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Usability and Outreach at MUSE
Project MUSE is committed to conducting usability testing of our site and to sponsoring user education and outreach activities. MUSE has on staff a full time Usability and Outreach Librarian, whose primary responsibilities include developing and coordinating a program for consistent usability testing of the MUSE site as well as user education and outreach services.
Activities we conduct
MUSE engages in a variety of usability and outreach activities with librarians, students, and faculty, including:Usability Tests - Task-oriented or link-naming studies in which we observe user behavior with our search engine and Website. Tests usually involve using "prototypes" or mock-up versions of the MUSE site, both web-based and in paper form.
Focus Groups - Informal discussions in a small group setting in which we ask direct questions concerning such issues as database functionality, user education and instructional materials, linking to external resources, and outreach to faculty.
Surveys - Short questionnaires which may include a combination of multiple choice and short-answer type questions. Surveys provide a quick and simple way to obtain valuable feedback that can be easily compiled and analyzed.
Training Sessions - Demonstrations of MUSE features and functionality in which we address individuals' questions while also taking suggestions and other comments from the participants. While gaining feedback is not the primary purpose of training sessions, we find that we obtain useful insight from participants in these sessions in a more casual, less-structured way.
One-on-One Conversations - By attending conferences and meetings, we have the opportunity to talk one-on-one with subscribers and hear their questions and concerns. Often, an individual will give a suggestion or make a revealing comment that helps us think about new questions we might want to ask in a larger group, or aspects of the site we might want to test.
Why we do it
Usability and outreach activities inform us of many things including:MUSE conducts usability testing and hosts outreach activities not only when we identify a direct need for feedback or to inform subscribers about changes, such as when we are about to implement a new design on our site or have launched a new search engine feature, but also for the purpose of improving our current site on a continual basis through a cycle of testing, making recommendations for changes, and re-testing. Likewise, outreach is important to ensure that our subscribers have the tools and information they need to continue to offer and recommend MUSE to their users, and that users are aware of the availability of MUSE at their institutions.
Getting involved
Project MUSE conducts usability and outreach sessions throughout the year and at various venues, including at library and society conferences such as ALA and ACRL, on local college and university campuses, or onsite at the MUSE office. We generally recruit volunteers to participate in our activities by posting emails to the appropriate listservs, depending on whether we want to reach librarians, faculty, or students. Volunteers who take part in usability testing or focus groups usually receive some compensation for their time, such as gift certificates to book stores, coffee shops, etc.We are always looking for new ways to hear from and reach out to librarians and users. If you are interested in helping MUSE in our usability efforts or have questions or suggestions with regards to MUSE and usability, contact the Usability and Outreach Librarian.
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