Managing Data Collection for Real-Time Reference: Lessons from the AskERIC Live! Experience

Successful management of a real-time digital reference service requires effective and efficient data collection to provide accurate and useful information about service processes and outcomes. This article describes the data collection procedures developed by AskERIC for its real-time reference service; in particular, this article will describe how these procedures address limitations, gaps, and inaccuracies in the data as passively captured by software. Finally, particular issues and considerations for service managers about various statistical measures within the real-time environment are discussed.