Re: Study Identifies Factors That Could Lead to Cancelled Subscriptions

[David Goodman <dgoodman@Princeton.EDU>]

We can perhaps assume some common sense. People generally open 
the hood, and without conciously doing so, count the number of 
wheels.

The librarians in the B&I study presumably understood that they 
were saying how they would deal with materials worthy of their 
collection, and of the customary range of costs.  They would in 
practice take such matters into account in the real world, for I 
have never known a librarian who doesn't.

David Goodman, Ph.D., M.L.S.
previously:
Bibliographer and Research Librarian
Princeton University Library

dgoodman@princeton.edu

----- Original Message -----
From: Heather Morrison <heatherm@eln.bc.ca>
Date: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 5:08 pm
Subject: Study Identifies Factors That Could Lead to Cancelled Subscriptions
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu

> On 20-Nov-06, at 5:29 AM, Chris Beckett wrote:
>
>   Just briefly, in response to Heather's points,
>
> 1. "Removing a key factor, at best, makes the validy [validity]
> of a study questionable."
>
>    - No it doesn't. The survey doesn't pretend to have measured
> all the factors in content selection preference - but most of
> them. The factors measured were validly measured. (Bad brakes and
> worn tyres increase the likelihood of car crashes - I don't need
> to know how bad the brakes are to know that worn tyres increase
> the likelihood of car crashes.)
>
> Interesting, Chris, however I disagree.
>
> Since we're using car comparison, let's say we remove a key
> variable when investigating the likelihood that cars will work
> well for us - for example, the engine.
>
> We might do a study of consumer preferences to determine car
> purchase decisions that looks at a number of admittedly important
> variables - such as cost, safety, colour - but if we overlook
> something that is a key variable to the consumer - does the car
> have an engine?, then our study is likely to be a poor predictor
> of consumer behavior, isn't it?
>
> "Importance to the collection" is to library purchasing decisions
> what "does it have an engine?" is to the person purchasing a car.
> If this key variable is missing, all the others are irrelevant.
>
> best,
>
> Heather Morrison
> http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com