Behaviors and preferences of digital natives: Informing a research agenda (original) (raw)

´ Digital Natives' and Online Information Resources: How They Search and What We Offer

2011

Quantitative youth media research shows that there has been a huge increase in media use among youth worldwide. For this so-called generation of 'digital natives', the web is the most used and appreciated medium because it provides tremendous opportunities for their socialisation. But several studies in information seeking behaviour support the assumption that the information literacy competencies of 'digital natives' have not improved despite the growth in ICT skills and the increased access to the web. Especially in terms of learning support, we have to face a widening gap between what librarians consider high quality online information resources and what students regard as appropriate for meeting their information needs in schools or university. This paper discusses concepts of online information services that libraries could offer to reach and capture the target group of 'digital natives'.

Digital Natives or Digital Refugees?

IASL conference proceedings, 2021

This research forum paper presents the conclusion of a much broader PhD study which examines the information-seeking behaviour of the Net Generation or Generation Y. The overarching premise of this study centres on the belief that a greater understanding of how young adults seek and interact with information and the online environment, is an important first step in developing strategies to prepare them for tertiary education, the workplace and a future that will be characterised by an increasingly complex and constantly evolving information landscape. This paper will present the final analysis of the PhD findings, discuss what this means for the current generation of students and examine where schools and particularly teacher librarians need to focus if we are to cater for future generations.

Information Seeking Behavior in Digital Environments and Libraries in Enhancing the Use of Digital Information

Advances in Library and Information Science

The authors discuss in this chapter the emergence of digital library environments of the modern world. The emerging field of digital libraries brings together participants from many existing areas of research. Currently, the field lacks a clear agenda independent of these other area. It is tempting for researchers to think that the field of digital libraries is a natural outgrowth of an already known field. From a database or information retrieval perspective, digital libraries may be seen as a form of federated databases. From a hypertext perspective, the field of digital libraries could seem like a particular application of hypertext technology. From a wide-area information service perspective, digital libraries could appear to be one use of the World Wide Web. From a library science perspective, digital libraries might be seen as continuing a trend toward library automation. New concepts and applications appear fast in the information world. Current exploitation of multimedia tec...

Sense-Making and Synchronicity: Information-Seeking Behaviors of Millennials and Baby Boomers

Libri, 2008

A major challenge facing today's libraries is to develop and update both traditional and digital collections and services to meet the needs of the multiple generations of users with differing approaches to information seeking. The different characteristics and information needs of Boomers and Millennials present a dichotomy for library service and system development. Results are reported for two research projects (Dervin, Connaway, and Prabha 2003; Radford and Connaway 2005) that investigated habits and needs of library users and non-users. Both studies employed a multi-method research design to identify how and why individuals seek and use information. The first study (Dervin, Connaway, and Prabha 2003) reports the findings of focus group interviews with seventy-eight randomly selected participants, and fifteen semi-structured interviews with a subset of these participants. The second study (Radford and Connaway 2005) reports the results of focus group interviews with twenty-three Millennials, and an analysis of 492 virtual reference services (VRS) transcripts. The studies indicate that both generations consistently identify Google and human sources as the first sources they use for quick searches. The younger Millennials (Screenagers) mentioned consulting parents most frequently, while the older Millennials consult friends and professors. Boomers indicated they consult their personal libraries and colleagues. The findings have implications for the development of next generation library online catalogs, as well as services, including VRS.

Lessons Learned: How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

A report of findings from 2,318 respondents to a survey carried out among college students on six campuses distributed across the U.S. in the spring of 2009, as part of Project Information Literacy. Respondents, while curious in the beginning stages of research, employed a consistent and predictable research strategy for finding information, whether they were conducting course-related or everyday life research. Almost all of the respondents turned to the same set of tried and true information resources in the initial stages of research, regardless of their information goals. Almost all students used course readings and Google first for course-related research and Google and Wikipedia for everyday life research. Most students used library resources, especially scholarly databases for course-related research and far fewer, in comparison, used library services that required interacting with librarians. The findings suggest that students conceptualize research, especially tasks associated with seeking information, as a competency learned by rote, rather than as an opportunity to learn, develop, or expand upon an information-gathering strategy which leverages the wide range of resources available to them in the digital age.

INFORMATION NEEDS AND INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOR IN DIGITAL ERA: AN OUTLINE

The present paper discusses the information needs and information seeking behavior in the context of academicians, who are served by academic libraries. Academic libraries, where learning resources are acquired, processed and made accessible to the students are getting more importance in higher education and research institutes. For students and teachers library plays crucial role as a main information and reference source. For the same, library services have to be evaluated based on defined quality indicators. The libraries have transformed drastically from storehouses for books and journals to the powerhouses of knowledge and information since the middle of the 20th century. The information and communication technology is responsible for this revolution.

Demographics, Socio-Economic and Cognitive Skills as Barriers to Information Seeking in a Digital Library Environment

Information Seeking Behavior and Challenges in Digital Libraries, 2000

The chapter considers the importance of demographic and socioeconomic factors as well as cognitive skills to information seeking in a digital library environment. Demographic factors such as age and gender were considered. Younger adults were found to respond positively to the demands of information seeking in the digital environment while their older counterparts are still struggling to come to terms with the changes. In the same vein, studies have revealed that the value placed on technology by men and women varies. While men express high level of confidence in navigating the digital environment, women still suffer low self-confidence in doing same. Identified socioeconomic factors that also constitute a barrier to information seeking in a digital environment include income level, level of education, non-availability of ICT infrastructures and epileptic power supply especially in Africa among others. Unwillingness to see one's needs as information needs, inability to articulate one's information needs, unawareness of information sources, low self-efficacy, poor search skills among others were identified as cognitive barriers to information seeking in the digital environment. Based on the findings of this chapter, the study recommends that for persons who are adjudged to be the older generation, it is imperative for them to acquire requisite ICT skills that will make it easier for them to navigate the digital environment. There is also a clarion call on African leaders to provide infrastructures that will enable ICT to thrive as the digital environment is fast replacing the hitherto traditional one.