ONLINE STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF EMBEDDED LIBRARIANS: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

The purposefulness of this pilot study is to gauge students' perceptions of embedded librarians in an online learning environment. The data were collected through a random sample of volunteer participants (n=32) after course completion through an electronic survey tool. The study, with permission, uses key literature's methodology to analyze and validate the findings. Additionally, the researchers utilized the institutional research administrator to oversee the survey (post-courses) to further validate data, maintain integrity, and eliminate researcher biases. To form the research questions and survey tool, the past literature's models were paralleled with scholars' permissions. The data were organized and processed through Google's software. The pilot study concurs with prior literature's three main constructs: comfort, confidence, and recognition. Additionally, this study recognizes the need for the visualization of embedded librarians in online coursework and students' interpersonal growth. Finally, this study acknowledges its limitations and recommendations for future research.