User Behaviour in Resource Discovery: Final Report (original) (raw)

User behaviour: searching for scholarly material using electronic resource discovery systems

Proceedings of the 24th …, 2010

This paper reports on user behaviour when interacting with various electronic resource discovery systems (ERDS) while searching for scholarly material. It focuses on the search strategies applied by 34 students and researchers in Business and Economics from three UK universities to find relevant information on a specified topic. The findings of the study are presented in relation to existing information-seeking models. Although there are a lot of similarities between existing models we have found some differences between those ...

Understanding Information Seeking Behavior of Faculty and Students

This chapter reviews significant information seeking literature, focusing on general models that can provide a framework for those not familiar with the research in that area. It then explores models and characteristics that are unique to academic users, specifically undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members, highlighting similarities and differences among these groups of users. Changes to information seeking that have resulted from technological advances are also examined. The chapter concludes with a look at resource discovery tools in light of what is known about the information seeking behaviors of academic users, and recommendations are provided for those considering adoption of resource discovery tools.

An Overview of Users Information Seeking Behaviour on Online Resources

This paper discuses online information seeking behavior of students for sustainable education among students of higher learning institutions. Online information seeking behavior is a relatively new phenomenon. However, it is the active process of obtaining data from the Web. Libraries and Universities are continuously adapting and seeking effective ways to respond to the fundamental and interconnected missions of research, teaching and community service, and that is why some have embraced the use of the Internet in service delivery. On the other hand, this study is more concerned with maximizing usage of this resource by students in fulfilling their primary aim of research and reaching out to these resources on the Internet using the requisite navigational skills. The paper says the Internet offers widespread access to electronic resources and also has the advantages of interactivity, and information tailoring. It also agrees that access is inequitable and use is hindered by navigational challenges due to numerous factors e.g. disorganization, technical language and lack of permanence. Meager information evaluation skills add to students' vulnerability. The paper highlights some information seeking models to assist students in their search for information on the Internet. Also it highlights the role of the library in the information seeking process of students. The paper concludes that though Information and communication technologies are being put in place for use by students, they must possess the requisite skill to use them appropriately.

A Glimpse of the Information Seeking Behaviour Literature on the Web

Information Seeking Behavior and Challenges in Digital Libraries, 2000

This Chapter presents a study conducted on literature related to information seeking behaviour available on the World Wide Web. The outcome of searching the World Wide Web using Google Scholar were analysed to present the growth of publications; collaboration pattern of authors; most contributing authors; type of publications in which information scientists preferred to publish their works; highly preferred journals in which information seeking behaviour related works are published; and the impact of information seeking behaviour related literature. www.igi-global.com/chapter/user-profiles-personalizing-digital-libraries/19878?camid=4v1a Comparing Repository Types: Challenges and Barriers for Subject-Based Repositories,

Identifying how novice researchers search, locate, choose and use web resources at the early stage of research

Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 2011

This paper describes the process of identifying novice researchers' information needs. The study sampled postgraduate students at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Malaya, Malaysia. The study utilized three types of data gathering techniques: (a) observations to gauge further understanding the novice researchers' information seeking behaviour while searching for research related sources on the Web; (b) a questionnaire-based survey to identify the artifact or the resources they use for the research activities; and (c) interviews with expert researchers to gauge further information needs of novice researchers. Results indicate that novice researchers rely on thesis, e-book, journals and conference proceedings as major scholarly resources. The facilitation of searching for research information on the Web is poorly supported by existing search engines. As such, the information seeking behaviour of novice researchers needs to be supported by specific research tools. Five important research information that novice researchers need to be acquainted with are: related literature, centre of research excellence, research trend, experts in specific research area and the specific databases and online resources. The paper put forward features of an institutional repository system that would support novice researchers' scholarly activities based on their research information needs.

Information-seeking behaviors of academic researchers in the Internet Age: A user study in the United States, China and Greece

2007

developed to comprise two dimensions: (A) IS behaviors pertaining to long-term research needs or corresponding to project lifecycle; (B) IICTs providing information or supporting communication. The IS dimension adopts Ellis's behavioral model with revision; the IICT dimension includes commonly used tools and resources such as the Web, email, digital library, online library catalog, e-journal, etc. This paper reports on part of the preliminary results of three datasets from two disciplines (computer science and engineering) in the U.S. (28 participants), Greece (19 participants), and China (35 participants). Converging and integrating information resources have caused terminological confusions. Overlapping in access to information resources also blurred the boundaries between different types of information systems. The use and non-use of IICTs depend on many different factors. Our results also show that the major IS activities proposed by Ellis continue to play important roles in research, but these activities are now handled in both traditional and diverse new ways in the Internet environment. Managing information is a big challenge and effective tools are needed. Libraries and librarians are less recognized as information is becoming more accessible via the Internet. There is a need to shift from traditional service and user instruction roles to new roles.

Researchers' interaction with online information resources: An informational approach

2021

Objective The purpose of this study is to determine the interaction of researchers with online information resources and provide solutions to increase the quality of information retrieval. Methodology In terms of purpose, the present study is a fundamental research that falls into the category of content analysis research and is based on the underlying theory of Strauss and Corbin (1998) and has been done using Max QDA software. This research is one of the library researches that has used field techniques in terms of data collection method.15 researchers who have the most scientific products and naturally have more interaction with information and search for resources, were selected by judgmental sampling and They have been interviewed. Findings In this study, which was interviewed with 15 researchers, it was found that researchers mostly refer to Google search engine and databases of Science Direct, Web of Science and Scopus. They also use advanced search and simple search to find ...

Information Seeking Behaviour of Mathematicians: Scientists and Students

Information Research an International Electronic Journal, 2014

Introduction. The paper presents original research designed to explore and compare selected aspects of the information seeking behaviour of mathematicians (scientists and students) on the Internet. Method. The data were gathered through a questionnaire distributed at the end of 2011 and in January 2012. Twenty-nine professional mathematicians and 153 students of mathematics from the Institute of Mathematics of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, were surveyed. Analysis. The gathered data were analysed in a quantitative manner and then interpreted comparatively to find similarities and differences between the behaviour of professional mathematicians and students. Results. Students, as opposed to scientists, often declared searching for reference works and multimedia objects and comparatively rarely for journal papers and information about sources unavailable on the Web. They more willingly use social networking sites while scientists more often search discipline-oriented portals or library Websites. Scientists use, first of all, the author's name or the publication titles to formulate queries, students prefer keyword searching. While scientists trust their own ability to determine the scientific character of information or treat journals as determinants of the scientific quality, students do not. Conclusions. The research revealed some significant differences between the information seeking behaviour of those two groups of mathematicians. It could be the result of different levels of experience in scientific work, distinct tasks undertaken within the academic environment, and the change in the general paradigm of information searching.