Google is a multinational technology company whose massive advertising profits have allowed them to expand into many areas, including education. While the company has increasingly faced public scrutiny, the use of Google software and hardware in schools has often resulted in little debate. In this paper, we conduct a technoethical audit of Google…

Research in academic libraries has recently seen an increase in the use of ethnographic-based methods to collect data. Primarily used to learn about library users and their interaction with spaces and resources, the methods are proving particularly useful to academic libraries. The data ethnographic methods retrieve is rich, context specific, and…

Generating, collecting, and analyzing building usage statistics can greatly increase the ability of an access services unit to meet the changing dynamic of patron needs in an academic library. By analyzing three different data points, the Access Services Unit in Malpass Library at Western Illinois University was able to determine the most…

In Fall 2011, staff at the University of Minnesota Libraries-Twin Cities undertook a project to measure how often, and in what ways, students used the Libraries' services. Partnering with the University's Office of Institutional Research, the team investigated ways to match library service usage to individual accounts while retaining patron…

Although one-to-one laptop programs are being introduced in many schools, minimal research has been conducted regarding their effectiveness in primary schools. Evidence-based research is needed to inform significant funding, deployment and student use of computers. This article analyses key findings from a study conducted in four Year 7 classrooms…

Similar to other institutions, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has determined that a relationship may exist between student performance as defined by grades, and activity in the campus' online course management system (CMS). Specifically, since Fall 2007, UMBC's "Most Active Blackboard Courses" reports show students…

In the present study, an examination is conducted in three school districts of how data are used to improve classroom practice. In doing so, we explore the effects that attitudes toward data, principal leadership, and computer data systems have on how data are used to affect classroom practice. Findings indicate that educators are ambivalent about…

Implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation has been accompanied by demand for data systems capable of providing a longitudinal record of each student's educational experiences and performance over time. The national Study of Education Data Systems and Decision Making is examining both the implementation of student data systems…

Audit trail analysis can provide valuable insights to researchers and evaluators interested in comparing and contrasting designers' expectations of use and students' actual patterns of use of educational technology environments (ETEs). Sequence analysis techniques are particularly effective but have been neglected to some extent because of real…

Two small studies, one an "eye-tracking" study and the other a "remote observation" study, have been conducted to investigate ways to identify two kinds of online learner interactions: users flicking through the web pages in "browsing" action, and users engaging with the content of a page in "learning"…

Summarizes current reference-services costing practices and reveals problems with these practices. Suggests six ways that current costing practices of reference services can be improved. (AEF)

A case study approach taken with three years of data on a hospital's trauma program indicate that, although service user data is important, its political importance far outweighs evaluation value and utility, especially for hard-to-access samples. Implications of this challenge to traditional assumptions for program evaluation are discussed. (SLD)

This report presents results of a survey of 600 postsecondary schools concerning their use of the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). NSLDS was developed to improve the quality and accessibility of student financial aid data, to reduce the burden on schools of administering the Department of Education's student financial aid programs, and…

Proceedings of a study group that considered the utility of the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) finance data for institutional and higher educational sector comparisons are presented, as are issue papers and descriptive information. The study group of representatives from higher education institutions and organizations outlined…

Huddersfield University Library (England) has undertaken a wide range of evaluative studies of its services and systems, using various data collection techniques such as: user surveys; exit interviews; online and CD-ROM analysis; benchmarking; user groups; staffing and staff development evaluation; suggestion sheets; student project work; group…