Search (51 results, page 1 of 3)

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Date

22. 1.2000 17:52:11

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a

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Date

9. 2.2008 17:52:22

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a

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Abstract

This study focuses on the task as a fundamental factor in the context of information seeking. The purpose of the study is to characterize kinds of tasks and to examine how different kinds of task give rise to different kinds of information-seeking behavior on the Web. For this, a model for information-seeking behavior was used employing dimensions of information-seeking strategies (ISS), which are based on several behavioral dimensions. The analysis of strategies was based on data collected through an experiment designed to observe users' behaviors. Three tasks were assigned to 30 graduate students and data were collected using questionnaires, search logs, and interviews. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data identified 14 distinct information-seeking strategies. The analysis showed significant differences in the frequencies and patterns of ISS employed between three tasks. The results of the study are intended to facilitate the development of task-based information-seeking models and to further suggest Web information system designs that support the user's diverse tasks.

Date

22. 3.2009 18:54:15

Type

a

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Abstract

This paper highlights some of the significant findings from author's PhD: "Factors affecting the end-use of electronic databases in public libraries." Public libraries have a wide range of different types of users who, unlike academic or special library users, are not necessarily information-trained (see Coles, 1998). Whereas the academic, special library user may have specific information needs that can be met by electronic sources, public library users do not necessarily have such specific information needs that can easily be identified and met. Most user surveys have tended to concentrate on the searching and retrieval aspect of information seeking behaviour, whereas this study's user survey focused more on how people perceived and related to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It was not how people searched a particular electronic source, in this case CD-ROM, that was of prime interest but rather whether or not people actually used them at all and the reasons why people did or did not use electronic media. There were several reasons the study looked at CD-ROM specifically. Firstly, CD-ROM is a well established technology, most people should be familiar with CD-ROM/multimedia. Secondly, CD-ROM was, at the start of the study, the only open access electronic media widely available in public libraries. As well as examining why public library users chose to use electronic sources, the paper looks at the types of CD-ROM databases used both in the library and in general Also examined are what sort of searches users carried out. Where appropriate some of the problems inherent in studying end-users in public libraries and the difficulty in getting reliable data, are discussed. Several methods were used to collect the data. I wished to avoid limiting research to a small sample of library sites, the aim was to be as broad in scope as possible. There were two main groups of people 1 wished to look at: non-users as well as CD-ROM users

Date

22. 3.2002 8:51:28

Type

a

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Abstract

This paper reports the results of a survey of information needs and information seeking behaviour of a national sample of the UK population. The project was funded by the BLR&IC and comprised a survey by questionnaire covering all regions of the United Kingdom. 1.294 responses were received giving a valid and demographically respresentative response rate of 45,7%. Major findings include: that the majority of respondents had sought information in the past (59,4%) and that an even greater number predicted a future need for information (78,4%). Over three quarters of respondents said that they would use public libraries and between half and three quarters would approach CABx, post offices, government departments or family and friends. Face to face communicationss and reading a book were the most popular means of accessing information but a wide variety of other preferred options were cited. Only a small proportion expressed a preference for using a computer to seek information and there was a clear emphasis on public libraries as an appropriate location for accessing computerised information. A highly significant majority (79,2%) believed that access to information was very important for exercising their rights as citizens. Many significant variables, in terms of age, gender, status and region were found. In particular it was felt significant that young people were less sure of the importance of being able to access information

Type

a

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Abstract

This paper reports the results of a survey of information needs and information seeking behaviour of a national sample of the UK population. The survey was the first stage of the Citizenship Information project, funded by the British Library Research and Innovation Centre. In total, 1294 responses were received giving a valid and demographically representative response rate of 45.7 per cent. Major findings include: that the majority of respondents had sought information in the past (59.4 per cent) and that an even greater number predicted a future need for information (78.4 per cent). Over three quarters of respondents said that they would use public libraries and between half and three quarters would approach Citizens Advice Bureaux, Post Offices, Government departments or family and friends. Face-to-face communications and reading a book were the most popular means of accessing information, but a wide variety of other preferred options were cited. Only a small proportion expressed a preference for using a computer to seek information, and there was a clear emphasis on public libraries as an appropriate location for accessing electronic information. A highly significant majority (79.2 per cent) believed that access to information was very important for exercising their rights as a citizen.

Type

a

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Abstract

Part 2 of an article reporting results of a questionnaire survey of library users' perceptions of reference librarians' body language aims and its influence on the users' satisfaction of the reference interviews

Type

a

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a

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Abstract

The article reports a field study which examined the mental models of 80 undergraduates seeking information for either a history or psychology course essay when they were in an early, exploration stage of researching their essay. This group is presently at a disadvantage when using thesaurus-type schemes in indexes and online search engines because there is a disconnect between how domain novice users of IR systems represent a topic space and how this space is represented in the standard IR system thesaurus. The study attempted to (a) ascertain the coding language used by the 80 undergraduates in the study to mentally represent their topic and then (b) align the mental models with the hierarchical structure found in many thesauri. The intervention focused the undergraduates' thinking about their topic from a topic statement to a thesis statement. The undergraduates were asked to produce three mental model diagrams for their real-life course essay at the beginning, middle, and end of the interview, for a total of 240 mental model diagrams, from which we created a 12-category mental model classification scheme. Findings indicate that at the end of the intervention, (a) the percentage of vertical mental models increased from 24 to 35% of all mental models; but that (b) 3rd-year students had fewer vertical mental models than did 1st-year undergraduates in the study, which is counterintuitive. The results indicate that there is justification for pursuing our research based on the hypothesis that rotating a domain novice's mental model into a vertical position would make it easier for him or her to cognitively connect with the thesaurus's hierarchical representation of the topic area.

Type

a

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Abstract

Members of the reference staff of the North Carolina University at Chapel Hill, Davis Library, conducted a month-long electronic survey of users of the U-search CD-ROM service in spring 91. Evaluates the 1.135 responses to a variety of questions pertaining to public service issues, user attitudes towards CD-ROM searching, and the place of CD-ROM within the overall research strategy

Type

a

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Abstract

This study seeks to explore and report international business students' perceptions and expectations of electronic library services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A total of 143 international business students an campus volunteered to fill out a survey. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics as weIl as inferential statistics such as t-tests and correlation. A significant portion of international business students has no prior experience with electronic library services in their home countries. Moreover, about a half of international business students go to libraries other than the Business and Economics Library, partly because they provide better environment for study. Although electronic resources are available without the constraint of location, providing reference services for those who do not use the Business and Economics Library becomes a challenge. Virtual reference is an excellent tool, but most international business students do not see it as an important library service. Based an the results, implications for information literacy and virtual reference service are discussed.

Type

a

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Abstract

Purpose The current understanding of serendipity is based primarily on studies employing westerners as the participants, and it remains uncertain whether or not this understanding would be pervasive under different cultures, such as in China. In addition, there is not a sufficient systematic investigation of context during the occurrence of serendipity in current studies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the above issues by conducting a follow-up empirical study with a group of Chinese scholars. Design/methodology/approach The social media application "WeChat" was employed as a research tool. A diary-based study was conducted and 16 participants were required to send to the researchers any cases of serendipity they encountered during a period of two weeks, and this was followed by a post-interview. Findings Chinese scholars experienced serendipity in line with the three main processes of: encountering unexpectedness, connection-making and recognising the value. An updated context-based serendipity model was constructed, where the role of context during each episode of experiencing serendipity was identified, including the external context (e.g. time, location and status), the social context and the internal context (e.g. precipitating conditions, sagacity/perceptiveness and emotion). Originality/value The updated context model provides a further understanding of the role played by context during the different processes of serendipity. The framework for experiencing serendipity has been expanded, and this may be used to classify the categories of serendipity.

Type

a

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Abstract

At the start of the academic year reference staff are hard pressed to provide sufficient assistance to first time users of CD-ROMs, who have missed bibliographic instruction classes, or who need more guidance before searching. The literature on CD-ROMs was reviewed, and a survey conducted to estimate the training needs of searchers. It was found that 100% of the inexperienced searchers required assistance while searching, and 50% of their search strategies were later rated as poor. More than half the experienced searchers also needed the librarians assistance, and 31% of this group demonstrated a poor understanding of searching techniques. The survey findings were incorporated into CDIntro, a computer assisted learning package designed by the authors

Type

a

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Abstract

No prior research has been identified that investigates the causal factors for workplace exploratory search task performance. The impact of user, task, and environmental factors on user satisfaction and task performance was investigated through a mixed methods study with 26 experienced information professionals using enterprise search in an oil and gas enterprise. Some participants found 75% of high-value items, others found none, with an average of 27%. No association was found between self-reported search expertise and task performance, with a tendency for many participants to overestimate their search expertise. Successful searchers may have more accurate mental models of both search systems and the information space. Organizations may not have effective exploratory search task performance feedback loops, a lack of learning. This may be caused by management bias towards technology, not capability, a lack of systems thinking. Furthermore, organizations may not "know" they "don't know" their true level of search expertise, a lack of knowing. A metamodel is presented identifying the causal factors for workplace exploratory search task performance. Semistructured qualitative interviews with search staff from the defense, pharmaceutical, and aerospace sectors indicates the potential transferability of the finding that organizations may not know their search expertise levels.

Type

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Abstract

Two studies are presented that investigate information seeking behaviour on the Internet. In study one, soccer fans' information seeking on the World Wide Web is investigated. In study two, access rates to a cancer information Web site are analysed. It is tentatively argued that there is a tendency for people to access information more commonly avoided in "real life", although in the case of football fans, the tendency to "bask in reflected glory" remains when online, while cutting off reflected failure is minimised. Implications for understanding and researching psychological processes of Web browsing behaviour are discussed.

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Abstract

Investigates library use and research behaviour of business students at California State University at San Marcos. A sample of 68 graduate and 91 undergraduate students were surveyed and observed for their behaviour in 3 conceptual domains: query formulation and task assignments, prereference process expectations and post reference process responses. Participant observations confirmed many of the student attitudes revealed in the survey

Type

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Abstract

Reports results of a questionnaire survey, the main purpose of which was to study and understand library users' perceptions of reference librarians' body language and its influence on the users' satisfaction of the reference interviews. The aim was to improve the overall quality of reference services. The study was undertaken in the National Yang-Ming University Library and involved 162 data samples. Describes the statistical methods used and the content analysis applied to the analysis of the data. Findings indicate that users prefer librarians' to adopt an approachable mode: arms relaxed; frequent eye contact; greeting users with a smile; hands unoccupied, and with appropriate hand gestures. Contrarily, preoccupation mode: with arms crossed; frowning; and hands busy with work; conveys an unfriendly message to library users. Concludes that the findings could be a valuable tool for reference librarians to develop their interviewing techniques in terms of body language and so improve the quality of referecne services

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a

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Abstract

User studies provide libraries with invaluable insight into their users' information needs and behaviors, allowing them to develop services that correspond to these needs. This insight has become even more important for libraries since the advent of the Internet. The Internet has brought about a development of information technologies and electronic information sources that have had a great impact on both the ways users search for information and the ways libraries manage information. Although humanists represent an important group of users for academic libraries, research studies into their information-seeking behavior since the advent of the Internet have been quite scarce (Ellis & Oldman, 2005) in the past decade. This study presents updated research on a group of humanists, Jewish studies scholars living in Israel, as information users in the digital age based on two categories: (a) the use of formal and informal information channels, and (b) the use of information technologies and their impact on humanistic research.

Type

a

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Abstract

The Household Information Systems (HIS) project in Queen Margaret College was funded to explore the use of new media in a group of Edinburgh households (Davenport & Higgins, 1995). One of the motivations of the HIS 'programme' was to find a suitable theoretical and/or exploratory framework, which takes account of multiple aspects of behaviour surrounding technologies, and thus avoids assumptions about their role in information-seeking or other isolated activities. A focus on single activities would occlude knowledge of other motivations: bonding, killing time, defining boundaries. In Phase One, `information management' rather than `information seeking' was used as a conceptual framework, embracing work on the `life cycle' of ICTs as illustrated by Kopytoffs `biography of things' approach (1986), Johnson's cultural circuit (1986), research on households as micro-organisations by McCrone and his colleagues (1994), and work by Silverstone and others on ICTs in the home as tools for internal and external adaptation (Silverstone, 1994, Silverstone et al 1994). The `management' framework has been productive - Phase One allowed us to identify patterns of ICT acquisition and deployment in the home, and, more interestingly, structures of appropriation which reflect rules, roles and responsibilities in individual households. These constitute what may be called a `reproduction lattice' (adapting terminology used by Kling (1987) in his analysis of the `web of computing' in organisations), a structure which captures the political and cultural economy of a household. Phase One's findings are consistent with those of other researchers working in the area of domestic consumption of ICTs but a major limitation of the work is the homogeneous nature of the respondents. Among our Edinburgh 'household managers', internal culture was a more compelling explanation for use than technical functionality.

Type

a

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Abstract

This paper reports findings from Phase I of the Wynnewood Study - a major project investigating the information-seeking and information needs of lowincome African-American households in the Wynnewood Project in Dallas, Texas. The Parks at Wynnewood is a residential housing development at which the University of North Texas (UNT) is currently conducting the Healthy Neighbourhoods urban revitalization project. This study is also part of the second phase of a major UNT project that is investigating the community service needs of the Wynnewood residents. During this needs assessment all Wynnewood households were interviewed using an extensive twelve-page questionnaire, including a number of questions on their information needs and information-seeking behaviour. The results of the survey provide data bearing on the development of an information resource center and an information literacy programme for Wynnewood community residents. A model of resident's information environment is presented. The study of information-seeking and information needs, also known as nonwork information-seeking or citizen information-seeking, is an important and emerging area of interdisciplinary information science research. More specifically, this study is providing important data on the everyday life information needs and seeking behaviours of low-income African Americans households.

Type

a