Search (25 results, page 1 of 2)

Hancock, M.: Subject searching behaviour at the library catalogue and at the shelves : implications for online interactive catalogues (1987) 0.02
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Abstract

Searching behaviour in a university library is studied using a holistic approach, encompassing the use of bibliographic tools and shelf browsing. The present study is designed as the first half of a 'before and after' study to permit the evaluation of the impact of a future online catalogue on users' searching behaviour. A combined methodology was devised: searchers were encouraged to talk aloud during their search, and this information, together with some probing and real time expert interpretation, enabled the experimente to record the searching activity on a highly structured observation form. The study reveals the extent of subject searching activity, and suggests that this may have been underestimated in previous studies. The analysis of expressed topics, search formulation strategy and documents retrieved reveals the adaptive nature of the subject searching process, whereby the user adapts to the structure of the available tools. The information retrieval task in a traditional library system is tailored by the system to a single, one dimensional, sequential process. It is suggested that a major obstacle to subject searching effectiveness may lie in the lack of interaction between the different possible approaches in the searching process: the indexing language, the classification, and the titles. It is to be hoped that a future online searching environment will encourage a more truly interactive approach to subject searching.

Kaske, N.K.: ¬A comparative study of subject searching in an OPAC among branch libraries of a university library system (1988) 0.02

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Abstract: The degree of variability in the percentage of subject searching in an online public access catalog (OPAC) among branch libraries of one university was studied. A full semester's worth of transactions was analyzed, not sampled. The time units used were hour of the day, day of the week, and week of the semester. The findings show that subject searching varies from a low of 22% to a high of 74% over the hours of a day. Variability for the days of the week ranged from 17% to 64%, and for the weeks of the semester variability ranged from 12% to 70%. Valuable management information on the utilization of the OPAC within each brach library and among all the branch libraries is provided through numerous charts and graphs.

Nye, J.B.: User interaction with the authority structure of the online catalog : results of a survey (1988) 0.01
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Abstract

A survey was conducted during 1987 to identify how online catalog users interact with various aspects of the catalog's authority control structure. Questionnaires were sent to major online catalog system vendors and to selected university libraries and networks known to have developed in-house online catalogs; additional copies were distributed to ACIG meeting participants during the ALA conference in San Francisco, June 1987. Twenty-one usable responses were received, twelve describing commercially available systems and nine from lacally developed systems.
Sage, C.; Klaas, J.; Spalding, H.H.; Robinson, T.: ¬A queueing study of public catalog use (1981) 0.01
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Abstract

The authors conducted a six-week queueing study of public catalogs in the Iowa State University library system. Data gathered are analyzed primarily to determine if routinely gathered library statistics can validly be used to predict catalog usage, to discover the ratio between the usage of the card catalog and the serials catalog, and to pinpoint the time of peak card catalog usage in order to measure more closely the rate of use. This measurement, then, provides one factor in a simulation model that can be constructed to predict accurately the number of devices needed for an alternative catalog format

Moore, C.W.: User reactions to online catalogs : an exploratory study (1981) 0.01

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Senzig, D.: Library catalogs for library users (1984) 0.01
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Abstract

As librarians evaluate the capabilities of online catalogs they will need to consider what information users expect to find in the catalog and what characteristics of the catalog will help users in their search for this information. The findings of studies concerning how library users actually use card catalogs and online catalogs, and their successes and failures in that use, can be used to determine the capabilities that are needed in anonline catalog to satisfy the bibliographic requests of library users

Tolle, J.: Current utilisation of online catalogs : transaction log analysis: final report to the Council on Library Resources (1983) 0.01

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Peters, T.A.: When smart people fail : an analysis of the transaction log of an online public access catalog (1989) 0.01
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Abstract

This article reports on a low-cost study of the transaction log of an online public access catalog at an academic library. The three goals of the study were to determine failure rates, to study usage patterns, and to investigate problable causes of patron problems when using the OPAC. The study found that failure rates (defined as those searches that produced zero hits) of approximately 40% are common, and that usage patterns and failure rates do not vary greatly over time or from terminal to terminal, but that the distribution of probable causes of user problems varies significantly from terminal to terminal
Broadbent, E.: ¬A study of humanities faculty library information seeking behavior (1986) 0.01
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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to obtain information which would help planners of the online catalog design a catalog which would be relevant to the needs of university faculty. Data was obtained by means of a questionnaire mailed to the faculty, College of Humanities, University of Utah. It was found that (1) references in books or articles they read; (2) the Subject Catalog; and (3) printed indexes, bibliographies and research guides in that order were the three most utilized information sources. Browsing was an important fourth. The faculty would like more in-depth coverage of the local library collection rather than access to other library catalogs or online databases from the catalog terminal. Feedback and comments in response to an open-ended question varied.
Saracevic, T.; Kantor, P.; Chamis, A.Y.: ¬A study of information seeking and retrieving : pt.1: Background and methodology (1988) 0.01
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Abstract

The objectives of the study were to conduct a series of observations and experiments under as real-life a situation as possible related to: (i) user context of questions in information retrieval; (ii) the structure and classification of questions; (iii) cognitive traits and decision making of searchers; and (iv) different searches of the same question. The study is presented in three parts: part 1 presents the background of the study and describes the models, measures, methods, procedures and statistical analyses used. Pt.2 is devoted to results related to users, questions, and effectiveness measures, and pt.3 to results related to searchers, searches, and overlap studies. A concluding summary of all results is presented in pt.3

Peters, H.J.: User reactions to PRECIS indexes (1981) 0.01

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Blackshaw, L.; Fischhoff, B.: Decision making in online searching (1988) 0.01
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Abstract

A set of methods and results is offered for characterizing how people make decisions in the course of using computerized databases. In general, their performance resembles that revealed in studies of decision making in other contexts. In particular, people are only moderately sensitive to the likelihood of their succeeding, being overconfident for all but the easiest of tasks. These results are discussed in the context of previous research in information science and decision science, and with regard to their implications for the design of databases and the adaptation of users to them
Kanakachary, M.: User's survey of card catalogue consultation at Kakatiya Universiy library, Warangal, A.P. (1989) 0.01
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Abstract

Reports results of a week long sample observation of card catalogue consultation by library users. Subsequent questioning of users about the purposes for which they consulted the catalogue revealed that the classified catalogue is not used as all and the author and title catalogue are consulted to the maximum. It is also found that 80% of the consultations of card catalogue are to locate documents, 10% is to make comprehensive searches for references on a topic and rest for miscellaneous purposes

Wilson, T.D.: On user studies and information needs (1981) 0.01

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Abstract: Apart from information retrieval there is virtually no other area of information science that has occasioned as much resarch effort and writing as 'user studies'. Within user studies the investigation of 'information needs' has been the subject of much debate and no little confusion. The aim of this paper is to attempt to reduce this confusion by devoting attention to the definition of some concepts and by proposing the basis for a theory of the motivations for information-seeking behaviour

Pulis, N.V.; Ludy, L.E.: Subject searching in an online catalog with authority control (1988) 0.01
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Abstract

Results of previous catalog research indicate that users want improvements in subject searching features, noting display of terms related to their topics as especially desirable. This study reports the findings of an examination of subject searchers' use of such a feature provided through online display of authority information from Library of Congress Subject Headings for terms used in the catalog. It was found that, of the terms entered by users, 78 percent were an exact or close match to catalog terms, and another 14 percent matched "see" references. Although additional information was available for nearly half of the searches performed, it was used in only 28 percent of these cases. It is suggested that improvements in subject searching features are needed to encourage use of available syndetic structures
Ostroff, D.; Shneiderman, B.: Selection devices for user of an electronic encyclopedia : an empirical comparison of four possibilities (1988) 0.00
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Abstract

This study measured the speed, error rates, and subjective evaluation of arrow-jump keys, a jump-mouse, number keys, and a touch screen in an interactive encyclopedia. A summary of previous studies comparing selection devices and strategies is presented to provide the background for this study. We found the touch screen to be the fastest in time, the least accurate but the overall favorite of the participants. The results are discussed and improvements are suggested accordingly
Borgman, C.L.: Why are online catalogs hard to use? : lessons learned from information-retrieval studies (1986) 0.00
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Abstract

Research in user behavior on online catalogs is in its early stages, but preliminary findings suggest that users encounter many of the same problems identified in behavioral studies of other types of bibliographic retrieval systems. Much can be learned from comparing the results of user behavior studies on these two types of systems. Research on user problems with both the mechanical aspects and the conceptual aspects of system use is reviewed, with the conclusion that more similiratiy exists across types of systems in conceptual than in mechanical problems. Also discussed are potential sources of the problems, due either to individual characteristics or to system variables. A series of research questions is proposed and a number of potential interim solutions ae suggested for alleviating some of the problems encountered by users of information systems

Dickson, J.: ¬An analysis of user errors in searching an online catalog (1984) 0.00

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Abstract: The study extracts a sample of zero-hit author and title searches from the transaction log of Northwestern University Library's online catalog. It analyzes why the searches failed, in an effort to understand the users' conceptual model of the online catalog.

Norden, D.J.; Lawrence, G.H.: Public terminal use in an online catalog : some preliminary results (1981) 0.00
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Abstract

The authors have studied the transaction counts from two and one-half years activity at the public use terminals of the Ohio State University Libraries' prototype online card catalog to determine what search options academic library patrons use the most often and whether this pattern varies from that reported in major catalog use studies. The preliminary findings indicate significant differences in search strategy that may result from a unique user group that prefers to search the online catalog, more useful searches in the online system, or special search patterns imposed by the computer hardware itself. Both the different searches used by patrons and why they choose them should be important factors in the design of future online catalogs
Packer, K.H.; Michaud, J.M.: ¬The use and users of COM catalogues at the University of Toronto and the Mississauga Library System (1983) 0.00
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Abstract

Three studies were made of the use of COM catalogues at the University of Toronto and the Mississauga Library System: unobtrusive observations, structured interviews, and a timed-search experiment in reel, fiche and card catalogues. The reel catalogue was found to be the overwhelming favourite, almost as popular in the public library as in the academic library, where 82% of the users reported it to be their preferred form of catalogue. However, for nearly all test questions and searcher types in the timed-search experiment, successful searches required less time in the card catalogue than in either form of the COM catalogues.

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