This document summarizes a study on research practices in history conducted by Ithaka S+R. In phase one, they interviewed 23 research support professionals about current services, future plans, and challenges. Preliminary findings showed that the environment has changed with digitization, support models are evolving, and challenges include expertise, funding, and outreach. In phase two, they will interview 40 historians and PhD students about their research processes, digital scholarship, and challenges through the career. The goal is to understand historians' needs to inform research support services.

1. Transforming Research Support Services
A Study of Research Practices in History
Roger Schonfeld, Director of Research, Ithaka S+R
Jennifer Rutner, Senior Analyst, Ithaka S+R
CNI Spring Meeting 2012
April 3, 2012

2. Mission
ITHAKA is a not-for-profit organization that helps the academic
community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly
record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways.
We pursue this mission by providing innovative services that aid in
the adoption of these technologies and that create lasting impact.

3. Our Services
Ithaka S+R is a research and consulting service that focuses on the
transformation of scholarship and teaching in an online
environment, with the goal of identifying the critical issues facing
our community and acting as a catalyst for change.
Portico is a digital preservation service for e-journals, e-books, and
other scholarly e-content.
JSTOR is a research platform that enables discovery, access, and
preservation of scholarly content.

4. Motivation

5. Motivation
The way we work has changed.

6. Motivation
The way our services are used has changed.

7. Motivation
What’s the best way forward?

8. History Project Funding and Advisory Board
NEH Digital Humanities Start-up Grant
Advisory Board
Francis X. Blouin, Director, Bentley Historical Library Prof. School of Information
and Dept. of History University of Michigan
Daniel Cohen, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Art History at
George Mason University, and the Director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for
History and New Media
James Grossman, American Historical Association, Executive Director
Miriam Posner, UCLA, Digital Humanities Program Coordinator
Stefan Tanaka, University of California at San Diego, Professor in the Department
of Communication and Director of the Center for the Humanities

9. Discussion
• What does your organization want to know about
humanities faculty?
• What challenges is your organization facing in working with
faculty in the humanities?
• What is informing your organization’s understanding of
humanities faculty on your campus?

10. Methodology

11. Methodology
Research
management
Research Scholarly
methods comm.
Computing Collaboration
Supporting
Scholarship
Data
management Funding
Scholarly
Publishing
literature
Primary
resources

12. Methodology: Phase I
Interviews with research Interview topics
support professionals » Current services provided
» Twenty-three phone » Planning future services
interviews » Understanding the changing
» One Digital Humanities NYC needs of scholars
meeting » Challenges

13. Preliminary Findings
Phase I: Interviews with Research Support Professionals

14. Preliminary Findings:
Research Support Professionals
“You once could have the illusion that you could
do most of what you needed to do. That’s not
the case anymore. It’s an endless electronic
world.”
Environmental Changes in History Research
• Digitization of primary and secondary sources
• Access to increased computing capacity

15. Preliminary Findings:
Research Support Professionals
“We started building tools because they were tools we needed.
We are our consumer.”
Research Support Digital Scholarship Support
• Staffing: Librarians, • Staffing: Scholars, librarians,
archivists, IT IT
• Services-oriented • Services, tools, methods,
projects
• Relatively stable service
model • Evolving service model
• Interactions initiated by the • Interactions are initiated by
scholar either the scholar or the RSP
• Discrete interactions • Long(er)-term partnerships
• Campus-orientation • Community-orientation

16. Preliminary Findings:
Research Support Professionals
“[We are] willing to contemplate a variety of
futures for the library.”
Support Challenges
• Expertise and skill building
• Funding and sustainability
• Outreach to faculty

17. Preliminary Findings:
Research Support Professionals
“They’re used to doing certain kinds of work. This
is different, and it’s organized in a different
way.”
Perceived Challenges for History Scholars
• Established research habits and practices
• “Information overload”
• Independent scholarship model
• Collaboration and project management

18. Preliminary Findings:
Research Support Professionals
“Our graduate students are still socialized in the
mold of the individual scholar.”
Perceptions on Graduate Students
• Research practices and habits are not yet formed
• Open to new methods and training
• Concerned about building their careers

19. Quick: what’s missing?
(5 minutes)
1. Environmental changes
2. Research support models
3. Support challenges
4. Perceived challenges for historians
5. Graduate students

20. Next steps
Interviews with historians Interview topics
In person, in-situ, and phone » Current research projects
interviews with forty » The research life cycle:
historians and PhD students  Discovery
•Active researchers  Library use
•Varied institution types  Archival research
•Career progression  Research notes
management
•Sub-disciplines
 Collaboration
•Technology use
 Technology use
 Publication
» Digital scholarship
» Challenges throughout

21. Next steps

22. Next steps

23. Next steps

24. Next steps

25. Discussion

26. Discussion
• What does your organization want to know about
humanities faculty?
• What challenges is your organization facing in working with
faculty in the humanities?
• What is informing your organization’s understanding of
humanities faculty on your campus?

27. Thank you
www.researchsupportservices.net

28. Photo credits
» http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubclibrary/4093134165/sizes/m/in/photostream/d
» http://www.flickr.com/photos/bloem/5122399298/sizes/m/in/photostream/
» http://www.flickr.com/photos/ppl_ri_images/4019949756/sizes/m/in/photostream/
» http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubclibrary/2702161578/sizes/m/in/photostream/
» Evidence photographs Copyright ITHAKA