Transcript Face-Work in Chat Reference Encounters Presented by Marie L. Radford and Lynn Silipigni Connaway Library Research Round Table June 24, 2006 ALA, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Face-Work in Chat Reference
Encounters
Presented by
Marie L. Radford
and
Lynn Silipigni Connaway
Library Research Round Table
June 24, 2006
ALA, New Orleans, Louisiana
Presenters
• Marie L. Radford, Ph.D.
–
–
–
–
Associate Professor,
Rutgers University, SCILS
Email: [email protected]
www.scils.rutgers.edu/~mradford
• Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.
– Consulting Research Scientist
– Email: [email protected]
– www.oclc.org/research/staff/connaway.htm
• Grant Website:
http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/synchronicity
Seeking Synchronicity:
Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from
User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives
• $1,103,572 project funded by:
– Institute of Museum and Library Services
• $684,996 grant
– Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
and OCLC Online Computer Library Center
$405,076 in kind contributions
Seeking Synchronicity:
Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from
User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives
Project duration
10/1/2005-9/30/2007
Four phases:
I. Focus group interviews*
II. Analysis of 1,000+
QuestionPoint transcripts
III. 600 online surveys*
IV. 300 telephone interviews*
*Interviews & surveys with VRS users, non-users, & librarians
Phase I: Focus Groups
• 7 so far
– 4 with non-users
– 2 with VRS librarians
– 1 with VRS users
• 3 more to come
– 3 more with VRS users
Phase II:
24/7 Transcript Analysis
• Generated random sample
– July 7, 2004 through June 27, 2005
– 263,673 sessions
– 25 transcripts/month = 300 total
• 256 usable transcripts
– Excluded system tests & technical problems
• 226 of these analyzed for today’s
presentation
Classification Methodology
Qualitative Analysis
– Development/refinement of category
scheme
– Careful reading/analysis
– Identification of patterns
– Theoretical framework from Erving
Goffman (1967)
Interaction Ritual: Essays
on Face-to-Face Behavior
(1967)
Essay:
“On Face-Work: An
analysis of Ritual
Elements in Social
Interaction”
Erving Goffman
1922-1982
Face-Work
“Much of the activity occurring during an
encounter can be understood as an effort on
everyone’s part to get through the occasion
and all the unanticipated and unintentional
events that can cast participants in an
undesirable light, without disrupting the
relationships of the participants”
(Goffman, 1967, p. 41)
Face Defined
• Positive social value person
claims
• Self-image in terms of
approved social attributes
Establishing Face
• Face is located in flow of events
– Feelings about face reinforced by
encounters
– If better face is established – feel good
– If expectations not fulfilled – feel bad or
hurt
– Neutral experience – expected, not
memorable
Positive Face
• One can…
–Have face
–Be in face
–Maintain face
–Give face
–Save face
Librarian Facilitators
Librarian
600
700
600
500
274
400
300
200
141
89
92
100
0
Greeting
Ritual
Defference
Rapport
Building
Closing
Ritual
Nonverbal
Cues
User Facilitators
Users
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
464
283
33
Greeting
Ritual
Defference
Rapport
Building
98
81
Closing
Ritual
Nonverbal
Cues
Librarian and User
Facilitator Comparisons
Librarian
Facilitators
Users
700
600
600
464
500
400
274
300
200
100
89
283
141
98
33
92
81
0
Greeting
Ritual
Defference
Rapport
Building
Closing Ritual
Nonverbal
Cues
Wrong Face
• One can also…
– Be in wrong face
– Be out of face
– Both result in feeling shame & inferior
• Poise is ability to conceal shameface
• In wrong face, can still be confident if
others hide this from you
Librarian Barriers
Librarian
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
83
59
Negative Closure
Relational Disconnect
User Barriers
Users
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
93
48
Negative Closure
Relational Disconnect
Librarians and User
Barrier Comparison
Librarian
Barriers
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
93
59
Negative Closure
Users
83
48
Relational Disconnect
Expectations
• To maintain an expressive order
– regulates the flow of events
• To go to certain lengths to save face of
others & themselves
– Otherwise seen as cold, heartless, ruthless.
• To do this “willingly & spontaneously
because of emotional identification” with
others & their feelings
Kinds of Face-Work
• Rituals – Greetings & Farewells
• Corrective Process – Repair &
Apology
• Avoidance Process– Prevent
Threats to Face
• Poise – Control Embarrassment
Face-Work in Chat
• Goffman provides a powerful way to
frame analysis of chat encounters.
• Face, face-work, & line of participants
are located in flow of the transcript
(event).
• Analysis identifies instances of facework.
• Major categories – see handout.
Transcript Reading
• Positive VRS experience
–
–
–
–
–
–
Duration = 1 hour 11 minutes
Academic User
Question – Boston drug company - diabetes
Relational Work
Enthusiastic user
Helpful librarian
• Less than positive VRS experience
–
–
–
–
–
Duration = 39 minutes
Middle school or high school student
Question – physics – car acceleration
Poor reference work
Extreme negative closure
Positive Transcript Example
U Where can I find the leading drug companies
in boston doing diabetes treatment / prevention
R&D?
L I can probably give you a few sources to get
started, but I may wind up referring you to a
business and/or medial librarian specialist.
L Let's start witht eNortheastern library web
page...
U ok great thanks
Positive Transcript Example
L OK. I'm going to try the "co-browse" option -- that might
let us see the same information at once...(if it's
working!)
U wonderful
L since what you want to find are drug companies, I'll try
to get you into a busienss database...
U perfect thank you
L Sorry, I thought there was a way you could search by
sic code and get a ranked list of companies in a certian
code.
U thats alright, seemed liek you were on the right
track
Negative Transcript
Example
U
Which way is ur car accelerating when you’re thrown
forward after hitting another bumper car?
L
Is this a homework question.
L
U
I'm not an expert on driving so I really can't
answer that
can u find a website or something
L
I'm not sure what you are asking.
Negative Transcript
Example
U
L
U
L
…hello?
I really don't understand how I can answer
that for you.
can i hav another librarian
The information you gave you me does not
help me find any resources to help you.
Endnotes
• This is one of the outcomes from the
project Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating
Virtual Reference Services from User,
Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives.
• Funded by IMLS, Rutgers University and
OCLC, Online Computer Library Center.
• Project web site:
http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/syn
chronicity/
Questions
• Marie L. Radford, Ph.D.
– Email: [email protected]
– www.scils.rutgers.edu/~mradford
• Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.
– Email: [email protected]
– www.oclc.org/research/staff/connaway.htm