Using Data to Persuade: State Your Case & Prove It Denise Troll Covey Principal Librarian for Special Projects Carnegie Mellon LAMA Preconference: Got Data, Now What? June 2004 – Orlando, FL A S S E S S M E N T

Users want Easy, speedy, convenient access to quality resources Affective, effective service Comfortable, aesthetic space What Do They Want? Administrators want Satisfied users who are lifelong learners Peer comparisons that look good Cost-effective management Fund raising

What is a “Culture of Assessment”? Beliefs, behaviors, & assumptions that drive an ongoing cycle of data gathering, analysis, interpretation, organization, presentation, & use Demonstrate contribution & accountability Identify problems that impair or impede contribution Monitor & facilitate continuous improvement Provide evidence of need

Academic libraries (2002) Denise Troll Covey: Usage & Usability Assessment: Library Practices & Concerns (CLIR report 105) Public libraries (2002) Larry Nash White: Does Counting Count: An Evaluation Study of the Use and Impact of Performance Measurement in Florida Public Libraries CRIME: “orphaned data & knowledge” Negligence: Intentionally created, but of little or no use to library & its stakeholders because of ineffective processes that result in delayed analysis & presentation Harm: Waste resources; reduce benefits; raise costs; veil challenges; obstruct opportunities; hurt morale Assessment Scene Investigation (ASI)

What Are We Doing? Allowing a gap between our current culture & our objectives; the current culture is winning CURRENT Beliefs Behaviors Assumptions DESIRED Beliefs Behaviors Assumptions Transition Conner, D.R. Managing at the Speed of Change. NY: Villard, Muddling through: using short term solutions to solve long term problems Project for the Future of Higher Education

What do we need to do? Need to transform higher education Create a vision focused on student learning, quality of faculty work life, & reduced cost per student Gather & USE data to create deep change Implement the vision via creativity & collaboration Improve effectiveness, efficiency, & value Promote operational culture of evidence EDUCAUSE National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII)

Assumptions No assessment, no transformation No transformation without resistance No pain, no gain Assessment is like teaching pigs to dance. The results aren’t pretty & it just irritates the pigs.

Assessment Requires Persuasion Problem or opportunity exists Need to conduct research What kind of study Who should be involved How to interpret the data What to recommend based on the data Getting support for your recommendations

Persuasion is an Art Using discourse to effect thought & action Convince – agree that your argument is reasonable Persuade – motivate action based on conviction Elements of the rhetorical situation Problem or opportunity that invites change Audience capable of mediating the change Constraints that can be manipulated to effect change

How You Begin... Problem or opportunity is WHY you gather data Controls audience to be addressed Controls change to be effected Audience is WHOM you gather data for Those with power to mediate the change you want

Problem + Audience = Purpose What research questions must be answered to Solve problem or take advantage of opportunity? Focus, facilitate or demonstrate achievement? Decide WHAT data you need to gather to answer THESE questions for THIS audience given your CONSTRAINTS

Gather WHAT Data? Good enough data for your purpose Inputs – potential to provide service Outputs – actual service provided Outcomes – what good you do Performance – how well you do Efficiency Effectiveness Satisfaction Quality Usability

Examine Your Constraints Time, money, people, & skills Constrain research & sampling methods Commitment to use the results Incentive, motivation, & credibility Audience (see handout) What’s their culture? What do they know or think they know that’s relevant? What do they need to know or care about? What triggers their sense of urgency?

Other Constraints Rhetoric – discourse designed to engage & motivate the audience to mediate change Rhetor – who creates & delivers the discourse Time – to state your case & prove it –The higher up the food chain you go, the less time you seem to have with your audience

Got Data, Now What? Analyze – compile & examine for tendencies Interpret – decide what the data mean Tentatively plan how to use the data & knowledge Organize & present the data & knowledge to tell a story that will engage & motivate your audience to confirm the plan & mediate the change you want

Tell the Right Story to the Right People Data are part of the story The rest is rhetorical argument Convey the urgency of the situation Start with premises accepted by the audience Use data, knowledge, & strategy to build your case Persuade the audience to accept your conclusions Strength of case is determined by audience

Beginning – State your case in their terms Middle – Prove it in a crescendo of evidence-based arguments (plot) that convey urgency, address objections, & build a case that fits or alters their worldview End – state proposed plan & your “ask” –By the time you reach your “ask,” the audience must be persuaded Tell the Right Story the Right Way

Leverage Existing Data & Knowledge Develop & strengthen your story using all available evidence Previous internal assessments & visitor reports Standards, guidelines, & best practices Comparative data with peers Environmental scan Relevant research

Fundamental Strategies Association – connect your data & knowledge with what your audience knows & cares about To be persuasive, your data & claims must be consonant with your audience’s knowledge at the time Dissociation – separate your data & knowledge from what they mistakenly believe or assume Predict & address resistance & objections

EXAMPLE Problem requiring discourse to change: Undergraduate students are using inappropriate resources for their coursework Audiences able to mediate change Faculty Provost Reference librarians University Advancement

Undergraduates Want easy, speedy, convenient access Remote access to full text resources More & easier to use online resources More books Library web site is problematic Physical library & ILL are inconvenient 43% never use reference service 14% never heard of reference service

Undergraduate Behaviors & Beliefs Value efficiency more than effectiveness 96% believe info on the surface web is adequate 80% prefer remote access to information 72% begin with a search engine 48% use online resources all or most of the time 46% believe other web sites are better than library Spend 33% of their study time in a library Research by Outsell, OCLC, Pew Foundation, & the EDNER Project (UK)

Digital Reference Automated Resource Finder & chat reference Web based tool to easily locate appropriate online library resources Initial funding from private donor “Ask”:

“Ask”: Million Book Project Digitize & provide open access to a million books on the surface web Initial funding from NSF & the governments of India & China

Thank you! Denise Troll Covey An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure. B. Holton. Leadership Lessons of Robert E. Lee. NY: Gramercy Books, 1995.