Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2025
Publication Title
Text and Data Mining Literacy for Librarians
Abstract
Text and data mining (TDM) has become increasingly important in research and teaching in higher education. Researchers at all levels are engaging with larger quantities of data than previously feasible. The exponential increase in the availability of text data has resulted in a proliferation of the number of tools that facilitate text data processing and analysis. While TDM skills may have been optional or a disciplinary focus in the past, they are increasingly employed in a broader range of fields. Students and researchers may also be inspired to use TDM tools as they come across examples while looking for new research ideas. Research interests and curricular requirements across disciplines are leading librarians to seek TDM-related professional development opportunities as more people look to the library for assistance.
When people come to the library for help with TDM, the reference interview is a foundational step for helping patrons clarify and support their TDM information needs. As such, the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) “Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers 2023” are valuable to consider in light of how librarians can best provide services to patrons seeking assistance with TDM. As one of the co-authors of Conducting the Reference Interview notes, “A good reference interview is a collaboration. […] At the end of the process, the library professional and user, by working together, have achieved a new understanding that neither could have arrived at individually.” The interview itself may help the patron get ideas for data sources or tools they want to explore for their project, or it may help them through a particular challenge or refer them to resources or another person with additional expertise. The patron may have been provided questions to answer with a cleaned dataset and may be running into problems and want someone to help them troubleshoot something they missed. Or they may be beginning a dissertation and have an idea for a research question they want to answer with social media data but have no idea where to start with data collection or interpretation. Or a researcher may have heard about TDM and wants examples of how others have used it in their field to get ideas for a new research project. Librarians’ adeptness at helping users clarify their research questions and navigate information resources and technologies through the reference interview can be crucial to helping patrons successfully navigate TDM research.
First Page
13
Last Page
22
Recommended Citation
Egan, Laura. "Reference Interview Recommendations for Text and Data Mining." Text and Data Mining Literacy for Librarians, edited by Whitney Kramer, Iliana Burgos, and Evan Muzzall, ACRL, 2025, pp. 13-22.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.