Thanks to funding from the Libraries, Temple University recently became an institutional member of the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR). QDR is a dedicated archive for storing and sharing qualitative and mixed-method research data, and accompanying documentation, hosted by the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry at Syracuse University. 

Temple researchers can discover qualitative datasets in QDR for research and teaching.  Temple affiliates can also share and preserve their own research data in QDR to satisfy publisher and funder requirements, including the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. QDR is a CoreTrustSeal certified repository that helps researchers share data responsibly and has the infrastructure and expertise to host sensitive data with restricted access. 

Benefits of QDR 

Sharing qualitative data takes advanced preparation to ensure participant consent is in place, and that data has been properly prepared and anonymized. QDR staff specialize in qualitative research methods and data curation and are able to assist Temple researchers throughout the research process.  

Benefits of using QDR include: 

• Detailed data curation assistance to ensure deposited data is fully de-identified, annotated, and ready for sharing 
• Tiered levels of data access including the ability to restrict access to sensitive data 
• Persistent identifiers to make data discoverable and citable 
• Data metrics including views, downloads, and citations to track impact 
• Guidance and documentation on qualitative research and data management topic such as working with human participant data, data management planning, deidentifying data, and conducting disclosure risk review  

Our membership supports a limited number of no-cost data deposits per year by Temple researchers. Researchers should register for a QDR account using their Temple email address to download or deposit data.  

Ideally, potential depositors should contact QDR early in their project, before data collection occurs, to receive guidance on designing data collection and data management planning for grant submissions.  

If you are applying for a large or multi-year grant, please consult with QDR before designating them as a repository. There may be additional costs for large-scale or multi-year projects. 

Data Sharing at Temple 

Given the increase in funder-mandated data management planning and sharing requirements, researchers must carefully consider how they will responsibly share their research data. In addition to the Qualitative Data Repository, Temple University is also a member of ICPSR, and has its own institutional repository, TUScholarShare, that can curate deidentified data. We also provide guidance on selecting the right general or disciplinary repository for your data. 

Get Help 

Have questions about sharing data or using QDR? See our guide to the Qualitative Data Repository, or contact Temple’s institutional representative, Olivia Given Castello, at olivia.castello@temple.edu. 

To learn more about data management planning, see our research data management guide and tutorials on data management planning with DMPTool. To learn more about qualitative data, see our qualitative data analysis (QDA) guide and consider attending one of our upcoming library workshops on QDA. 

Welcome to the fall 2023 semester at Temple University! Temple Libraries is here to support you with a variety of resources, materials, and services to get you started and keep you on track as the semester unfolds. 

This post highlights just a few of the ways you can use the Libraries this academic year. Be sure to check our website for more resources, and visit our contact us page to learn about all the ways to get in touch to ask questions. 

Find the materials you need 

The Libraries provide access to a broad range of physical and online materials—including books, journals, articles, music, and movies—all searchable through our website: library.temple.edu. 

If it’s rare or unique archival materials you’re after, learn more about the Special Collections Research Center and the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection and peruse our digital collections. 

Each semester the Libraries compiles a list of digitally available textbooks that may substitute for required or recommended course textbooks. They are available to students at no cost.

Get personalized research help 

Librarians are here to offer personalized assistance as you work on your research papers and projects. No matter what you are studying or what major you pursue, we have a librarian who specializes in your field. 

Getting in touch with your librarian is easy: you can chat, email, or schedule a virtual or in-person appointment. Our chat service is 24/7, so no matter when you are working, someone will be here to answer your questions. 

Research, at your pace 

Once you’ve scoped out your syllabi, head over to our comprehensive Research Guides for each of your course subjects (curated by our subject librarians!).  

Our self-paced library tutorials can you help you develop your research skills. 

We also have tailored undergraduate and graduate user guides to help get you started. 

Explore spaces to study and work 

We offer a variety of open seating options to satisfy student needs for individual and group study. Students can book study rooms ahead of time at Charles Library and the Ginsburg Health Sciences Library. 

If you are interested in making use of the Libraries’ advanced equipment and technology, visit the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio in Charles Library and the Innovation Space at Ginsburg Health Sciences Library. 

Access tech 

Need to print or use a computer? Take advantage of the laptop lending program and charging options, and look into Temple’s Print on the Go service for all your printing needs. 

Attend free events and workshops  

We host a variety of events and workshops throughout the academic year. In addition, we’ll be offering a lineup of concerts, conversations, and specialized workshops, on everything from CV writing to graphic design for visual abstracts to 3D printing. 

As always, our events and workshops are free and open to all. 

Stay up to date! 

Follow us on social media and sign up for our mailing list to get future updates from the Libraries, including upcoming events, featured resources, and more.  

Guest post by Karen Kohn, Collections Analysis Librarian 

Faculty and students may remember the confusion that occurred in September 2023, when 1,379 ebooks published by Wiley disappeared from our catalog. After international protest, including voices from Temple University, Wiley reinstated these books in October 2023. At the time, Wiley announced that access would be temporary, with the intention of giving faculty time to redesign courses to use alternate materials. 

This past spring, we received the following update from Wiley, sent via our representative at ProQuest: 

Previously we communicated a number of Wiley etextbooks titles were scheduled to be removed from Academic Complete in the June 2023 bi-annual title subscription removal process. Wiley has agreed to extend this timeline and ProQuest will continue the existing terms including retention of all existing Wiley titles in Academic Complete through December 31st, 2023. Should any titles be removed after that you will be made aware of those publisher requests in our normal semi-annual subscription removal process. 

This is good news! The books will be available at least until December, and the wording suggests they may remain available into 2024 as well. 

When Ebooks Disappear 

The mention of a “normal semi-annual removal process” might sound concerning, but in fact librarians at Temple University Libraries have a prepared response to this situation. We subscribe to several ebook packages from ProQuest and EBSCO, and books are removed from these packages in June and December – in other words, not in the middle of a semester. The vendors notify us which books are going to be removed, and a librarian checks to see which have been heavily used. If an ebook was used above a certain threshold and is available for a reasonable price, we will purchase a copy. Because this copy is a purchase rather than a subscription, we have perpetual access, and it won’t disappear. 

There are cases when an ebook is unavailable for purchase, as with the Wiley ebooks. This is a problem for libraries! Even when a publisher sells an ebook for individuals to read on their Kindle or another ereader, they can opt to withhold it from library platforms. Sometimes the ebook is for sale but is unaffordable to libraries at four or five times the cost of the print. 

How Legal Changes Might Help 

An advocacy organization called Library Futures has drafted model legislation related to ebooks that has been introduced in several states. Such legislation would require that if a publisher offers an ebook for sale to the public, that publisher should also be willing to sell the same ebook to libraries on reasonable terms. As Library Futures’ policy statement says, “Often, eBook licenses offered to libraries come with many restrictions on use and/or are prohibitively expensive, or worse, sometimes are not available to libraries at any price.” The legislation is not yet in effect in any state, though librarians are eager to follow its progress. 

What Faculty Can Do 

In the meantime, there are a few ways you can ensure that students will have access to their course texts. Please notify the bookstore of what texts you are adopting, even if you can see that the library has them. The bookstore shares this information with us, and it helps us to know which ebooks to purchase if subscription access disappears. You can also consider adopting an open textbook for your course. Temple’s Textbook Affordability Project offers grants to support faculty in making their courses more affordable for students by replacing expensive texts with open educational resources. Look for the Libraries’ call for applications in spring 2024. In the meantime, we encourage faculty to sign up for our quarterly open education newsletter, Owls for Open Ed! 

In the spring 2023 semester, Temple University Libraries participated in the Affordable Learning Pennsylvania (ALPA) student course materials survey. In addition to obtaining results from Temple students, the survey provided both state and national comparative data. Surveys of this type provide insights into how textbook costs impact our students and their behaviors related to purchasing or obtaining course materials. 

Students Concerns About Textbook Costs 

Students responded to 20+ questions about their experience with course materials, mostly textbooks they are required to purchase. We learned that 49% of our students indicated they were moderately or extremely worried about the cost of their course materials. That is a greater percentage of respondents than either the state or national results for that same question. **

When asked if the cost of required course materials ever caused them to not purchase a textbook, 57% of our students indicated that they occasionally or frequently did not purchase required course materials. That exceeds both state and national responses by several percentage points.  

Compared to a national sample of undergraduate students and other Pennsylvania colleges and universities, Temple students spent about the same amount on their textbooks. More Temple students reported spending $100 or less on their course materials. Temple students may be spending less owing to more instructors adopting open educational resources or licensed library materials, or fewer faculty may be assigning traditional textbooks. Approximately 37% of our student respondents still reported spending $200 or more on their course materials for the spring 2023 semester. 

Strategies for Avoiding Textbook Costs 

A more revealing question asked students to indicate what strategies they use to reduce the cost of required course materials throughout their college career. Only 2% of Temple students reported that they do not attempt to lower their costs. Rather, based on these responses, significant numbers of Temple students use multiple strategies to reduce their costs, including purchasing used textbooks, searching for free online versions (often pirated PDF copies), and sharing with classmates. In many of these cases, Temple students engage in these practices, especially “Do Without” at numbers that exceed both national and Pennsylvania rates. 

Comments Reflect Difficult Circumstances 

Students shared numerous comments on the impact that the cost of their course materials has on their academic and broader life experience. Among them we found students sharing: 

• The cost of course material has had a major influence on my educational progress…when high expenses are required it has been a worry that seeped into my class performance. 
• [It] has caused me to be worried about how I would pay for necessities such as food, rent, etc. 
• I try to not buy textbooks unless absolutely necessary. I really appreciate the professors that don’t assign a textbook.  
• I have chosen courses and professors that specifically don’t make me buy textbooks 
• At $150-$200 per book, it’s very difficult to afford as a student. If you cannot afford to buy the materials you will miss the assignments which will hamper your grades. 
• I dislike the fact we students have to pay extra for assignments. The textbook I can deal with because there’s alternative ways to get the textbook for the course. But paying $100+ for the course assignments/exams is unreasonable. 

Next Steps 

ALPA is offering the opportunity to participate in the survey in the fall 2023 semester. Temple University Libraries has already expressed its desire to repeat the survey so that additional student responses and voices can be heard. A random set of students will receive the survey between August 28 and September 11, 2023.  

When the fall results are processed and analyzed, Temple Libraries will share a final survey report with the Temple University campus. What can we, as a community, do to alleviate the challenges our students face because of high course materials costs? Here are several suggestions: 

• Visit our OER Research Guide to learn more about using open educational resources (OER) as no-cost course materials; 
• Faculty can consider applying for a Textbook Affordability Project award that can help fund their effort to transition their course to no-cost learning materials; 
• Faculty can consult with their subject specialist librarian to discuss low or no-cost course materials for their courses; 
• Faculty and students are invited to join Temple University Libraries when we celebrate Open Education Week in the spring semester; 
• Sign up to receive our Owls for Open Ed newsletter so that you can stay up-to-date on the latest developments in open education at Temple University and beyond.  

Together we can take action to lower the cost of course materials for our students in order to advance learning and student success. We invite you to contact us with your thoughts and suggestions or to receive additional information. 

** Disclosure statement: The charts, tables and data presented in this blog post were prepared for Temple University Libraries by Bayview Analytics. Bayview Analytics was contracted by Affordable Learning Pennsylvania to conduct a statewide student course materials affordability survey, including data analysis and presentation of the survey results.