You are being invited by Cleveland State University (CSU) and Digital Scholarship Services at the University of Oregon Libraries (UO) to participate in a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Advancement Grant funded research study. CSU and UO are seeking educators, students, public historians, librarians, humanities and social science researchers, and community-based organizations to enhance PlacePress, a new location-based tours WordPress plugin through an interactive remote user study.
Designed by CSU, PlacePress supports the documentation of locations such as for historic sites. Through any WordPress-based web page that uses the latest version of WordPress and its block editor (Gutenberg), PlacePress adds the ability for content creators to make tours, locations, and maps. It works with virtually any WordPress theme and gives content creators maximum control and flexibility to curate digital materials for location-based storytelling.
Participants must meet the following criteria to join the study:
- Be an educator, student, public historian, librarian or archivist, humanities or social science researchers, or a community-based organization coordinator
- Be over the age of 18
- Have experience using the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg)
- Ability to access and use Zoom
- Fill out this recruitment survey and be able to join a focus group after completing a PlacePress remote user test using
When will the research study take place and will participants be compensated? Participants will contribute ~2.5 hours of their time over 2 weeks between the first and second week of February 2021. After completing this study, participants will be sent a $50.00 Starbucks gift card via e-mail.
What will participants be asked to do? Participants will engage in the following:
- Build locations, maps, and a tour using PlacePress with supplied content and complete a survey
- Attend a 1-hour focus group with other study participants to share their feedback about using PlacePress
Who is running the research study, and can answer my questions? This user research study is facilitated and managed by Kate Thornhill, Digital Scholarship Librarian at the University of Oregon Libraries. The study has been granted an Institutional Review Board exemption (UO IRB Protocol Number 10112020.012), and its informed consent agreement is available for review. All study participants will be asked to agree to it. Individual subjects or identifying information will not be shared outside this study, but the results may be published in professional journals and/or presented at professional conferences.
How long until this survey closes? This survey will close on Monday, January 25, 2021, at 5 pm EST. If you would like to join this study, please complete the recruitment form. https://oregon.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_51qRZU56PuSn6Op.
If you have any questions about the research study please contact Kate Thornhill, kmthorn@uoregon.edu.