Browsing by Author "de Jager, Karin"

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    An evaluation of the information architecture of the UCT Library web site
    (Stellenbosch University, 2008) Mvungi, Susan H; de Jager, Karin; Underwood, Peter G
    Web users are becoming more critical of the web sites they use. This paper evaluates the information architecture of the academic library web site at the University of Cape Town with more of a focus on the usability testing of the University web site. Two approaches to evaluation were completed to evaluate the library web site. Firstly, a formal usability test was conducted with five users to establish the required site structure and to identify any possible problems with the usability of the site. Secondly, a closed card sort analysis with ten participants was completed in order to establish the required site structure and terminology for the potential web site re-design. It was found that the library had a generally usable web site. The site however exhibited a few problems with the terminology used; the navigation design; and issues relating to identifying specific information. This study presents recommendations to handle the aforementioned problems. The study also encourages continual web site evaluation.
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    The Research Commons: a new creature in the library?
    (Emerald, 2010) Darch, Colin; de Jager, Karin; Daniels, William
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use made of the Research Commons during its first year of operation in an attempt to establish whether it actually provides a genuinely new and different service from the point of view of the end‐users, and whether a facility such as this could indeed be presumed to support research and enhance research output at the university. Design/methodology/approach – Using Lippincott's assessment grid, an attempt was made to assess activities in the Research Commons according to the dimensions of extensiveness, efficiency, effectiveness, service quality and usefulness. Methodology was mixed, with quantitative and qualitative components that logged the extent and nature of the use of the various facilities in the Research Commons and sought to establish from stakeholder perceptions whether the services on offer are regarded as substantially different from those in the undergraduate Knowledge Commons and whether they are indeed seen to be supporting research activities. Findings – It was found that a combination of numerical and qualitative measurements has yielded sufficient evidence for the drawing of preliminary conclusions. The evidence gathered demonstrates that the Research Commons, designed primarily as a site for the creation of new knowledge in the form of original writing by researchers at postgraduate and academic level, is indeed an advance on the well‐established "library commons" concept, and that its creation represents an instance of "parallel invention" – the "new creature" that the title refers to. Originality/value – This paper provides a multifaceted perspective on the activities taking place in a new library facility and should provide librarians and researchers with evidence‐based insight into how meaningful research support may be provided to young researchers from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds as part of an academic library service in a middle income country.
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    Statistics for electronic resources
    (University of Stellenbosch, 2009) Dean, Caroline Elizabeth; de Jager, Karin
    Electronic resources represent a large portion of many libraries' information resources. This paper sets out how and why international and South African librarians keep statistics for electronic resources, which statistics are kept, and what the issues and concerns are with regard to statistics for electronic resources. The responses were very similar. The concerns raised by both international and South African libraries were found to be about the continued lack of standardisation among publishers' reporting of statistics; the time-consuming nature of data collection; the reliability of usage data; the fact that data should be looked at in context; and the management of the data. A concern raised in South Africa but not in the international literature is that some librarians do not understand the basic concepts of electronic resources usage statistics.
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    The tangled web: investigating academics' views of plagiarism at the University of Cape Town
    (Taylor & Francis, 2010) de Jager, Karin; Brown, Cheryl
    This article considers the problematic question of student plagiarism, its causes and manifestations, and how it is addressed in academic environments. A literature survey was conducted to establish how higher education institutions approach these issues, and a twofold investigation was conducted at the University of Cape Town. Data was gathered from the case records of the university disciplinary tribunals dealing with plagiarism, and a survey was conducted among academic staff to establish how they dealt with issues surrounding plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Academics seem unwilling to follow official university policies if they are perceived to be unrealistic.
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    The use of academic libraries in turbulent times: student library behaviour and academic performance at the University of Cape Town
    (Emerald, 2018) de Jager, Karin; Nassimbeni, Mary; Daniels, William; D’Angelo, Alexander
    Purpose This article explores how an innovation in the University Management Information System was leveraged to incorporate library data by an initially sceptical strategic management team. The rationale was to extract evidence of correlations between library use and student achievement. This kind of information is of particular interest to the institution, which is at present dealing with crises popularly summarised in the slogan “#FeesMustFall” among students who suffer from the effects of poverty and exclusion in higher education. • Approach The data extracted from the Data Warehouse was approached from the comparative demographic perspectives of students’ degrees of disadvantage in an effort to uncover any hitherto hidden patterns of library use. • Findings The use of the library as expressed by footfall and loans was mapped against students’ pass rates and their collective grade point averages, indicating a positive relationship between library use and improved academic performance. Comment is offered on some of the relationships between student library behaviour before, during and after the nationwide disruptions that destabilized universities and threatened their survival at the end of 2016, just before the final examination period. The effects on library use of library closures (under threat of damage) at a critical time in the academic year and on student performance are interrogated. • Conclusions Students on financial aid, the indicator of disadvantage, come from schools and environments where access to information technology and libraries is very limited, so that library habits are either poorly established or are wholly lacking. At the University of Cape Town, considerable support is in place to encourage the development of library habits among students. Initial analysis of available data indicates that students who have acquired library habits, regardless of unfavourable financial circumstances, do not exhibit behaviour and academic outcomes markedly different from that of their more privileged peers. • Originality and value of the proposal Combining library data with data from the university data warehouse is a new approach in South Africa. It is an approach that is of value both to the library and to the institution at large and it has brought meaningful insights into the role the academic library might be seen to play in promoting student academic achievement.