Category Similarties

In looking at the Card Sort Results by Group we can start to understand how people organize information together as it pertains to the library. The results indicate that several groups created some of the same categories as each other. For example, all four groups created a category called ‘Citing a Source’. There were a total of seven categories that at least three of the groups came up with.

Name Variations by Category

Two categories that were created by the groups had several name variations, but they each had one common word within the phrase. The first category was the use of ‘libraries’ and ‘library’ that was part of the phrase that was created by three of the groups. The phrase variations are:

  • College Libraries
  • Libraries
  • Library Facilities

The second category used the word ‘subject’ as part of the phrase and it was also created by three of the four groups. The phrase variations for this term are:

  • Search by Subject
  • Subject Focused
  • Research by Subject

One group used the word ‘major’ instead of the word ‘subject’ for the same category. Regardless of the phrase that a group used they put the same items into the category. This category consisted of the following items:

  • Anthropology
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Education
  • English
  • Math
  • Music

Common Categories

When you start looking at the results from the card sort in detail there are certain trends that begin to appear. Several of the groups came up with similar categories; However, the placement of items varied from one group to another. Along with several similarities amongst all of the groups there are also items that were treated much differently. As mentioned before in previous posts Overview of Card Sort Results and Card Sort Results by Group the phrase AskUs and AskUs 24/7 meant something entirely different to each group.

When we combine the results of the card sort from all four groups together there are a total of eight categories that overlap among all of the groups. The only category that all four groups used was ‘Citing a Source’. The category ‘Subject’ is a distant second because of the name variations that each group had created for it. Here is how the categories break down by the number of groups that came up with the same name.

Four Groups

  • Citing a Source

Three Groups

  • Contact Us
  • Databases
  • FAQ’s
  • Libraries – Name Variations =
    • College Libraries
    • Libraries
    • Library Facilities
  • Policies
  • Subject – Name Variations =
    • Search by Subject
    • Subject Focused
    • Research by Subject

Two Groups

  • About

There are some terms such as ‘Inter Library Loan’ and ‘Library Catalog’, that each group placed in a different category from each other. Part of the difficulty with these terms is that they can fall into many different categories based upon a persons perspective. For example, ‘Library Catalog’ appeared as a category heading for one group and for another it appeared under the heading that they had for databases. On the other hand, Inter Library Loan is a service that is provided to people, so they can borrow books from other libraries and it too can fall into multiple categories. Along with being a service it allows for interaction between other library catalogs, such as WorldCat and itself. When you find a book in WorldCat you can select the link ‘Request interlibrary loan’ which will automatically take you to Inter Library Loan and populate the data from the book.

 

 

Card Sort Conclusions

Conducting the card sort with four different groups provided some valuable insight to how students organize information as it pertains to the library. The first group was video taped as they organized items into categories. Here is short excerpt from the hour long video:

Whenever you are conducting research and gathering data there are always limitations and this exercise was no different. The limitations of this study are as follows:

  • Only Juniors and Seniors volunteered to participate
  • There were no first or second year students regardless of their degree status
  • No graduate students participated
  • There was no participation from the School of Education, which is one of the largest departments on campus.

The most frustrating part of the entire process was recruiting volunteers to participate in the card sort. I knew that it would be difficult to find participants, but I did not imagine it would be as difficult as it was. The whole process of designing and building a new website is iterative where you do something and then show what you have done to people to get feedback. As we move forward we will no longer need to recruit groups of people to participate at one time; However, we will still need to recruit people.

The next step in the process is to take the results from the card sort and start combining what each group of people did into meaningful categories. The card sort will segue into the next step which is to create the information architecture for the new website.

Card Sort Results by Group

Here are the categories that each of the four groups created during the card sort.

Group 1 Categories

  • About
  • Citing a Source
  • College Libraries
  • Databases
  • FAQ’s
  • Library Catalog
  • Policies
  • Search by Subject
  • Services

Group 2 Categories

  • About Us
  • Citing a Source
  • Contact Us
  • Databases
  • FAQ’s
  • Majors
  • Policies
  • Tehcnology

Group 3 Categories

  • Libraries
    • Contact Us
    • AskUs 24/7
      • Reserves
      • Noise Policy
      • Borrowing Policy
        • Films On Demand
        • Books
        • Article
        • Subject Focused
      • Citing a Source

Group 4 Categories

  • Citing a Source
  • Research by Subject
  • Library Facilities
    • Crumb Library
    • Crane Library
    • University Archives
  • Databases
    • Library Catalog
    • Article
    • Streaming Music
    • Films on Demand
  • Library Policies
    • Fines
    • Course Reserves Policy
    • Noise Policy
    • Collection Development Policy
    • Borrowing Policy
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ’s

The headings that appear in each column of the table below represents a different category that each group came up with.

Card Sort Results
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

About

Employment

Hours

Address

315-267-2000

library@potsdam.edu

Citing a Source

APA Style

Chicago Manual of Style

MLA Style

College Libraries

Crane Library

Crumb Library

University Archives

Databases

Academic Search Complete

JSTOR

PubMed

Films on Demand

Article

Electronic Books

FAQ’s

Make Suggestion

Suggest an item for purchase

AskUs 24/7

Ask us

Can I sign out a group studyt room?

Do you have a scanner?

Where are your copiers?

Ho do I get a library card?

How do I find a book on reserve?

Do you have a fax machine?

How do I print from a laptop computer?

How much does printing cost?

Library Catalog

BearCat

WorldCat

Policies

Noise

Collection Development Policy

Fines

Course Reservers

Borrowing

Consultation Request

Search by Subject

Chemistry

Anthropology

Englsih

Math

Music

Education

Communications

Services

Books

Digital Camera

Laptop

Labtop Computer

Headphones

DVDs

Audio CDs

Records

Listening Rooms

Group Study Rooms

Inter Library Loan

Reserves

Items that people did not know

Books 24×7

Credo Reference

Naxos

Print Poster – did not know that you could do this in the library

AskUs

Words Not used

Copiers – question was used under FAQ’s

Jobs – used Employment instead

About Us

Consultation Request

Employment

Fines

Listening Rooms

Hours

Print Poster

Group Study Rooms

Reserves

Citing a Source

Chicago Manual of Style

APA Style

MLA Style

Contact Us

University Archives

Address

315-267-2000

Crumb Library

Crane Library

library@potsdam.edu

Make Suggestion

Suggest an item for purchase

Databases

Article

Books

Records – as in a record in a database

Academic Search Complete

PubMed

Credo Reference

Inter Library Loan

JSTOR

NAXOS

BearCat

Library Catalog

WorldCat

FAQ’s

How do I find a book on reserve?

How do I get a library card?

Do you have a scanner?

Do you have a fax machine?

Can I sign out a group study room?

Where are your copiers?

Majors

Education

Anthropology

Chemistry

Englsih

Communications

Math

Music

Policies

Course Reserves Policy

Borrowing Policy

Collection Development Policy

Noise Policy

Technology

Electronic Books

Laptop Computer

Copiers

Digital Camera

DVDs

Headphones

Audio CDs

Items that people did not know

AskUs 24/7

Films on Demand

Books 24X7

Words Not Used

AskUs

Jobs – used employment instead

Libraries

Hours

Employment

How do I get a library card?

Digital Camera

Laptop Computer

Collection Development Policy

Fines

Inter Library Loan

Consultation request

Do you have a scanner?

Contact Us

Address

Make Suggestion

Suggest an item for purchase

315-267-2000

AskUS 24/7

Reserves

How do I find a book on reserve?

Course Reserves Policy

Noice Policy

Listening Rooms

Headphones

DVD’s

Audio Cd’s

Group Study Rooms

Can I sign out a group study room?

Borrowing Policy

Films On Demand

Books

Library Catalog

WorldCat

BearCat

Books 24×7

Article

Academic Search Complete

PubMed

Credo Reference

NAXOS

JSTOR

University Archives

Subject Focused

Music

Education

English

Communications

Math

Chemistry

Antrhpology

Citing a Source

MLA Style

APA Style

Chicago Manual of Style

Items that people did not know

AskUs 24/7

Films on Demand

Words Not Used

Library Card

Copiers

Records

Databases

FAQ’s – used ‘Contact Us’ for a category heading

Print Poster

Jobs – used under employment

Crane Library – was combined with Crumb Library to become Libraries

Crumb Library – was combined with Crane Library to become Libraries

Citing a Source

Chicago Manual of Style

APA Style

MLA Style

Research by Subject

Math

Communications

Music

Chemistry

Anthropology

English

Education

Library Facilities

Crumb Library

Copiers

Crane Library

Copiers

Group Study Rooms

Listening Rooms

MIDI Lab

University Archives

Databases

Library Catalog

Reserves

BearCat

WorldCat

Inter Library Loan

Article

Academic Search Complete

PubMed

JSTOR

Streaming Music

NAXOS

Films on Demand

Electonic Books

Library Policies

Fines

Course Reserves Policy

Noise Policy

Collection Development Policy

Suggest an item for purchase

Borrwoing Policy

Laptop Computer

Records

Audio Cd’s

Books

DVDs

Digital Camera

Headphones

Contact Us

Hours

Address

Phone

Email

Make Suggestion

AskUs 24/7

Consultation Request

Employment

FAQ’s

How do I find a book on reserve?

Can I sign out a group study room?

Do you have a fax machine?

Do you have a scanner?

Where are your Copiers?

How do I get a Library Card?

Items that People did not know

Credo Reference

Books 24×7

Print Poster

Word Not Used

AskUs

Jobs – used employment instead

 

Each group did not use all of the items that were on the index cards. In taking a look at how each group categorized the items on the index cards it is apparent that even though they thought they understood what a term meant in reality this was not the case. This can be seen by taking a look at the visual representation of the categories created by group 3. This group created two categories called AskUs 24/7 and Films on Demand. Films on Demand is a database the college libraries subscribe too and AskUs 24/7 is a chat based service.

The categories that group three created are the most difficult to understand. This group started with the main category of ‘Libraries’ and all items when appear under this main category. Under the category ‘Library’ the categories ‘Contact Us’ and ‘Ask Us 24/7’ would appear. The rest of the categories are placed underneath the heading ‘Ask Us 24/7’.

Group 3 Results

Here is a visual representation of the categories that group 3 created and how they organized the terms that appeared on the index cards.

Visual representation of categories that appear in the table above for group 3.

If you having difficulty viewing this image and would like to see a larger one please go to the following URL: http://www.patrickrunfit.com/potsdamlibweb/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/group31.gif.

Group 4 Results

Here is a visual representation of the categories that group 4 created:

Visual representation of the categories created by group 4.

If you having difficulty viewing this image and would like to see a larger one please go to the following URL: http://www.patrickrunfit.com/potsdamlibweb/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/group4_categories1.gif.

Overview of Card Sort Results

After asking some general questions as stated in the previous post How Each Card Sort Was Conducted each group was asked an additional five questions. Here are the questions along with the responses that each group gave:

Are there any words or phrases that are confusing to you?

Group 1

Books 24×7, Credo Reference, NAXOS

Ask Us – The group did not know that this was a chat based service. Rather it was just an area that would allow you to find the information that you need.

Group 2

Ask Us 24/7, Films on Demand, NAXOS

Group 3

NAXOS

Group 4

Credo Reference, Books 24×7

Is there anything missing that did not appear on the cards?

Group 1

Printing Information – The group created two additional questions about printing and put them under their heading FAQ’s.

Group 2

No

Group 3

No

Group 4

Midi Lab

Would you rename any of the items that appear on the cards to become something else?

Group 1

No

Group 2

No

Group 3

No

Group 4

No

What do you think AskUs 24/7 means?

Group 1

A place to go to ask someone a question who works in the library. Only one person in this group new that Ask US 24/7 was a chat service.

Group 2

Made Ask Us 24/7 a category to start with, but than changed it to become FAQ’s

Group 3

A location where you can send an email or you can get the answer to a question by looking in a specific place. Another way it was described was a way to search through information to locate the answer that you need. This group used Ask Us 24/7 as a category.

Group 4

This group was not sure what the phrase meant; However, they thought that it was a place you could ask a question about the libraries regardless of its hours.

Is there anything that you think is important for us to know?

Group 1

Add some information about the reference desk

  • What is it and where it is located
  • Why would someone use or go to the reference desk

Group 2

no response given

Group 3

no response given

Group 4

no response given

Even though a group may have answered no to a question in reality it may have been really a yes. When taking a look at how the groups organized the items into categories they may not have been placed in the correct location. The majority of the items that were confusing to people happen to be the name of the databases or the phrase ‘Ask Us’. Based upon these results of the card sort having a list of databases by name would not be useful because a person would not know which one to select. The only way a person would know what database to select is if they had used it in the past to find information or if someone has told them the name of a specific database to use. For example, if a librarian mentioned to a student that JSTOR would be useful in finding peer reviewed articles then a person would be looking specifically for this database by name. On the other hand, if they are looking for useful resources looking at a list of databases would not be useful to them because it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

There were a few words that groups did not identify as confusing that surprised me. I expected to see more names of databases to appear along with BearCat and WorldCat to be mentioned; However, they were not mentioned. Using made up words is not a good idea in everyday life and especially as it pertains to the internet unless it is the name of your company. In talking with the groups it was not a surprise that Ask Us or Ask Us 24/7 were confusing to them or that they did not know what they mean.

One of the most significant usability problems is to make up a name for something that nobody understands. It would be similar for a person who speaks Gaelic to try and talk to someone who speaks Arabic. According to Nielson and Loranger

“Clever made-up words or category names are problematic because people don’t understand them. People tend to skip over meaningless words” (192).

Another usability problem that still occurs is to use the color blue for headings or text that are not links. These are two very simple principles that still get ignored by many organizations. Lets stop making up words and start eliminating the barriers that prevent people from accomplishing their task. If we really want our patrons to use the electronic services that the libraries have to offer we need to make them easier to use.

Nielsen, J., & Loranger, H. (2006). Prioritizing Web Usability. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

How Each Card Sort Was Conducted

A total of four different groups participated in the card sort and three of them took place on three consecutive days during the week of April 4th. To learn more about the details you will want to read through the post called Lessons Learned from a few days ago. I met the three groups that participated last week in the lobby of the Crumb Library at the agreed upon time and we either headed upstairs to Room 215 or to Room 117. The reason for using room 117 was that I was expecting anywhere from 5 to 12 people to show up, so a larger room was necessary; However, only a total of 5 people actual showed up to participate. In retrospect Room 215 upstairs in the library would have been large enough to accommodate the number of people that came, but it was nice to have the extra space. I met the last group at the Crane Library on Thursday, April 14th.

At the beginning of each card sort, I took a moment to briefly talk about why a card sort was being conducted. It was followed up by a description of what we would be doing. While talking with the participants, I told them that the I was in the process of redesigning and rebuilding the college libraries website (there is actually a difference between the two) and that a card sort will help me understand how people organize items into different categories. By having people that represent the target audience participate it will make it easier for people who use the libraries new website find the information they need.

Next we talked about what a card sort was and how it will be used to help people use the new website. A card sort is where you take words and phrases written on index cards and organize them into categories based upon similarities. Before the groups began working on putting the cards into categories, I gave a brief demonstration with a separate set of index cards. The important thing to note is that the example that was presented did not contain any of the words or phrases on the index cards that where given to the group. This was done on purpose so that the group would not be influenced by the demonstration. After the demonstration, I left the room and said that I would come back in about 20 minutes.

After coming back most groups where finished except for one, so I left and came back again. Once the groups were finished putting things into categories it was time to gather some additional information that would provide to be very useful. At this point, I asked two general questions

  1. Was it hard to put things into categories?
  2. Was this pretty easy to do?

Everyone who participated found it easy to put things into categories. Each group took a different amount of time to put things into categories and there was no relationship to the size of the group. The largest group of people fell right into the middle as far as the amount of time it took them to put things into categories. It took them about 25 minutes to put things into categories.

Card Sort Creation

The next step in preparing for the card sort was to create a list of words and phrases that would be used for the card sort. A total of 64 items where created and written on index cards.

Card Sort Words

MusicPicture of index cards.
Education
Math
English
Chemistry
Anthropology
Communications
MLA Style
APA Style
Chicago Manual of Style
Reserves
Library Card
Laptop Computer
Headphones
Digital Camera
Copiers
Hours
Group Study Rooms
Listening Rooms
Inter Library Loan
Library Catalog
Ask us (meebo)
AskUs 24/7
Audio Cd’s
Books
DVDs
Records
Citing a Source
Academic Search Complete
Books 24X7
Credo Reference
NAXOS
Films on Demand
JSTOR
PubMed
WorldCat
BearCat
44 Pierrpont Ave. Potsdam, NY 13676
library@potsdam.edu
315-267-2000
Borrowing Policy
Collection Development Policy
Course Reserves Policy
Noise Policy
Make Suggestion
Consultation Request
How do I get a library card?
How do I find a book on reserve?
Where are your copiers?
Can I sign out a group study room?
FAQ’s
Suggest an item for purchase
Jobs
Employment
Fines
Databases
Article
Do you have a Scanner?
Do you have a Fax Machine?
Print Poster
Crane Library
Crumb Library
University Archives
Electronic Books

After writing all of the terms onto the index cards it was now time to conduct the card sort.

Gathering Information

Before even coming up with a list of words for the cart sort a list of items that should appear on the website was created. Here is the list of items that, I came up with:

  • Hours for the Libraries
  • Contact Information for both Crane and Crumb Library – address, phone, email
  • Contact Form
  • Libraries Catalog Access
  • Electronic Database Access
  • Inter Library Loan Access
  • List of Equipment that can be borrowed – computers, digital cameras etc.
  • Circulation Policy – for all items that can be borrowed from the libraries.

Crumb Circulation Desk.

This list of items came from working at the reference desk in the Crumb Library and talking to the circulation staff at both the Crane and Crumb Libraries. Talking to the circulation staff proved to be very important because they are the busiest service point in the library. Along with talking to staff, I spend a few days at the circulation desk in both libraries to observe and take notes about the types of questions people ask. It was like conducting data for a research project by observing human behavior.

In reading through the list that appears above you additional ideas to add or even take away items depending on your perspective. In looking back it would have been useful to talk with people who represent the target audience to find out what they need to have access too. This is something that you want to be careful with because a person may ask for things that in reality may not really help them with the task they are trying to accomplish. This reminds me of the Simpsons episode Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? where Homer gets the chance to design a car. During the episode he adds things to the car such as a large cup holder that gets in the way of the controls. The engineers are able to design the car and a prototype is built, but the cost bankrupts the company.

Circulation Desk

Desk at the Crane Library.

At the same time, I was contemplating what items should appear you may have additional ideas to add or may see a few things that you would take away. Every library would probably have at least a few of things on their list; However, each one is a little different serving a different community of patrons. What would your list contain? This was one of the most useful aspects in gathering information because the circulation desk is where we have the most interaction with the people who use the libraries.

The Crane Library circulation and reference desk are located next to each other at the same desk. After walking into the entrance of the library you see a large desk right in front of you. The first part of the desk that you see is staffed by someone who is responsible for circulation duties. The reference area of the desk is located at the far right of the desk. Essentially the desk in the Crane Library serves two service points one for circulation and another one for reference.

The view of the reference desk after you have just walked into the library and turned to your left or right.

On the other hand, the Crumb library has two different desks that are approximately 50 meters apart from each other. After entering the library the circulation desk is the first point of contact for people, so most questions often start here and than move to the reference desk. The reference desk is not in a persons field of vision because of its location unless a person turns to their immediate left or right after entering the building.

Most Common Questions

  • May I have a laptop?
  • Can I check this out?
  • My professor put something on reserve – do you know where it is?
  • The computer I’m using says it can’t find the printers. Why?
  • The computer I’m using locked up. Why?
  • Can I borrow a pair of headphones?
  • Where can I find this book?/Ho do I find this book?
  • What time do you open?/What time do you close?
  • Dow you have a fax machine?
  • Where are your copiers?
  • Do you have a scanner?
  • Are there any more computers?
  • Can I sigh out a group study room?

Less Common Question

  • Can you help me cite this?
  • I’m looking for an article can you help me?

The questions that appear above are asked at both libraries; However, the Crumb Library receives a higher number of questions because it is the largest and busiest library on campus.

 

Lessons Learned

This week has been very busy with having three sessions of card sorts. In looking back at the week it was not a good idea to have three sessions taking place on three consecutive days. If you plan on doing a card sort with different groups, I would highly recommend that you allow for at least a day off in between each one or have schedule them take place over a two work period.

Here is what are schedule looked like for the card sort:

  • Tuesday 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Wednesday 2:20 p.m. to 3:30 p.m
  • Thursday 10 a.m to 11 a.m.

The reason for selecting three days in a row at three different times was to make it easier to recruit people and to schedule a group study room within the Crumb Library. About the only thing that made these times easy to work with was the ability to schedule a group study room. When taking a look at the dates it looks like things would not be all that time consuming; However, this was not the case.

I was the only person that was conducting the card sort which had the advantage of consistency. When talking to each group about the card sort allowed for consistency. After each group had completed the card sort my work really only just began. Once the participants where finished organizing the words on the index cards into categories we would talk for a few minutes about the terms and phrases on the cards.

Once the participants left it was time to take some pictures of the organization of the cards. Without having the use of a ladder it made taking pictures challenging because it was not possible to take a direct over head shot of the cards on the table. Instead all of the pictures were taken at an angle which presented its own unique issues.

Along with taking pictures it was time to collect the cards and keep them into categories. By keeping the cards into categories it made it easier to create an HTML document that represented the categories and items that belonged in each one. Future posts will contain the results of the card sorts. Most of my time was spent between taking pictures, keeping things organized, and recording the results by writing a web page. If the card sort dates were spread out over time it would have made it easier to upload pictures and record the results.

Fictional Card Sort

Lets use the following terms for a simple card sort example.

  • apple
  • banana
  • beans
  • carrot
  • celery
  • corn
  • cow
  • orange
  • peach
  • shoe

Each of these terms will be written on a different index card and will be given to the people who are participating in the card sort. You can than ask people to organize the items into different categories. After people are finished organization the content into categories it is time to ask them how they would name each category. At this point you will want to give the participants some blank index cards and ask them to write down the name of each category on one of the index cards.

Using the items listed above a group of people might organize the terms into the following categories.

Three rows of index cards.

Vegetables

  • Corn
  • Celery
  • Carrot
  • Beans

Fruit

  • Peach
  • Orange
  • Banana
  • Apple

Other

  • Cow
  • Shoe

After the index cards have been arranged into different categories you will have the opportunity to talk with the participants about why they put items into certain groups. This is your opportunity to find out several different things from why things were grouped together in a certain way to understanding why a term was confusing. In talking to participants you may find that you need to rename or remove certain words to make it easier for a person to locate the information that they would be searching for in a website.

Card Sort

We keep mentioning the phrase card sort, but what exactly does it mean. A card sort is a way that allows you to understand how people organize certain items together into categories. A grocery store would be one example of how items get organized. Regardless of what grocery store you walk into the items in that store will be grouped together in a certain way. For example, fruits and vegetables will be in one location of the store and milk and dairy products will be located together. Whether you go into a Krogers, Price Chopper, Farmer Jack etc. the way they group items will be very similar. By grouping items together in a certain way makes it easier for a person to locate and find the items that they need. No matter where you live in the country the layout of a grocery store will be very similar to you whether you live in California or Main.

Advantages

The advantage of grouping similar items together is useful for both a store and the consumer. This application also applies to websites because it gives people a sense of familiarity and helps them to locate the item they are looking for. In a grocery store this helps people because they get accustomed to seeing certain types of food grouped together. Wallmart has a slightly different take on the wording that they use on signs, but by grouping similar food items together like other stores helps people find what they need. For example, milk and dairy products appear in one location of the store and right next to them are frozen foods. This helps people because all of the products that require reregistration or need to be frozen are located in one location making it easier for a person to locate these type of products. It is also helps the store create a more officiant layout allowing all of the refrigeration and electrical components located in one location. To learn more about why people use the internet please read the post Part III Kick Off Meeting.

Getting Ready for the Card Sort

Now that we have an understanding of the importance of a card sort lets briefly talk about what you need to do to get ready to conduct one. The first element is to come up with a list of words and short phrases that represent the content that would appear in a website. For example, phone number, address, and email address of the organization. When creating this list of items you may notice that you may have written down some words that really mean the same thing. If you notice this happening you have two different choices to make (neither one is right or wrong). First you can keep the redundant words or second you can eliminate the words that are similar to each other. The advantage of using all of the words is that this will give you the opportunity to ask people during the card sort which word will be the most recognizable and easy to understand. The disadvantage is that it has the potential of confusing the participants and will make the card sort take longer.

After creating a list of items that represent your organization it is time to get a stack of index cards. Each word or phrase that you have come up with will be written on a separate index card. We have come up with 63 words and phrases for the card sort that we will be doing in a few weeks. The only reason for mentioning this number is that the librarians here at the Crumb Library are always talking about numbers (this number is for all of you who like numbers). For example, this book has been circulated 10 times in the last three years or the library contains 30, 000 books. There is really know set number of index cards that you should have or not have. They are a representation of the information and things that people are looking for as it relates to your organization.

Once you have gotten your index cards ready you need to recruit people to participate, which is the most difficult part of the process. If you have been reading along you have noticed that we are having difficulty finding people who want to participate in the card sort. If you would be interested in participating please conduct me or someone in the libraries. When looking for people to participate you want to find people who represent your target audience. For more information about the target audience for the SUNY Potsdam College Libraries please read through the Guidelines webpage. You do not want to ask people who are in your organization to participate in the card sort because they already are familiar with the words that you have written down on the index cards.

Conducting a Card Sort

After getting ready for the card sort and soliciting volunteers to the best of your ability it is now time to actually do one. When meeting with a group it is usually helpful to give them a brief overview of the card sort and thank them for participating. A description of the card sort could be something like “Today we will be doing a card sort which is taking a list of words written down on index cards and organizing them into categories.” It is helpful to write down some words on index cards that are not related to your organization and demonstrate what you are asking people to do. After a brief demonstration and explanation you will want to give the participants the stack of index cards that you have written on and ask them to organize them into logical categories. At this point in time you will want to let everyone know that there maybe some words that they do not know or that do not fit into a group. You can ask them to set aside these index cards that have words on them that they do not understand.

After giving the participants the index cards it is probably a good idea to leave the room, so that you do not influence any of the decisions that people will make. I will say something like “I will come back in about 25 minutes and see how you are doing”. As stated earlier this is your opportunity to get an unbiased opinion from the target audience on how they would organize the words that they where given. After coming back to see how everyone is going I will ask the group still needs more time to finish or if they are done. If they are finished, I will give them some blank index cards and ask them to write down the word that best describes each category of words that came up with.

This is also a great chance to ask the participants questions that will help you to understand why they have categorized the words together the way they have and find out what words did not make sense to them. One thing that is very important during the process is to keep an open mind and listen to what people have to say (let them tell you why they made the decisions that they did). When we conduct a card sort we will be doing it at three times with three different groups of people. This is important because it will allow us to see how different groups of people categorize the words that we have written down. It will also show certain trends on how people organize the information that the libraries makes available to people. We may learn that nobody knows that “Credo Reference” is an electronic reference tool. By learning how the target audience categorizes words together will help us develop a website that makes it easy for people to located the information they need. The college libraries website will be created for our target audience and not librarians.