Harvard Google Books Corpus
Role
User Experience Intern
Domain
AI Training
UX Research
Duration
12 weeks
Team
Kelly Ortega, Intern
Kai Frey, Intern
Meg McMahon, Manager
THE BRIEF
UXR @ Harvard Library
UXR @ Harvard Library
I'm conducting UX research on the Harvard-Google Books Corpus, a collection of 1 million digitized public domain books that were made available to researchers for training AI models, mining data, and building open-source public tools
I'm conducting UX research on the Harvard-Google Books Corpus, a collection of 1 million digitized public domain books that were made available to researchers for training AI models, mining data, and building open-source public tools
Harvard knows why users want to use the Corpus, but not what outcomes it has actually enabled. I'm doing a mixed-methods study using surveys and interviews with AI researchers and stakeholders to close this gap, delivering design recommendations to improve the Corpus for future AI research. This project is ongoing through late August 2026, but here's a snapshot of some details in the meantime
Harvard knows why users want to use the Corpus, but not what outcomes it has actually enabled. I'm doing a mixed-methods study using surveys and interviews with AI researchers and stakeholders to close this gap, delivering design recommendations to improve the Corpus for future AI research. This project is ongoing through late August 2026, but here's a snapshot of some details in the meantime
MORE PROJECTS
What else I'm working on
What else I'm working on
Peer Full Text Search Usability Tests
Peer Full Text Search Usability Tests
Peer Full Text Search Usability Tests
I conducted 4 usability tests with Harvard students on the Library of Congress and HathiTrust's full text search feature to identify design opportunities to improve Harvard's own implementation of it
I conducted 4 usability tests with Harvard students on the Library of Congress and HathiTrust's full text search feature to identify design opportunities to improve Harvard's own implementation of it
Trust in GenAI Chatbots Contextual Inquiry
Trust in GenAI Chatbots Contextual Inquiry
Trust in GenAI Chatbots Contextual Inquiry
I conducted 3 contextual inquiries with Harvard students into trust symbols they rely on using GenAI to help them find or understand information. What drives trust or distrust will shape how Harvard Library researches and designs its own chatbots
I conducted 3 contextual inquiries with Harvard students into trust symbols they rely on using GenAI to help them find or understand information. What drives trust or distrust will shape how Harvard Library researches and designs its own chatbots
