Collect with Intent: Craft Meaningful Questions that Drive Evidence Based Assessment Strategies

Abstract

Data analysis is a relatively new skill sets required of librarians. Many articles published over the past several years focused on the fact that training opportunities are not widely available, and this disparity has prevented the standardization of assessment practices within the profession. I propose that the key to developing sustainable assessment strategies is to first uncover the correct questions to guide investigations. The inquiry process provides a focus to assessment work, ensures that the proper data is collected, and dictates how to conduct analysis activities in order to arrive at answers that support collection decisions. When librarians locate the central questions at the heart of evidence-based collection assessment, they create a roadmap that leads to correct answers and essentially, guides efforts to standardize assessment practices across the professional community as a whole.