Creating short videos to support students with primary research 

Introduction 

I am a Learning Development Librarian based at Glenside, where I mainly support students on healthcare-related courses, including nursing, social work and music therapy. My Gold Badge project was not linked to one single module, but to a question we were being asked regularly through the library’s online chat service and at the enquiry desk: how do I know whether an article is primary or secondary research?  

I had already completed the Bronze and Silver badges and attended the Digital Skills Gold information session. What appealed to me was that the Gold Badge was not about creating something for the sake of it, but about developing something that could genuinely improve the student experience. I was already thinking about making a short video to answer this recurring question, so the project felt like a good fit. It gave me the momentum to create something useful while also working towards the Gold Badge.  

The problem 

Students often need to identify primary research for assignments, but the distinction is not always straightforward. An article might not clearly state whether it is qualitative or quantitative, or it might describe the research design using unfamiliar terminology. As a result, students would often come to library staff asking whether a particular article counted as primary research.  

At the same time, changes to library enquiry services meant that Learning Development staff were no longer going to be available on online chat or at the desk in the same way. We needed a more scalable way to support students and help enquiry staff direct them to useful guidance. The aim was not just to answer the question for students, but to help them develop the confidence to make that judgement themselves.  

The solution 

To solve the issue I created a short three-minute video explaining what primary research is and how students might recognise it. The video includes examples such as interviews and case studies, and explains how different types of research might be qualitative or quantitative. It was designed as a clear introduction that students could use as a starting point when looking at their own articles.  

I made the video in Adobe Express using a voiceover, images and short text prompts. The video was then uploaded to the library’s Vimeo account so it could be embedded in different places, including Xerte workbooks and teaching slides. This means it can be used flexibly: students can access it independently, library colleagues can direct students to it through chat, and teaching staff can include it in live sessions or Blackboard materials.  

Before recording the final version I shared the transcript with colleagues so they could suggest changes. This was helpful because it meant the wording could be checked before the audio was recorded. I also recorded the voiceover in smaller sections, which makes it easier to update individual parts later without needing to re-record the whole video.  

Challenges encountered 

The biggest challenge was time. Creating the first video took longer than expected because I was learning how to use Adobe Express at the same time as developing the resource. Matching the audio, text, visuals, transitions and background music took careful editing, particularly making sure the music did not overpower the narration.  

It was also quite a focused task. I found that I needed proper blocks of time in my calendar where I could concentrate on the video without trying to do other jobs alongside it. Once I had worked through the process, though, I felt much more confident. The first one takes time, but the next video will be much quicker because I now understand the tool and the workflow.  

Feedback from staff and students 

Feedback from colleagues has been really positive. After I had created the video, I shared it with the team and they were happy with how it looked and worked. I also asked graduate trainees and students working in the library to review it, which gave me useful feedback and helped me evidence the resource as part of my Associate Fellowship work.  

The video also generated interest from teaching staff after it was shared through a Digital Skills announcement. Some lecturers contacted me to ask whether they could share the resource with their students. Other library colleagues outside CHSS also asked to see it. Although the examples are slightly healthcare-focused, the underlying explanation of primary research is useful more broadly.  

One area that is more difficult to evaluate is direct viewing data. Because the video is embedded within a Xerte workbook we can see page-level engagement, but this does not necessarily indicate whether students have watched the video itself. The page containing the resource is often recommended to students at the start of their search process, so it is well positioned. In the future, I plan to explore the analytics available through Vimeo to gain a better understanding of how students are engaging with the video. 

Next steps 

The project has given me confidence to create more short multimedia resources. Within the team, we need to update some of our database-searching videos because the EBSCO interface has changed, and I expect to be involved in that work. My colleague has also created a similar short video on accessing databases and there is growing interest in using short, accessible video resources within the library.  

As we create more content, we may also think further about consistency. At the moment, different videos have different visual styles, but they share some common principles: keeping them short, using captions, avoiding long blocks of text, and making the content accessible and easy to reuse. In future, it might be useful to develop a shared beginning or ending for library videos, while still allowing colleagues to use their own style.  

I am also interested in exploring other formats, including podcasts and short audio resources for Xerte workbooks. I have already been recording audio to sit alongside text in online resources, and I can see how tools like Adobe Express could support more inclusive ways of presenting information to students.  

Top tips for colleagues 

• When making a video, check your script before recording. Getting feedback on the wording first saves time and reduces the need to re-record later.  
• Record in small sections. Short audio chunks make it much easier to update or edit the resource without starting again.  
• Protect time in your calendar. Video creation needs focused time, especially when you are learning the tool for the first time.  
• Think about reuse from the start. Hosting the video centrally (Vimeo or Panopto) and embedding it in workbooks, slides or Blackboard makes it easier for colleagues and students to access. 
• For Digital Skills Gold, start with a real student or staff need. A useful digital resource does not have to be large or complex; it just needs to solve a genuine problem. 

Resources 

• Using databases – School of Health and Social Wellbeing: library workbook – Section on Primary and secondary research