Northern Illinois University, University Libraries

The Northern Illinois University, University Libraries in partnership with Northeastern Illinois University Libraries, and the Library at Harry S Truman College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, will perform research to adapt, deploy, and disseminate ethnographic research tools to investigate undergraduate and community college student research processes at public higher education institutions. This project is based on updating tools originally developed through the Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries project. Over four phases—adaptation of protocols, piloting instruments, deployment across three sites, and analysis and dissemination—the team will recruit participants to support two complementary methods: Research Process/Ethnographic Interviews and Photo Journals/Mapping Diaries. Data collection will capture both observed behaviors and reflective mapping of student research activities.