University of Washington

The Rutgers University Department of Library and Information Science (LIS) at the School of Communication and Information (SC&I) in partnership with the University of Hawaii Department of Information and Computer Sciences will address the growing need for investigating People's online question-and-answer (Q&A) behavior and quality assessment applied by experts to benefit learning experiences of students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. The project will integrate crowdsourced information and the wisdom of librarians and other information professionals to enhance the experience of STEM learners. The project includes conducting three user studies featuring data collection and interviews with online Q&A users; collection of objective assessments to build statistical models and tools; and a lab study and classroom study to evaluate the efficacy of tools and services.