researchers have underlined that the treatment involving "personalization" accumulate replies at a much quicker rate than the treatment without "personalization" does.Several experiments suggested that the electronic survey could elicit good response rates with faster turnaround time and fewer item "incompleteness" than a regular mail survey. The results clearly indicated that the use of computer-administered questionnaires in the collection phase of survey data is much appropriate mainly in regard of completeness of answer and response distortion.

About validity of questionnaire response James Kidston (1985) states that:The questionnaire is often used to gather data about library usage, but it is a much trickier instrument than is commonly supposed. It is hard to gather meaningful data with a questionnaire and often impossible to tell whether data are meaningful or not.[…]The results of questionnaire studies must be used cautiously: there may be research tools that allow one to gather usable data about complex or subtle problems quickly and easily, but before the data are used or even accepted, the method should be carefully and critically examined for validity and reliability.

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The Interviews

One of the prevailing forms of data collection associated with qualitative inquiry is an interview.Most of the literature on user surveys in libraries or on user satisfaction of library services shows that the interviews are an useful and valuable method to provide contextual background to the quantitative data and to achieve in-depth information.(Totterdell and Bird, 1976; Lipetz and Paulson, 1987; Bazirjian and Markle Stanley, 2001)Qualitative interviews may be used either as the primary strategy for data collection, or in conjunction with observation, document analysis, or other techniques (Bogdan and Biklen, 1982). While requiring a considerable investment of time the interviews will be used as an appropriate method to collect both quantitative and qualitative data with librarians and faculty in order to explore complex beliefs of individuals.This method of research will provide a broader and more complete understanding of how librarians deliver reference service and of what they want to improve. At the other hand this method allow the researcher to understand what faculty know about this topic, if and how they use the reference service, and what they think about the service in general. The use of personal interview is important for two reasons: first, it will be used to elicit details about the respondents' experience of reference service and digital reference, second it will be useful to clarify the librarians position in regard to digital reference.

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PLANNING

The research project will take place between October 2002 and June 2003 (see Appendix A).The research will be carry on in five phases: preliminary phase, instruments design and survey instruments test, data collection, data analysis and reflective review, and the final report as explained below.

(A) Preliminary Phase (October – December 2002)

This phase involves activities that precede the fieldwork. It will be divided in three different stages.

Stage 1:

The researcher will review over again the literature that she already analyzed about the digital reference and, at the same time she will review the existing and more recently published literature about the Italian context. The documentation about the structure, the organization and the services of the unit of the analysis will be also considered. The literature analysis will also include the literature about research method and data analysis.

Stage 2:

The researcher will consider the research questions upon which developing the research and the methodology to collect data more pertinent to the research project proposed.

Stage 3:

The researcher will write the research proposal.

(B) Instruments design and survey instruments test (January - March 2003)

An iterative process will characterize this phase. It will involve preliminary the design of the survey instruments, the preliminary contact whit students, librarians and faculty, the pilot stage to test the instruments designed and finally the correction and the ultimate instruments’ design.This phase will be divided in three stages.

Stage 1:

On the basis of the literature about research methods, the researcher will draft the preliminary survey instruments in view of the research aims and objectives and of the research questions.

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Stage 2:

The researcher will contact via regular mail or via e-mail a selected group of students, librarians and faculty in order to describe to them the research project and to set up formal meetings to test the survey instruments.During this stage the researcher will test in particular the focus group technique between the librarians and the designed interview framework between the faculty.The meetings with selected librarians will help to determine the questions upon, which design the focus group whit, others librarians involved in this project.The interviews with the faculty will help the researcher to determine if the questions are clear and understandable to avoid misinterpretation in the meaning of words.Besides, these preliminary interviews will help to add new questions and to correct the questions that already exist.The researcher will contact also students in order to verify the terminology understanding in order to trial the designed questionnaire and to make the convenient changes.The purposive sampling will be a reflection of the design and will guide the following data collection process.The process will stop when definitive design will be reached for those questions considered relevant in describing the research project.

Stage 3:In view of the results of the preliminary contact with librarians, faculty and student, the researcher will modify the survey instruments and will design the definitive version of them.

(C) Data collection (April – May 2003)

Between April and May 2003 the researcher will collect data with the definitive designed survey instruments and she will produce preliminary results.

(D) Data analysis and reflective review (June 2003)

In this phase the researcher will analyze the data collected and will reflect on the adequacies and inadequacies of the research process. Data analysis will not seen as a separate stage of the research; rather it is an activity that informs data collection. It will be based on the constant-comparative method. It will involve coding and identification of the relationships among codes. Analysis will also generate a working hypothesis that will, as much as possible, be verified in the course of the study. This phase will comprise reviewing and integrating findings, and the researcher will conduct a follow-up interview to probe unclear information, if necessary.

(E) Writing the final report

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That is the final phase of the research.

DATA ANALYSIS

Case studies, obviously, generates a great deal of data, data that need to be analyzed sufficiently and with appropriate techniques in order to be useful.In most methods, the researcher plans for data collection then collects the information, then analyzes it, and finally s/he writes the report. In case studies, the data coming in are analyzed as they become available, and the emerging results are used to shape the next set of observations.After the pilot study phase, the researcher will think about the meaning of the information: what does it suggest? What else could explain what is going on? Then the researcher will think about what new information would be needed to rule out alternative explanations or confirm interpretations, and then the researcher will collect more information.The successive phase will be the examination of data collected and the revision of initial interpretations and expectations if new interpretations will emerge.This iterative process will end when a plausible explanation will be developed and, at the end of a “revise” phase, there will be no unexplained data, no further interpretations possible, or it will be clear that despite the most diligent search for information, more is not available to further refine description and explanation.

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ANTICIPATED OUTPUTS

At the research level, this study will:

Augment the understanding of digital reference. Provide information for future studies of digital reference. Provide information for further research at the University of Parma.

At the pragmatic level, this study will:

Provide helpful information to improve existing information-provision services.

Inform organizations that are planning to implement reference services.

Provide insights into designing systems to manage electronic information-provision services.

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LIMITATIONS

This study carries certain limitations, which need to be considered, acknowledged and addressed. One of the main limitations is the scarce contributions in the Italian professional literature about implementation or investigation on digital reference service. That effects the efficacy of a broader comparative evaluation of other Italian situation in the academic context. Besides, one of the frailty of the study may be the lack of information about the concept of reference service as a whole and in particular about digital reference among stakeholders.Additionally, as previously stated, this study is an exploratory investigation. The greatest pitfall in the exploratory is that is only a preliminary step in investigating.

According to Yin (1994)A case study is an in-depth analysis of one particular organization, such as a university or a community. Although a case study allows for the thorough examination of a particular situation, the results of such a study cannot be generalized beyond the single case.

Having selected as the study focus the University of Parma Faculty of Law for the survey severely restricts the possibility of generalizing the findings to a larger population and the results may have limited applicability to the other Italian academic libraries because the different climate and service organization. Finally, the methods that the researcher intends to employ to collect data are very time-consuming. Personal interviews or focus groups involve the face-to-face questioning of people selected for their particular knowledge, interests, or availability. Although they allow for a more exploratory approach, the results cannot be generalized beyond the individuals or groups.

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APPENDICES

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Appendix A

TIME PLAN OF RESEARCH PROJECT

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