DH2020 Poster


In 2017, librarians at Bucknell University developed a librarian-led undergraduate digital
scholarship research program. We created the Digital Scholarship Summer Research
Fellows (DSSRF) program to broaden research opportunities for students and introduce
them to new ways of engaging in scholarship. The eight week program provides students
with an opportunity to undertake independent research on a topic of their own choosing,
and utilize digital humanities tools and methodologies to both answer questions and
convey their research findings.Here, we examine the lasting impacts of DSSRF on the
participants. We surveyed past fellows to understand how their participation and the skills
they acquired were applicable to their subsequent coursework and career paths, and how
the program influenced their thinking about scholarship.

Assessing the Impact of a Digital Humanities Summer Research Program
Carrie Pirmann, Bucknell University and Courtney Paddick, Bloomsburg University

Reflections

Self-Assessment

Future Directions
"DSSRF made me realize that research has no limits. You can conduct research in any
field, and add to it through it being in a digital form. I think it's the research of the
future."

We asked students to assess their confidence levels, before and after DSSRF, with a variety of research and soft skills. These charts
represent the areas in which students displayed the greatest amount of growth. (1 = not at all confident; 5 = extremely confident)

One student leveraged his newly developed data visualization skills and showcased his project
on the job market, and was hired by a sports analytics firm
One student decided to pursue a graduate degree in library science after learning about
archives and special collections
One student, who is pursuing a career in market research, credited DSSRF with both confirming
her decision to major in economics, and kick-starting her interest in data visualization
Two undeclared students indicated participation in DSSRF helped confirm their choice of major

Several students reported the program influenced their choice of majors, minors, and/or career
paths. Some examples:

Academic/Career Impacts

"I think that the biggest impact that the program had was  about how presentation of
scholarship might change and expand to allow for more collaboration, and what this
could be used for in different situations."

Responses to the survey have proven very helpful as we look forward to future iterations of the
program.  Based on student feedback, we know they found field trips, interactions with peers and
members of Library and IT, and work on their individual projects to be the most impactful aspects of
DSSRF.  Students found the weekly blog posts and  assigned readings to be the least helpful parts of
the program, so these will certainly be areas to revise moving forward. Based on the results of the
survey, we have also identified the tools students most frequently gravitate towards for their own
projects as well as tools they have used after DSSRF, and we will use this information to make
decisions on the tools and techniques included in  the future. 

Background