Erin M. Hood

Bio: Erin M. Hood is an academic researcher from OCLC. The author has contributed to research in topics: Information literacy & Higher education. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 5 publications receiving 17 citations.

User-centered decision making: a new model for developing academic library services and systems:

Abstract: This longitudinal study tracks US and UK participants� shifts in their motivations and forms of engagement with technology and information as they transition between four educational stages. The quantitative and qualitative methods, including ethnographic methods that devote individual attention to the subjects, yield a very rich data set enabling multiple methods of analysis. Instead of reporting general information-seeking habits and technology use, this study explores how the subjects get their information based on the context and situation of their needs during an extended period of time, identifying if and how their behaviors change.

Authority, Context and Containers: Student Perceptions and Judgments When Using Google for School Work

Abstract: What really happens when student researchers meet a Google results page? How do students determine the authority behind each result? News, blogs, journals, Wikipedia, websites, e-books--with the vast array of online content available, how do students differentiate between them? Better still, do they differentiate between them or are these format agnostic students stymied by container collapse? The Researching Students’ Information Choices (RSIC) project is answering these questions. The Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education aims to guide educators in their work to develop today’s students into critical thinking denizens of the digital world. The work of RSIC can directly inform the first frame, “Authority Is Constructed and Contextual.” This Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded study, examines and compares the judgments and perceptions of students (from late primary, secondary, community college/vocational school, undergraduate, to graduate school/postgraduate) as they select resources for science-related school inquiry projects. Our project team includes academic science librarians, pre-service LIS educators, school librarians, and research scientists. We enlisted K-12, community college, four-year college, and university librarians and faculty as members of our Advisory Panel. The analyses identify students’ perceptions and judgments related to the source and author/creator of three resources common to all participants included in Google search results, and the role the container plays in determining whether the resource is credible and citable for a school/academic project. Students used cues from the web search results screen in their judgements and educational stage influenced their behavior in some instances. These findings can be used by librarians to design scalable instructional models to support critical student inquiry skills. The research results also will contribute to and support evidence-based decision making for the implementation of information literacy instruction grounded in frameworks, guidelines, and standards.

On shapes and sizes: Measuring diversity of technological engagement through digital visitors and residents maps

Abstract: The Digital Visitors and Residents (V&R) project developed a mapping exercise to help individuals better understand their engagement with technology and the web. The map creation process and the opportunity for individuals to share their stories in a group setting can be fun, informative and educational. In this paper, we show that collections of V&R maps can be sources of rich and interesting information about similarities and differences in individuals' engagement with technology. Computational methods such as shape analysis and machine learning can be used to distill this information from collections of V&R maps. We present several models, techniques and algorithms for V&R map analysis that may be familiar to many data scientists and software developers, including a shape metric that captures properties of shapes with intuitive meaning and interpretation in the V&R context. Patterns and trends emerging from collections of maps can help a team better understand their similarities and differences in engagement with technology or help inform decisions on the design of information technology or library technology services. We provide examples of these techniques using data collected in various V&R mapping sessions. Finally, we introduce a V&R mapping web application designed for touchscreens that can ease data collection for computational analysis and provide a fun and engaging experience for mapping exercise participants.

Science and News: A Study of Students' Judgments of Online Scientific News Information

Abstract: This paper explores how students judge scientific news resources, as they might find through a Google search. The data were collected as part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project. Students used a simulated search engine that ensured study participants found the same search results while seeking information for a science-related school project. The 116 students from high school, community college, undergraduate, and graduate communities evaluated three online news resources for their helpfulness, citability, credibility, and container. Analysis of quantitative data from the study indicated that students may find news resources helpful for a science project, but do not always consider them citable. Students appeared to focus on the organization that produced the news resource (i.e., source) when judging its credibility. Not all students identified the resources’ containers as news, even when the source was widely known. The researchers note differences in judgment between educational stages. Differences were especially pronounced between high school and higher education students, with high school students more likely to find news sources worthy of citing for school projects.

Mixed methods data collection using simulated Google results: reflections on the methods of a point-of-selection behaviour study

Abstract: Introduction. A multi-institutional, grant-funded project employed mixed methods to study 175 fourth-grade through graduate school students’ point-of-selection behaviour. The method features the use of simulated search engine results pages to facilitate data collection. Method. Student participants used simulated Google results pages to select resources for a hypothetical school project. Quantitative data on participants’ selection behaviour and qualitative data from their think-aloud protocols were collected. A questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data on participants’ backgrounds and online research experiences. Analysis. This paper reflects on the data collection methods and highlights opportunities for data analysis. The ability to analyse data both qualitatively and quantitatively increases the rigor and depth of findings. Results. The simulation created a realistic yet controlled environment that ensures the comparability of data within and across a wide range of educational stages. Combining data on participants’ behaviour, thoughts and characteristics provides a more complete picture of factors influencing online resource selection. Conclusions. Using simulated results pages in combination with multiple data collection methods enables analyses that create deeper knowledge of participants' information behaviour. Such a complicated research design requires extensive time, expertise and coordination to execute.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Abstract: On behalf of Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this international scientific conference. Drylands are often considered fragile ecosystems, yet they have a remarkable resilience to stress. They are home to unique and well-adapted plant and animal species that we need to conserve. Some of the world’s greatest cultures and belief systems have originated in drylands. On the other hand, desertification and land degradation in drylands often result in poverty and cause environmental refugees to abandon their homes. These problems can only be addressed in a holistic manner, based on sound scientific research and findings. Solutions to the problems of dryland degradation need to be communicated as widely as possible through education at all levels. These are many reasons why UNESCO – within its mandate of science, education, culture and communication – took the intiative to organize this conference. And we are glad that so many partners have responded to our call. UNESCO considers this conference as its main contribution to the observance of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification in 2006. We have deliberately chosen the title ‘The Future of Drylands’ as we feel it is time to redefine our priorities for science, education and governance in the drylands based on 50 years of scientific research in arid and semi-arid zones. In fact UNESCO has one of the longest traditions, within the UN system, of addressing dryland problems from an interdisciplinary, scientific point of view. In 1955, the ‘International Arid Land Meetings’ were held in Socorro, New Mexico (USA). They were organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sponsored by UNESCO and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. One important output of the International Arid Land Meetings was a book entitled The Future of Drylands, edited by Gilbert F. White and published in

A learning path recommendation model based on a multidimensional knowledge graph framework for e-learning

Abstract: E-learners face a large amount of fragmented learning content during e-learning. How to extract and organize this learning content is the key to achieving the established learning target, especially for non-experts. Reasonably arranging the order of the learning objects to generate a well-defined learning path can help the e-learner complete the learning target efficiently and systematically. Currently, knowledge-graph-based learning path recommendation algorithms are attracting the attention of researchers in this field. However, these methods only connect learning objects using single relationships, which cannot generate diverse learning paths to satisfy different learning needs in practice. To overcome this challenge, this paper proposes a learning path recommendation model based on a multidimensional knowledge graph framework. The main contributions of this paper are as follows. Firstly, we have designed a multidimensional knowledge graph framework that separately stores learning objects organized in several classes. Then, we have proposed six main semantic relationships between learning objects in the knowledge graph. Secondly, a learning path recommendation model is designed for satisfying different learning needs based on the multidimensional knowledge graph framework, which can generate and recommend customized learning paths according to the e-learner’s target learning object. The experiment results indicate that the proposed model can generate and recommend qualified personalized learning paths to improve the learning experiences of e-learners.

Sociomaterial Texts, Spaces and Devices: Questioning ‘Digital Dualism’ in Library and Study Practices

Abstract: Work on students' study practices posits the digital and material as separate domains, with the ‘digital’ assumed to be disembodied, decontextualised and free-floating, and spaces in the material campus positioned as prototypically ‘traditional’ and analogue. Libraries in particular are often characterised as symbolic of predigital literacy practices and forms of meaning making. This binary oversimplifies student engagement, particularly in relation to their creation of and interactions with texts. Two studies illustrate this: an investigation of student and staff textual practices that explored the complex and emergent networks they created, adapted and maintained; and one that explored perceptions and use of library spaces (digital and physical). A sociomaterial analysis shows the ongoing importance of institutional, personal and public spaces. This demonstrates that in order to enhance the student experience, a more nuanced understanding of the complex, emergent relationships between digital and print, device and user, and author and text is required.