The Effect of Web Search Result Display on Users’ Perceptual Experience and Information Seeking Performance

ABSTRACT

Adding multiple sources of information in the display of Web search results may negatively affect users’ perceptual experience and information-seeking behavior. This claim was established by investigating the impact of different Web search compositions on users’ ability to extract specific information. In this article, we assumed that the quantity and order of different compositions (areas) in the Web search results page may contribute to individual’s ability to find information relevant to their search queries. An eye-tracking device was used to observe and compare the perceptual behavior of 14 users in an information-seeking task. The results showed that the use of different compositions in the display of Web results page significantly influenced users’ perceptual experience by reducing their attention to the organic results area. The quantity of these compositions was found to greatly increase the cognitive load of users when attempting to retrieve information from the organic area, which negatively affects their information-seeking performance. Our finding provides a rationale for further studies to consider the impact of quantity and order of Web page compositions on individuals’ perceptual attention and cognitive load in information-seeking task settings.     

Deconstructing proxy health information-seeking behavior: A systematic review

Seeking health-related information on behalf of or because of others is a common activity in everyday life and a topic of constant interest across multiple disciplines. The research aims to characterize recent research progress and provide a comprehensive framework of proxy health information-seeking behavior (PHISB). A total of 47 studies published after 2003 were selected, followed by structural encoding. The main contributions include 1) a summary of the key characteristics of individuals who often access health information through proxy seekers; 2) types of health information surrogates sought and sources employed; 3) a classification scheme of factors influencing PHISB; 4) a synthesis of how health information used and its subsequent outcomes; 5) a theoretical framework for proxy health information-seeking. Results point to an intellectual benchmark for future exploring related issues. The findings can shed light on public health intervention and management, especially through guiding search strategies to help people obtain relevant, helpful, and credible health information.     

Information technology courses and their relationship to faculty in different professional ranks in library and information science programs

This study investigated information technology (IT) courses offered in American Library Association–accredited library and information science (LIS) programs and the role of faculty with different professional ranks in teaching those courses. More than 20% of the courses offered in 42 programs in the academic year 2002 are IT-related, and 57% of the programs require one particular IT course as part of their core requirements for the master's degree. The contents of the IT courses range widely and go beyond traditional library settings. Faculty with different professional ranks teach significantly different subject areas of the IT courses. Almost half of the junior faculty and more than half of the senior faculty are from multidisciplinary fields; others have a traditional LIS background. Junior faculty's predominant research areas are as follows: information issues; information needs, information-seeking behavior, and information services; cognitive science; systems analysis and evaluation; and information organization.     

Information-seeking behavior of economics graduate students: If you buy it,will they come?

The information-seeking behavior of social science graduate students has been the subject of many studies, but none have concentrated only on the economics graduate student population and their unique needs. The purpose of this focus group study was to use group discussions to understand the actual online behavior of graduate economics students when conducting research. The results provide insight and information about the skills and characteristics of economics graduate students, their first steps in conducting research online, their use of publicly available and library resources, challenges to finding information, and resources used to overcome these challenges.     

Faculty citations: An approach to assessing the impact of diminishing resources on scientific research

In an effort to assess the impact of diminished library resources on scientific research, the Georgia Institute of Technology library collection was evaluated by analyzing the sources cited in the publications of faculty in the applied and physical sciences for 1989. This study indicates that even with substantial periodical cancellations, the periodical collection supports the majority of faculty needs since they rely primarily on core journals in their disciplines. Other materials cited less frequently in published faculty research — monographs, proceedings, technical reports, other serials, and government documents — are examined. The limitations of this method, its institutionally specific results, and the need to learn more about the information-seeking behaviors of research science faculty are also discussed.     

A study of the nature of information needed by women with multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease with an unpredictable course and no known cause or cure. Coping strategies of people with MS may yield insights into their information needs and information-seeking behaviors. This study of information needs was based on Miller's theory of information seeking, which states that some people (monitors) cope by actively seeking information, while others (blunters) reject information. Ninety-three women were classified through the Miller Behavioral Style Scale as either monitors or blunters and also by the length of time since diagnosis. They were asked to assess a general or a specific pamphlet on one of two topics (fatigue or treatment for acute attacks). More monitors than blunters rated the pamphlet they had received as relevant, regardless of the nature of the information. This study contributes to the development of a methodology for studying information needs and information-seeking behaviors and suggests a new area of research for those in library and information science.     

“Sentences like these:” Multicultural information dynamics and international diversity of thought

Multicultural information dynamics is exploratory cross-cultural research of the information-seeking behavior of a group of eighty-four Egyptian and American reference librarians asked to choose from websites in different languages. This paper, the fourth in a series, focuses on national, monolingual, and multilingual subgroups, and provides multi-tiered analyzes of websites clicked, reasons given for clicking, preferences for machine translations vs. original foreign language websites, decision making when choosing non-native language hits, and foreign language anxiety. Findings of the research show that information seekers of both nationalities are reluctant to cross cultural lines at the basic level of retrieved Internet information hits. Further results delineate differences and similarities in motivations, circumstantial preferences for original languages or machine translations, and comparative information-seeking behavior of subgroups. The research has implications for improving search performance in the fields of global knowledge dissemination via website and search engine design, library science, and international scholarship.     

“Sentences like these:” Multicultural information dynamics and international diversity of thought

Multicultural information dynamics is exploratory cross-cultural research of the information-seeking behavior of a group of eighty-four Egyptian and American reference librarians asked to choose from websites in different languages. This paper, the fourth in a series, focuses on national, monolingual, and multilingual subgroups, and provides multi-tiered analyzes of websites clicked, reasons given for clicking, preferences for machine translations vs. original foreign language websites, decision making when choosing non-native language hits, and foreign language anxiety. Findings of the research show that information seekers of both nationalities are reluctant to cross cultural lines at the basic level of retrieved Internet information hits. Further results delineate differences and similarities in motivations, circumstantial preferences for original languages or machine translations, and comparative information-seeking behavior of subgroups. The research has implications for improving search performance in the fields of global knowledge dissemination via website and search engine design, library science, and international scholarship.     

Pediatric and adolescent bipolar disorder: medical resources.

An increasing body of research suggests the existence of early onset childhood bipolar disorder. The population of pediatric bipolar illness may be small, but current research points to early misdiagnosis of ADD/ADHD, and that attention deficit disorder may masquerade as a harbinger of the mania to come. Since ADD/ADHD estimates range up to 10% of the school population, the notion that ADD/ADHD precedes bipolar disorder leads to a significant increase in diagnosed depressives. This in turn produces an increase in information-seeking behaviors by parents, caregivers, and medical personnel. Variables hindering the information-seeking process include vocabulary, tool failure, co-morbidity, social prejudices, age issues, and environmental factors. This research provides reliable sources, Web sites, databases, key authors, electronic groups, and other accessible medical information in order to better serve the pediatric bipolar community.     

Information Seeking Patterns: Social Sciences

In the last three decades, there have been a number of studies that have explored the information-seeking behavior of social science researchers. Over the years several themes have remained constant. Journals remain the preferred source of information and rank above most every other source. References to relevant materials are identified through following the citations from journals in hand rather than utilizing indexing and abstracting services. Libraries and librarians are not viewed as a primary, or in some cases, even an important source of information. This article will review some of the major studies that have been done in this area and discuss the implications of the findings for the development of services for this group of clientele.     

Low-Effort Information Searching: The Heuristic Information-Seeking Toolkit

ABSTRACT

How do academic library users search for scholarly information? While there are many possible ways, research from several scholarly fields offers a useful perspective; studies from social psychology, economics, and library and information science suggest that users will often favor “low-effort” information-seeking approaches. Though many academic librarians undoubtedly advocate efficient information-seeking strategies, we argue that development of a more systematic and coordinated low-effort approach would be beneficial. Accordingly, this article offers an organized “toolkit” of low-effort information-seeking strategies suitable for self-use by library patrons or inclusion in library instruction programs.     

Information behavior of people in the fourth age: Implications for the conceptualization of information literacy

The information literacy (IL) needs of people in the fourth age, a stage of increasing dependence and disability, have not been considered in the research literature. Based on the premise that there are relationships between information seeking and IL, this article begins to bridge this gap by focusing on the information-seeking behavior of the group in an attempt to identify IL needs. It does this through a literature review, particularly drawing on two pieces of human information behavior research, one a new study focused specifically on the group in question. It also examines existing definitions of IL in order to gauge how relevant they appear to be. The reasons for studying this group include that all stages of a person's lifespan deserve to be studied and that the population size of this group increases dramatically in the developed world. Although information needs and sources used are fewer in the fourth age, they are still important to the people involved, thus making IL a relevant concept. The researchers draw implications for IL from the particularities of the information context where disability and frailty impede purposeful information seeking. The resulting emphasis on incidental information acquisition increases the role for social networks and communication, again with implications for IL. Information grounds, where people congregate for purposes other than information sharing, including artificially created ones, will also be important for information dissemination. The role of the Internet, including assistive technology for its use, is also relevant. The conclusion is that IL is crucial to the well-being of people in the fourth age but that existing definitions need to be adjusted to the specific informational context.     

Just the Facts: An Examination of E-Book Usage by Business Students and Faculty

Business students and faculty expect the electronic delivery of content within their multiple disciplinary subject areas. The speed of acceptance and the rate of migration from print to electronic sources within the various business disciplines outpaces the acceptance rates in the humanities and other social sciences. Business students and faculty exhibit information-seeking behaviors that are unique to the practice-oriented nature of a business education. Electronic resources re-enforce this information-seeking behavior. The technology utilized in the creation of e-books enables business students and faculty to successfully locate specific data, both textual and numeric within the resource, further reinforcing their behaviors and accelerating the demand for additional e-books. Business students and faculty use e-books as reference books.     

Correlates of Undergraduates’ Information-Seeking Behavior

This study explores the correlates of information-seeking behavior of University of Botswana undergraduate students. Six hundred undergraduate students selected from twelve departments of the university formed the study sample. Two research questions were developed to guide the study. A modified instrument tagged information-seeking behavior scale was used to gather data. Multiple-correlation and multiple-regression statistical tools were employed to analyze the data. The results obtained show that out of the correlate variables, self-efficacy had the highest correlation and greatest significant effect on undergraduates' information-seeking behavior. Furthermore, gender, discipline, enjoyment in seeking information, and self-efficacy significantly predict undergraduates’ information-seeking behavior. However, gender had the least correlation and predictive value with information seeking. Recommendations based on these findings for undergraduate students’ information seeking behavior are highlighted.     

“I’m Really Confident I Can Find the Exact IKEA Pillow”: A Qualitative Look at the Search Self-Efficacy of Graduating MLIS Students

Abstract

There is limited qualitative research on the information-seeking self-efficacy (SE) of library and information science (LIS) graduate students. This study examines graduating LIS students’ experiences with information seeking, including experiences in the LIS program that led to increased levels of information-seeking SE and specific recollections of moments when SE increased. Many students identified similar factors as key to developing SE, including education-related assignments, library work experience, LIS internships, and specific LIS coursework. Because of the small sample size, further research would help to identify additional factors that promote LIS students’ information-seeking SE.     

Bibliographie Instruction for Business Classes

Abstract

A contribution to an issue devoted to end-user research needs and information-seeking behavior, this paper describes a cooperative venture between faculty members, librarians and students to assess and improve methods of bibliographic instruction for business classes in order to assist students with their research needs. At St. Edward' s University' s Scarborough-Phillips Library, bibliographic instruction (BI) of business information is offered to students upon the request of faculty members of the Business School-it is not a required credit course. A new approach to eliminating information overload in BI sessions was attempted, proved successful and will likely be repeated.     

Is Information-Seeking Behavior of Doctoral Students Changing?: A Review of the Literature (2010–2015)

The advent of the Internet and networked communications in the last 15 years has arguably considerably changed the information behaviors of doctoral students, including the discovery process. Information seeking includes initiating a search, constructing search strategies, and locating and evaluating the identified sources. Current research on information-seeking behaviors is focusing on understanding how the Internet, social media, and other technological and communication-based changes, including mobile technologies, have changed the way students seek information in order to understand the information behaviors of the students of tomorrow. This article offers a review of the literature on information-seeking behaviors, with a particular focus on recent years (2010–2015). It aims to determine whether notable changes in the information-seeking behavior of doctoral students have emerged in recent years. The study shows that the information-seeking behaviors of doctoral students follow a steady trend, with some subtle changes, particularly in the (patchy) use of social media and networking sites. There appears to be more similarities than differences across disciplines in the information-seeking behaviors of doctoral students. Considerations to their information literacy skills are given to understand better the role supervisors and library staff can play to support the doctoral students population in the early stages of the research process.     

Do We Have It? A Comparative Analysis of Library Journal Holdings and Works Referenced in Faculty Publications

Libraries often wonder if their collections can support their faculty’s research. Large citation databases, such as Scopus or Web of Science, can help automate such a review process. This session will present findings about to what extent faculty were able to complete their journal publications without utilizing interlibrary loan. Using data gathered from Scopus, the range and date of journals referenced by faculty at my home institution will be compared with holdings from my library’s electronic resources knowledge base to determine the level of overlap. Results will be presented by journal discipline to highlight any variation among the science, social science, and arts and humanities divisions. Special emphasis will be given to using this data to inform decisions about purchasing journal backfile collections.     

Improving information-seeking behavior among business majors

The current generation of college students has used the Internet to access information since the early 1990s. No assessment of information use, quality, variety, and reliability of information generally occurs at both the student and faculty level. In this paper, we use a package of teaching methods targeted towards improving information-seeking behavior among graduate and undergraduate business majors. The effectiveness of the teaching package is assessed through an evaluation of student term papers and quality of resources used. We find that the package of teaching methods implemented does result in significant improvement in information-seeking behavior, especially among undergraduate business majors.     

Using Buttons to Better Manage Online Presence: How One Academic Institution Harnessed the Power of Flair

This article provides a case study of how the University of Nebraska College of Law and Schmid Law Library use “buttons” to manage Law College faculty members’ and librarians’ online presence. Since Google is the primary search engine used to find information, it is important that librarians and libraries assist Web site visitors in finding relevant information about faculty members at an academic institution. Easily identifiable buttons allow visitors to navigate to faculty scholarship in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Digital Commons, SSRN Web site, or both, in an academic service such as lessons from the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction and in social software sites like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. The case study includes (1) how the project was implemented, (2) the feedback and results of a survey, and (3) an analysis of Web site statistics, clicks, and links data gathered via Google Analytics. This project was a partnership between the Law College Communications Department, Law College Administration, and the Law Library, involving law faculty, staff, and librarians. The buttons project was considered a successful venture by participating faculty members; it also provided an opportunity for face-to-face conversation between faculty members and librarians about digital scholarship and social media in the academic environment.