The aim of this study is to investigate if providing mathematics education pre-service teachers with animated library tutorials on library and database searches changes their searching practices. This study involved the completion of a survey by 138 students and seven individual interviews before and after library search demonstration videos were…

Introduction: Theorist Howard D. White has made a call to action for "scientist-poets" to synthesize concepts and oeuvres in the centrifugal literature of information science. In response, this paper interprets the work of canonical information scientist Marcia J. Bates through the original metaphor of "castles and inverted…

This paper contrasts the arguments offered in the literature advocating the adoption of open source software (OSS)--software delivered with its source code--for teaching and learning applications, with the reality of limited enterprise-wide deployment of those applications in U.S. higher education. Drawing on the fields of organizational…

This survey of online search service centers in Canada was conducted to provide data on these centers and, more specifically, on the characteristics of the human search intermediary; and to provide an accurate overall picture of online searching in Canada. The survey questionnaires were mailed to approximately 765 Canadian customers of seven…

Describes an inductive, qualitative study of 30 Syracuse University students that investigated the situated nature of action during interactions with an online public access catalog. Highlights include elements of situatedness, with examples; the mapping of individual searches; and users' goals and stopping behavior. (Author/LRW)

The use of online searching by reference librarians to provide actual answers and not just bibliographies or current awareness printouts has the potential to save time and money for the reference department. The quick reference service can actually promote rather than compete with the library's online search service for in depth subject searching.…

Describes a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that analyzed the transaction logs of medical students' searches of a factual database to determine the overall frequency of search moves, the interaction between the problem statement and students' search strategies, the search moves selected, and the tactics used by students.…

Two information dissemination centers at University of California at Los Angeles and University of Georgia studied the interactions between computer based search facilities and their users. The study, largely descriptive in nature, investigated the interaction processes between data base users and profile analysis or information specialists in…

As the Web is expanding, the Web traffic is changing, and so are the users. To get an adequate understanding of the Web as a medium, it is of paramount importance to know the users and the dominant usage patterns. The purpose of this paper is to map important aspects of Web usage patterns, Web traffic and Web search behavior. Issues dealt with…

Discussion of information filters focuses on the results of the first phase of a user study of a filter and describes the background, experience, and computer usage habits of the subjects before they began using the filter. Topics include e-mail; listservs; and information searching tools, including library online public access catalogs.…

Describes a study that was conducted to determine whether the searching behavior of remote users of LIAS (Library Information Access System), Pennsylvania State University's online public access catalog (OPAC), differed from those using the OPAC within the library. Differences in search strategies and in user satisfaction are discussed. (eight…

Describes a study that analyzed transaction logs of a search assignment conducted on MEDLINE by medical students at the University of Michigan. The relationship between levels of search experience and search skills, clinical knowledge, search outcome, and subsequent use level are examined. (Contains 21 references.) (LRW)

Develops and tests a new behavioral model of information seeking on the Web by combining theoretical elements from information science and organization science. Results suggest that a behavioral framework which relates search motivations and moves may be helpful in analyzing Web-based information seeking. (Author/AEF)

This document presents a theoretical approach and a methodology for analyzing data from students interacting with and learning from hypermedia systems. Interactions are mutually influenced by individual students' goals and strategies and the actions supported by the interface of the learning environment. The approach is illustrated by modelling…

Reports results of study of a group of end users (patent attorneys) doing their own online searching at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Highlights include DIALOG databases used by the attorneys, locations and searching modes, characteristics of patent attorney searchers, and problem areas. Questionnaire is appended. (5 references) (EJS)