Join the editors of the new textbook The Research Process: Strategies for Undergraduate Students as they discuss the process of creating this Open Education Resource. An edited anthology, this textbook was collaboratively written by specialists across the library, utilizing a wide range of expertise to cover a variety of topics to support undergraduate student research. The editors, Rebecca M. Marrall and Jenny Oleen, will discuss the philosophy behind publishing the textbook as an open education resource, the process of creating and editing the text, working with authors, and implementation of open access publication.
Geared towards faculty and instructors who may be interested in creating or collaborating on their own open access textbook, an electronic toolkit of resources, including templates, is provided in additional files below. This open education resource is published through Western Washington University’s Institutional Repository, Western CEDAR, a service available for all faculty authors associated with Western

Marrall, Rebecca M.

Oleen, Jenny K.

English

Western Washington University

Western Washington UniversityWestern CEDARWestern Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications Western Libraries and the Learning Commons10-27-2016The Textbook Publication Process: Strategies forCreating Open Education ResourcesRebecca M. MarrallWestern Washington University Libraries, rebecca.marrall@wwu.eduJenny K. OleenWestern Washington University, jenny.oleen@wwu.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/library_facpubsPart of the Library and Information Science CommonsThis Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by the Western Libraries and the Learning Commons at Western CEDAR. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in Western Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information,please contact westerncedar@wwu.edu.Recommended CitationMarrall, Rebecca M. and Oleen, Jenny K., "The Textbook Publication Process: Strategies for Creating Open Education Resources"(2016). Western Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications. 55.https://cedar.wwu.edu/library_facpubs/55Rebecca M. Marrall, Associate Professor Jenny K. Oleen, Assistant ProfessorDiscovery Services Librarian Scholarly Communications LibrarianWestern Washington University Libraries Western Washington University Libraries(360) 650 – 4493 (360) 650 – 2613rebecca.marrall@wwu.edu jenny.oleen@wwu.eduThe Textbook Publication Process:Strategies for Creating Open Education ResourcesMeet the presenters!Jenny K. Oleen, Scholarly Communications Librarian & Assistant Professor, Western Washington University Libraries.• Preferred pronouns: She / Her / HersRebecca M. Marrall, Discovery Services Librarian & Associate Professor, Western Washington University Libraries.• Preferred pronouns: She / Her / Hers• Ability: I’m Hard of Hearing (HoH)… which may impact our Q & A session. Today’s presentation is about the proposal, development, and implementation of an open education resource textbook about research strategies.Introductions Learning Outcomes: At session’s end, attendees will have new knowledge and the free resources necessary to complete the publication of an OER textbook, and will feel empowered to begin this conversation within their own department.Agenda:• Rationale: Why Create an Open Access Textbook?• Project Overview: How, When, and Where• Reflections: What Would We Do Differently? Pre-Publication: Author Support, Communication, and Project Management  Publication: Format, Usability, and Accessibility Post-Publication: Project Sustainability, Evaluation, and Feedback• An Invitation: We did this. You can, too.Our learning outcomes have informed today’s agenda…DefinitionsAs we progress through the presentation, we will refer to some terms that may require definitions and / or are jargon. Please see below…Accessibility: Accessibility refers to the design of products, services, and environments for people with disabilities.Copyright: Exclusive legal right to print and publish a work.Creative Commons: Licenses that declare up front what copyright holders allow without requiring permission.Institutional Repository (IR): Digital collection that captures and preserves the intellectual output of an university or other institution.Open Access (OA): Free, immediate, online access to works without restrictions on use.Open Education Resources (OER): Documents and media useful for teaching and learning that are OA.Usability: Usability refers to the knowledge and practices designed to enhance the user experiences in both online and physical environments.Rationale: Why Create an Open Access Textbook?Background: How did we get started?There were several reasons for us to pursue this textbook, including… Lack of current / existing research process OER / textbook within the profession. Freedom to tailor the text specifically to WWU students, staff, and faculty. Capitalize on collective expertise across the Libraries and Learning Commons. Supports consistency in instruction efforts across multiple modalities. Free and equitable access to the text for all students. Practice what we preach: OER as a powerful teaching tool.Our vision? We wanted to capitalize on local expertise to create a free, user-friendly textbook about research strategies intended for an undergraduate audience at Western Washington University.Project Overview: Pre-, Interim, and Post-Publication“What is The Research Process?”Scope of the Text: Written by those who teach LIBR 201 at Western Libraries and intended for LIBR 201 students (See also “Primary Audience”). The purpose is to create a text resource for the Libraries faculty to use while teaching the GUR.Authors: This text, which consists of twelve chapters, would be authored by the library, archives, and Learning Commons professionals at Western Libraries.Primary Audience: Undergraduate students, specifically LIBR 201 (lower division) students but broad enough for all undergraduate students across disciplines.Chapter Length & Format: Minimum of 2,000 words. Each chapter followed this outline: Essay; Why Is This Important To You?; Works Cited.Instructor Workbook: Each chapter will have an in-class activity and/or an assignment, to be located in the The Research Process Instructor Workbook. These activities and/or assignments will be published in a separate workbook for the LIBR 201 instructors. Intended Use? Any relevant instructional setting (e.g., online, workshop, credit courses, etc.)“Where will this thing live?”Short Answer: Western CEDAR (the University’s IR).Long(er) Answer: Western CEDAR is Western’s institutional repository, which allows local and regional colleagues to discover all forms of scholarship available at WWU. Furthermore, it’s connected to the vendor’s Digital Commons network (which is global). • Access: Content in CEDAR is free and open to anyone with an Internet connection and a smart device or computer.• Web Accessibility: The vendor has built accessibility features that comply with Section 508 standards. Note: Just because the platform is accessible does not mean that the content is…• User Experience (UX): Since the textbook would live online, it made sense to integrate UX practices into the text itself through deliberate font choices; Writing for the Web practices; and more.“How will we manage this project?”The editors – who also served as authors themselves – for understood that for The Research Process to be successful, prospective chapter authors needed author support…• Author Updates Sessions: Quarterly face-to-face meetings for discussions on special topics and / or general Q & A. • Author Checklist & Style Guide: Literally a checklist of what authors needed to complete by which dates. Additionally, we provided a personalized guide for formatting content and citations.• Textbook Cover Art & Chapter Formatting: The font choices, the cover art, and content presentation were all deliberate choices to ensure a user-friendly experience for readers.• The Research Process Author Packet: A compilation of materials that outlined project scope, intended audience, proposed table of contents, voice and tone instructions, and more.Project TimelineSummer 2015 (Pre-Publication)• Developed the Prospective Author Packet.• Consulted with the Western Libraries Curriculum Committee.• Issued a call for participants, hosted initial info session, and received volunteers for specific chapters.Fall 2015 (Pre-Publication)• Hosted the Fall 2015 Chapter Author Session. Presented on copyright issues, and the shared The Research Process Style Guide.Winter 2016 (Pre-Publication)• Hosted the Winter 2016 Chapter Author Session. Presented on the initial formatting of submitted chapters, and held initial discussions for assessment strategies.Project Timeline, Cont’d.Spring 2016 (Pre-Publication)• First Deadline: April 1st, 2016.• Hosted the Spring 2016 Chapter Author Session (which was a drop-in session for general Q & A).Summer / Fall 2016 (Publication / Post-Publication)• Hosted the late Summer 2016 Chapter Author Session. Provided updates about the publishing process.• Formatted all chapters; finalized cover art; and finalized metadata.• Published the textbook on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. • Published the companion Instructor’s Workbook on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016.Winter 2017 (Post-Publication)• (Hopefully) Share our results with a national audience at ACRL 2017.Early Results? Textbook: 1,609 downloads from 23 countries. Instructor Workbook: 150 downloads of full text + individual assignmentsReflections: What Would We Do Differently?Pre-Publication Reflections: Author Support• Collaborative Workspaces are a Must: Working together in a collaborative workspace (rather than autonomously) would have improved the collective vision for the text.• Host More In-Person Author Sessions: Will reduce project-related ambiguity.• Provide Templates and Examples: Templates and examples are excellent methods for fostering a collective vision for the final product.• Match Chapter Content with Experts (When Possible): Self-explanatory. • Communication Needs: Have a timeline and an agreed upon format for communications.• Generous Timelines Are Necessary: The editors and the chapter authors all have day jobs. Make sure you give everyone enough time to write, revise, and proofread the chapter and assignment.Publication ReflectionsContrary to common expectations, publication is merely the middle of the publishing cycle. Once published, the editors will need to engage with, or consider, the following issues.• Formatting Your Text: Formatting your textbook, instructor workbook, and assignments will take twice or triple the amount of time you think it will. Plan accordingly.• Accessibility: In addition to building accessibility considerations into your chapter, invite readers to contact the editors if they need the chapter or text in an alternative form.• Creative Commons License?• Textbook Metadata?Post-Publication Reflections• Sustainability: You should plan for quick updates the textbook content on an annual basis. Furthermore, you should consider how frequently you want to publish subsequent editions.• Assessment / Evaluation: How will you measure the effectiveness of the textbook content – and its impact on instruction at Western Washington University?• Feedback: There’s a common saying in UX circles – “We are not our users.” This means that we can develop a truly useful and cool product, and it may still need some modifications in order to be truly valuable to our users. The solution? Seek on-going feedback through a simple survey mechanism.In order to gather feedback from our users, the editors created a survey within the WWU Qualtrics platform intended to ask questions about each chapter. An Invitation: We did this. You can, too.If You Want Them……You can have all of our tools.• Author Support Materials• Style Guide• Author Packet / Project Scope• Chapter Instructions• Author Checklist for Submission• Communications Language• Chapter Templates• Assignment Templates• Sample Assessment MapsIt’s free for you to use.PartnershipsIf you want to engage in a similar project within your own department, we are happy to share our time, skills, and “Lessons Learned.”As we move into the question-and-answer portion of our evening, we have questions for YOU:• What materials would you find most useful?• What is the best way to share these materials?• What obstacles would prevent you from embarking on a project like this? And how can we help you over come them?• What is the best way we can support you in creating your own open textbook?We have a feedback form available to you: http://bit.ly/2eAYkZtThis presentation and templates are at: http://bit.ly/OER-WWURebecca M. Marrall, Associate Professor Jenny K. Oleen, Assistant ProfessorDiscovery Services Librarian Scholarly Communications LibrarianWestern Washington University Libraries Western Washington University Libraries(360) 650 – 4493 (360) 650 – 2613rebecca.marrall@wwu.edu jenny.oleen@wwu.eduThank you for your time and attention!Questions? Please contact us.

The Textbook Publication Process: Strategies for Creating Open Education Resources

https://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1054&amp;context=library_facpubs

The Textbook Publication Process: Strategies for Creating Open Education Resources

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