Chat Transcripts in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Chats from the AskAway Consortia
Objective – During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of post-secondary institutions in British Columbia remained closed for a prolonged period, and volume on the provincial consortia chat service, AskAway, increased significantly. This study was designed to evaluate the content of AskAway transcr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Alberta
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Evidence Based Library and Information Practice |
| Online Access: | https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/30291 |
| _version_ | 1797739259682095104 |
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| author | Barbara Sobol Aline Goncalves Mathew Vis-Dunbar Sajni Lacey Shannon Moist Leanna Jantzi Aditi Gupta Jessica Mussell Patricia L. Foster Kathleen James |
| author_facet | Barbara Sobol Aline Goncalves Mathew Vis-Dunbar Sajni Lacey Shannon Moist Leanna Jantzi Aditi Gupta Jessica Mussell Patricia L. Foster Kathleen James |
| author_sort | Barbara Sobol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Objective – During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of post-secondary institutions in British Columbia remained closed for a prolonged period, and volume on the provincial consortia chat service, AskAway, increased significantly. This study was designed to evaluate the content of AskAway transcripts for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years to determine if the content of questions varied during the pandemic.
Methods – The following programs were used to evaluate the dataset of more than 70,000 transcripts: R, Python (pandas), Voyant Tools and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC).
Results – Our findings indicate that the content of questions remained largely unchanged despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the related increase in volume of questions on the AskAway chat service.
Conclusion – These findings suggest that the academic libraries covered by this study were well-poised to provide continued support of patrons through the AskAway chat service, despite an unprecedented closure of physical libraries, a significant increase in chat volume, and a time of global uncertainty.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:55:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f664dfedd7f4b0f80ac49e62940868a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1715-720X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:55:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | University of Alberta |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evidence Based Library and Information Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f664dfedd7f4b0f80ac49e62940868a2023-08-22T16:09:55ZengUniversity of AlbertaEvidence Based Library and Information Practice1715-720X2023-06-0118210.18438/eblip30291Chat Transcripts in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Chats from the AskAway ConsortiaBarbara Sobol0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5219-1775Aline Goncalves1Mathew Vis-Dunbar2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6541-9660Sajni Lacey3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0558-4140Shannon Moist4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2577-7484Leanna Jantzi5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0313-9107Aditi Gupta6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5382-8854Jessica Mussell7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6483-1979Patricia L. Foster8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4192-0220Kathleen James9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2358-8591University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, CanadaYukon University Library, Whitehorse, Yukon, CanadaUniversity of British Columbia, Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, CanadaUniversity of British Columbia, Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, CanadaDouglas College, New Westminster, British Columbia, CanadaSimon Fraser University, Surrey, British Columbia, CanadaUniversity of Victoria Libraries, Victoria, British Columbia, CanadaUniversity of Victoria Libraries, Victoria, British Columbia, CanadaUniversity of British Columbia, Point Grey Campus, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaMount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Objective – During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of post-secondary institutions in British Columbia remained closed for a prolonged period, and volume on the provincial consortia chat service, AskAway, increased significantly. This study was designed to evaluate the content of AskAway transcripts for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years to determine if the content of questions varied during the pandemic. Methods – The following programs were used to evaluate the dataset of more than 70,000 transcripts: R, Python (pandas), Voyant Tools and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). Results – Our findings indicate that the content of questions remained largely unchanged despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the related increase in volume of questions on the AskAway chat service. Conclusion – These findings suggest that the academic libraries covered by this study were well-poised to provide continued support of patrons through the AskAway chat service, despite an unprecedented closure of physical libraries, a significant increase in chat volume, and a time of global uncertainty. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/30291 |
| spellingShingle | Barbara Sobol Aline Goncalves Mathew Vis-Dunbar Sajni Lacey Shannon Moist Leanna Jantzi Aditi Gupta Jessica Mussell Patricia L. Foster Kathleen James Chat Transcripts in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Chats from the AskAway Consortia Evidence Based Library and Information Practice |
| title | Chat Transcripts in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Chats from the AskAway Consortia |
| title_full | Chat Transcripts in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Chats from the AskAway Consortia |
| title_fullStr | Chat Transcripts in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Chats from the AskAway Consortia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chat Transcripts in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Chats from the AskAway Consortia |
| title_short | Chat Transcripts in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Chats from the AskAway Consortia |
| title_sort | chat transcripts in the context of the covid 19 pandemic analysis of chats from the askaway consortia |
| url | https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/30291 |
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