1. Coding Open-Ended Comments LibQUAL+® Survey Results Best Practices: Stories from the Field January 14, 2009

2. The search for coding information began Feb. 24, 2008 General Query sent to LIBQUAL-L@LISTSERV@TAMU.EDU “Can anyone share information about how they coded the open-ended comments from the LibQUAL+® survey?”

3. LibQUAL+® Listserv Query - Results Software utilized Influence of theories Coding to Themes/Topics LibQUAL+ dimensions Value/Emotional Content Question Numbers Named departments/persons LibQUAL+ questions Demographics

4. Software- Local Decision Influences Campus Users Review (Journal of Mixed Methods Research) Support, company and local Cost

5. Assistance/Consultations for Coding Process LibQUAL+® listserv software; categories; resources OSU Qualitative Research Faculty importance of data immersion; resources QSR Website and Customer Assistance tutorial; questions; tips; importing data Faculty member using NVivo demonstration; questions Systems / IT software; importing data

6. DATA REDUCTION At OSU, 1,067 Comments (38.8% of respondents) Reduced to 853, by eliminating small, specific data sets “other library” “no comments” very general comments that didn’t say anything of use survey population (faculty, staff) comments about the survey itself

7. Of the demographics provided by LibQUAL+® We considered: What Fields Mattered to Us? What would most impact our services? Our decision: Classification Discipline Library Used Most Often

8. Sample Tree Nodes, dictated by the data Books Building Online Resources Journals Study Technology Hours Instruction Library Services Resources Parking

9. Values, defined locally Praise- commend; “express favorable judgment”; approval; satisfaction (positive comment) Words such as: like, love, enjoy, happy, good, important, glad, pleased, satisfied, positive, helpful Strong Praise- effusively positive; detailed exclamatory positive statement; explanatory or descriptive reason for praise Words such as: great, excellent, amazing, fabulous, best, outstanding, always, thanks, grateful Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (11 th ed.). (2004). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

10. More Values, defined locally Complaint- expresses discontent; mildly negative; unfavorable (a negative comment) Words such as: more, cannot, never, hardly, often, sometimes, isn’t, lacks, lack of Strong Criticism- severely unfavorable; hostile; pessimistic; fault-finding; points out flaws; clearly negative incident or encounter (explains or describes reason for criticism) Words such as: hate, frustrating, embarrassing, irritating, nightmare, unacceptable, never, impossible

11. More Values, defined locally Suggestion- “mentions or implies a possibility”; “offer for consideration”; “propose as fitting”; (concrete suggestion) Words: more, should, would like, would be, would appreciate, wish, could, could have, could be, needs, add, improve Neutral Observation- “not engaged on either side”; indifferent; not positive or negative, just an observation Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (11 th ed.). (2004). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

12. Number of Comments by Value

13. Coding Open-Ended Comments Challenges Timeframe Importing data into software Inter-rater reliability Benefits/Uses of Data Software Strategic Planning Library Development Innovative Ideas Emergence of strongest themes

14. Karen Neurohr, Assessment Librarian Oklahoma State University karen.neurohr@okstate.edu