Introduction 

The comedian Tim Allen once did a sketch that highlighted a certain pattern of human behavior that is absurd but true to life.  The set up was simple: he was trying to vacuum a paperclip off the carpet.  Allen vacuums, picking up everything but the paperclip.  He runs the vacuum over the carpet once, twice; the paperclip is still stuck to the carpet.  Annoyed, he vacuums more aggressively.  Finally he stops, picks up the offending paperclip, and looks at it in irritation.  Then he drops it back down on the carpet, and continues to try to vacuum it up. It is at this point that the audience usually laughs.  Allen has just given us a perfect example of what G.K. Zipf called  “The “Principle of Least Effort.”  (Zipf, 1949)

The principle of least effort says that once people become habituated to a certain way of doing something, they will continue to choose that behavior, even if it’s not necessarily an effective way of accomplishing something. In Allen’s case, trying to use the vacuum to pick up dirt and debris off the floor is his accustomed behavior.  The audience can see it would have been much easier to dispose of the paperclip simply by picking it up by hand and throwing it out instead of vacuuming.  But Allen continues with his accustomed pattern, and that’s why the sketch is funny.  “Behaviors that are "useful" are performed frequently, and frequent behaviors become quicker and easier to perform. The very existence of these quick, easy behavior patterns then cause individuals to choose them, even when they aren't necessarily the best behavior from a functional point of view.” (Millennium Project, 2000) 

F.W. Lancaster asserts that this principle should be taken into account when “planning new and innovative services” for the library.  His assertion makes sense in light of the mission of libraries.  Our goal is to connect patrons with the best and most accurate information.  We have to be aware that people will tend to fall into certain habitual patterns of information-seeking that may not adequately serve their needs.  If for example, a high school student is accustomed to using the search engine Google to find sources for a paper, it may be his first and perhaps only choice, despite the fact that a database such as Expanded Academic ASAP or Lexus-Nexus Academic Universe might yield more helpful information.  In the university environment, too, habitual but not necessarily optimum patterns of information-seeking may limit a student’s resources and opportunities for finding better source material and making intellectual progress.  According to one university librarian, there is “a general mindset among students that library skills learned in high school are adequate for undergraduate, and possibly graduate, level work.”  (Weeks, 2001) 

Virtual Reference (VR) - or distance librarianship, as it is sometimes called -  is a “new and innovative service” that has come into being with the advent of digital technology and remote access via computers.  It means providing reference help either live or by way of e-mail to library patrons by way of a network.  In many colleges and universities where there is a combination of off-campus and on-ground students, (some courses offered online, and some on-ground) virtual reference help has become a necessity. 

Typically, a virtual reference librarian will respond to the patrons via e-mail with a list of URLs for web-based sources or citations for online articles.  Having someone else locate sources for you - in effect, this is what virtual reference does - gives the impression that college students are having someone else do their work for them.  Certainly it is a process that requires very little on the student’s part at first beyond registering with the service.  However, in the process of utilizing the sources suggested by the virtual reference desk, the student may have to expand upon the initial search findings himself.  This process may enlighten the student to a new source of information he or she would not have considered.  This study is devised to explore  if we can use the principle of least effort among college students seeking virtual reference help to identify, modify and improve their information-seeking skills.  The results of the study then may be used in planning and improving the overall process of distance librarianship. 

Survey of literature 

The study of virtual reference (or e-reference) is a relatively new one in the field of Information and Library Science.  A survey of EbscoHOST, JSTOR, ERIC, Expanded Academic ASAP, Library Literature Online and LISA revealed a surprising amount of overlap in journal articles cited.  The most prevalent discussion regarding the topic has to do with the changing role of the librarian, and how digital technology is affecting the role of libraries in general.  Other topics of study include the increasing demand for virtual reference for distance learning students, analysis of computer systems that will provide e-reference, and standards for evaluating the quality of reference service provided online.  There exists at least one study regarding evaluation of VR users (Guenther, 2000) and one case study on the process of building a VR service (Scardellato, 2001).  Because this is still a relatively new service, continued research into the subject seems both inevitable and desirable.  Furthermore, a brief overview of the articles available indicates that the proposed study would be beneficial in terms of its emphasis in evaluating VR service as it relates to information-seeking skills.  As one university librarian in Library Journal states: "Librarians handle e-mail queries … and provide help for users via our web pages.  Almost every interaction includes an opportunity for instruction about electronic resources and their use. Reference staff have become teachers." (Tenopir, 2001)

Method 

Virtual reference is a convenient avenue for exploring student reference questions and librarian responses to those queries - more so than in an on-ground library situation.  This is because in a typical reference desk at a typically busy college library, the reference person would have to log by hand questions and responses during the course of the day in order to collect the data - an added burden with a high margin of error that although useful for researchers may hinder service and reference assistance to patrons by interrupting the flow of the work.  VR, on the other hand, is all done by e-mail - automatically creating a digital text record of every transaction at the desk.  Each student question - a request for research information, or a factual query - is archived, along with the librarians accompanying response.  The response is usually a list of sources on the topic in question, and can be retrieved, reviewed, and analyzed at a later date.  The implicit creation of data by virtue of using the virtual reference desk is a convenient way of collecting relevant information that can be useful in answering the questions posed by this study - or in fact, any study of virtual reference and online information-seeking patterns. 

The research methodology to be employed will be survey research.  The participants involved would ideally involve undergraduate and graduate students at a college or university.  The participants would include all those who register to use the VR desk as a resource.   It is hoped that by using the data gathered about the information-seeking behavior present in those who utilize the desk we can make generalizations about certain common tendencies that will occur in the larger population of students at any university where similar VR programs are being implemented.  The survey research will actually be done in two parts, in the form of two related online questionnaires.  The questionnaires themselves will largely consist of closed multiple-choice questions.  The multiple-choice questions should provide factual information about: 1) the type of student - age and course of study 2) attitude and past behavior questions to gather data on how students feel about reference and their habitual use or non-use of the library and 3) information questions to determine the level of knowledge about library sources and search strategies in their proposed field of study. 

The first questionnaire will be part of the registration process and is designed to be relatively short and user-friendly, consisting solely of multiple-choice responses. It should include a consent portion so that the student agrees to have the information archived and used for research.  The first survey should be set up in such a way that after the student inputs his initial information (name, e-mail address, major and course of study) an initial survey geared towards the student’s course of study should appear.  The questions involving what sources the participant is familiar with will be customized to the field in question.  In other words, there would be different survey forms for each major, plus a general form for an undeclared major.  So that for example, an undergraduate in anthropology would get a survey list of general sources but also those pertaining strictly to anthropology; an economics major would get a list of sources geared toward economics.  This does not require extra work:  hopefully these “lists” would be part of the library’s electronic resources section, where websites and databases would be listed by subject. 

The second questionnaire would be sent at the end of each semester to all those who registered for VR and completed the first survey.  This would depend on the student’s willingness to fill out and return a survey sent to them by e-mail form, and would be somewhat more involved.  It is to be expected that not all participants will respond.  The second questionnaire will repeat many of the questions in the first survey, with additional open-ended questions at the end to collect specific data about the quality of reference service, students attitudes toward their own searching skills, a reassessment of the kinds of sources utilized by the student and suggestions from the student for additional electronic sources and improvements to the VR service.  Most importantly, the student will be asked if their search skills have improved, and if so, why. 

Analyzing the Data

The data collected as the result of the descriptive survey research and data input as a result of day-to-day VR searches and responses can be analyzed in a number of ways.  First, a descriptive analysis of the data will be performed to ascertain the characteristics of the kind of students, types of research questions, types of responses, and frequency of use of the virtual reference desk during the semester.  Most importantly, data collected from students at their registration point will be compared with data collected by the end of semester questionnaire.  Where possible, the same students’ answers will be compared in an effort to assess in a case-by-case basis as well as using averages and ranges, the difference in the level of information-seeking skills in use at the beginning of the student’s use of VR versus the end of the semester.  Students who use VR more often will be particularly noted, to see if any progressive development or change in the type of answers and responses had a direct impact on the kinds of sources and search strategies they had acquired by the end of the semester.  In addition, suggestions from the students as to why their skills have improved, and ways to improve VR service in general will be incorporated into the analysis. 

Flaws and Ambiguities

There are several potential flaws and ambiguities inherent in the study.  First, I should note that the same basic question posed in the study - can virtual reference be used as a teaching tool to educate students about available resources and search strategies - could also be asked of reference interactions with patrons in a  non-digital environment. Next, students who use VR may do so as an additional search strategy, and not necessarily in keeping with the principle of least effort - that is, it may be that students choose this not out of habit but as a new untried source of information.  Still, I would argue that providing a service where your searches can be done for you is an interested way of studying the proposed least effort paradigm.  Also, a student’s knowledge of available sources may broaden due to a number of reasons, not just reference interaction.  It may be that teachers request that students use certain sources, or that they find them on their own, or that they may learn of new strategies and resources through actual library instruction.  Students may favor sources for a variety of reasons, not all of which have to do with accuracy and relevance of the information provided.  However, every attempt will be made to incorporate some of these variables into the questionnaires to at least get a sense of their importance, if any, in the process of information-seeking behavior. 

Conclusion 

If we wish to explore Lancaster’s assertions that the principle of least effort should be taken into account when designing library services, studying virtual reference is one avenue of research that should be considered.  The VR desk online automatically creates its own wealth of observable data.  From this we can determine the frequency of VR use, and whether there are students who become accustomed to having their research for sources done by the librarian (taking into account Zipf’s principle); if there are, we can also analyze to what degree providing sources for students by way of virtual reference actually improves the students own information-seeking skills by helping them to utilize sources they might not know exist, or wouldn’t have thought of using on their own.  The survey research employed hopes to provide data that may further knowledge in other related areas as well.  Can we get any insight in how to provide better virtual reference help to patrons by analyzing their responses?  Are these factors within our control?  What variables exist from the data that help to determine this?  The proposed study would provide data to answer its main question, and also lay the foundation for further studies in the field, in hopes of creating overall improvements in virtual reference service. 

References 

Guenther, Kim.  (April 2000).  “Know thy remote users (measuring the use of virtual reference services).” Computers in Libraries. 21 (4), 52-4. 

Lancaster, F. W. (1977). The measurement and evaluation of library services. Washington, D. C.: Information Resources Press. 

Millennium Project: the Top 100 Works in Cognitive Science.  (27 August 2000).  Center for Cognitive Sciences, University of Minnesota.  Retrieved July 28, 2001.

Scardellato, Kathleen. (April 2001).  “Experiences in developing and maintaining the virtual reference library at Toronto Public Library (case study).”  Program-Auto-
mated Library & Information Systems. 35(2), 167-80. 

Tenopir, Carol.  (1 July 2001).  Virtual Reference Services in a Real World.           Library Journal.  126 (12) 38. 

Weeks, John M.  (June 2000) What Kinds of Challenges Does a Social Science Librarian Face? Interview for ILS 616 - Social Science Literature and Sources Final Project.

Zipf, G. (1949).  Human behavior and the principle of least effort. Cambridge, MA: Addision-Wesley Press.