Straddling the humanities and social sciences: The research process of music scholars

Few research projects have focused on the information needs of the music scholar. What is known about the information needs of the music scholar has been gathered through large-scale studies of various humanistic disciplines. This article describes a six-stage model of the music scholar’s research process. The model was constructed contextually through interviews with 30 music scholars who were asked to describe a recently completed research project. Research activities pertaining to specific stages in the research process are identified and described. This study compares existing models of the research process of other humanities scholars and explores the implications for library and information science professionals.     

Subject searching of monographs online in the medical literature.

Searching by subject for monographic information online in the medical literature is a challenging task. The NLM database of choice is CATLINE. Other NLM databases of interest are BIOTHICSLINE, CANCERLIT, HEALTH, POPLINE, and TOXLINE. Ten BRS databases are also discussed. Of these, Books in Print, Bookinfo, and OCLC are explored further. The databases are compared as to number of total records and number and percentage of monographs. Three topics were searched on CROSS to compare hits on BBIP, BOOK, and OCLC. The same searches were run on CATLINE. The parameters of time coverage and language were equalized and the resulting citations were compared and analyzed for duplication and uniqueness. With the input of CATLINE tapes into OCLC, OCLC has become the database of choice for searching by subject for medical monographs.     

The effect of CD-ROM MEDLINE on online end user and mediated searching.

Since 1970, Indiana University School of Medicine Library (IUSML) has traditionally been a high volume online searching institution. The library recently implemented an end user searching program which includes MEDLINE on CD-ROM. The effect of CD-ROM on online end user and mediated searching is discussed. Comparative statistics are provided by category of search service. CD-ROM has had a dramatic lowering effect on online end user searching and has had little effect on mediated searching. IUSML's experience with CD-ROM technology has been a positive one. Trained end users have become IUSML's greatest asset.     

The effect of CD-ROM MEDLINE on online end-user and mediated searching: a follow-up study

Indiana University School of Medicine Library (IUSML) has traditionally been a high volume searching institution. The dramatic effect of CD-ROM on online end-user searching and the negligible effect on mediated searching was reported in an earlier study. This follow-up study reveals that the proportion of mediated searching has been drastically reduced from 94% in 1986/87 to 39% as of November 1989. Mediated searches are declining in absolute numbers as well. End-user searching, by contrast, has increased by 54% percent over the previous year. A related trend is the increased use of CD-ROM by the librarian as an alternative to mediated online searching. These trends are expected to continue as IUSML expands its CD-ROM operation to include other databases. As mediated searching declines, the librarian's role will increasingly include end-user training.     

The attributes of research on end-user online searching behavior: A retrospective review and analysis

A total of 163 studies examining end-user behaviors (as reported in 175 individual articles) were selected and analyzed for their research attributes. From the earliest identified study to those conducted before the end of 2000, recurring themes emerged, as did characteristics unique to particular studies. The majority of researchers employed nonexperimental quantitative data collection methods. However, a select group of qualitative studies and a few experimental investigations also were identified. Research designs combining multiple methodologies were the norm. The variables prevalent across studies were broadly classified into a typology under end-user traits, system attributes, organizational setting, task and request characteristics, performance outcomes and obstacles, and results measures. The specific behaviors that researchers concentrated upon most often were the end-users' searching techniques, relevance judgments about information they found, satisfaction with search results, and prior knowledge brought to bear on online searching assignments. Also examined were trends in publishing, geographic locations of field sites, databases selected for searching activities, and the characteristics of searcher cohorts.     

Online searching for human nutrition: an evaluation of databases.

This study compares six databases which contain information on applied and clinical human nutrition: AGRICOLA, BIOSIS, CAB ABSTRACTS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and SCI-SEARCH. Five research questions were searched, and the results were compared to identify the database of first choice and to determine the degree of overlap among the databases. Results indicate that for most of the human nutrition questions searched, MEDLINE was the most productive database. However, MEDLINE alone only uncovered 24% to 69% of the citations available. A combination of MEDLINE and at least one other database is recommended. The results of this study suggest that for most human nutrition questions, AGRICOLA is the best file to complement MEDLINE.     

Identifying knowledge practices in an infodemic era: Rediscovering the professional identities of LIS professionals in an infodiverse environment

The professional identity of librarians is established with regard to the current understanding of their knowledge practices. The global phenomenon of false and untrustworthy information circulating on social media platforms paints a new issue that librarians must conquer. Messages, content, news, and information on the web make it challenging for librarians to educate users as to where the sources come from and the need to evaluate for credibility and trustworthiness. During the pandemic, and with a surge of information disorders on social media, the World Health Organization recommended building resilience to misinform-ation and engaging and empowering communities to take positive action. This research seeks to explore the relationship between professional identities and the participation of librarians in an infodiverse environment, specifically by exploring how Filipino librarians applied aspects of their knowledge practices to the evaluation of social media health information during the pandemic.     

No scholar is an island: The impact of sharing in the work life of scholars

The sharing of scholarly articles is an intrinsic and often ignored facet of the value and mission of scholarship. It is so entwined in the daily work life of scholars that it has almost become second nature, an integral part of the research process itself. This article addresses this often overlooked area of research in usage studies. In an international survey of 1,000 published scholars, the Beyond Downloads project examined their sharing behaviours in order to gain a more contextualized and accurate picture of their usage beyond download patterns and citation counts. Scholars share published articles with others as a mode of content discovery and dissemination, particularly if they work in groups, and most expect to increase their sharing in the future. While their methods of sharing articles may change, and their reasons for sharing may vary from self‐promotion to the more altruistic motives of scientific progress, they desire to share the final published versions of articles with their colleagues.     

The Journal of Buddhist Ethics: an online journal

Offers a ‘nuts and bolts’ perspective on setting up and running the UK’s first peer–reviewed WWW journal.     

The costs and effectiveness of information-skills training and mediated searching: quantitative results from the EMPIRIC project

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness and costs of providing information for patient care via librarian-mediated searches and information-skills training. METHODS: A questionnaire survey to library staff and health professionals in the North West. Data was collected on perceptions of services, satisfaction and service usage, allowing a cost analysis to be undertaken. Statistical data was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (spss). RESULTS: Using satisfaction and use of skills as outcome measures, both mediated searches and information skills training are effective. A breakdown of costs per type of training session and literature search is provided. Cost-effectiveness is dependent on whether costs are viewed from a library or trust point of view. Providing information skills training does not reduce the volume of mediated-search requests. CONCLUSIONS: No one method of providing information for health professionals is more effective or cost-effective than another. A decision about which services to provide cannot be made on the basis of effectiveness or costs alone; the views of library staff and the health professionals they serve should also be taken into account. A proactive approach and targeting training towards those who are most likely to benefit may be an appropriate way forward.     

Delivering a MOOC for literature searching in health libraries: evaluation of a pilot project

In an era when library budgets are being reduced, Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC's) can offer practical and viable alternatives to the delivery of costly face‐to‐face training courses. In this study, guest writers Gil Young from Health Care Libraries Unit ‐ North, Lisa McLaren from Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Liverpool University PhD student Michelle Maden describe the outcomes of a funded project they led to develop a MOOC to deliver literature search training for health librarians. Funded by Health Education England, the MOOC was developed by the Library and Information Health Network North West as a pilot project that ran for six weeks. In particular, the MOOC target audience is discussed, how content was developed for the MOOC, promotion and participation, cost‐effectiveness, evaluation, the impact of the MOOC and recommendations for future development. H. S.     

网络游戏植入式广告的植入应用研究

本文以探讨植入式广告在网络游戏中的应用为目的,对网络游戏植入式广告的特点、植入形式展开了期究.并结合网络游戏植入式广告的实例,对我国植八式广告在网络游戏中的应用提出了合理化建议.     

The ADA approach: retro-archiving data in an academic environment

This article concentrates on the retro-archiving of older digital research data. The ADA approach was developed and used to retro-archive older data files, most of which were between 10 and 30 years old. The origin and main characteristics of the ADA approach are described in the second section of the article. The third section discusses two recent data-archiving pilot projects that were conducted in the Netherlands. The first of these projects, the ADA project, laid the foundation for the ADA approach, which was subsequently applied and tested again in the second project, eDNA, which focused on archaeological data. The final section of the article provides a comparison of the results of these two projects.

Promoting U.S. census data in an academic environment: opportunities and challenges.

"The library at Montana State University, Bozeman...has undertaken structured efforts to promote wider use of census data [in CD-ROM format] among the university community. Several workshops and instructional sessions are described...[and] handouts for some sessions are included. These...activities are described in the context of budgetary and service issues faced by libraries providing access to census data in electronic formats....The success of these efforts is assessed, and libraries' response to new expectations for service is also discussed."