Primo on the Go: A Usability Study of the Primo Mobile Interface

Abstract

Primo Analytics from two campuses of the California State University system has revealed that a dramatically low proportion of Primo searches originate from mobile devices. The current study focuses on usability concerns as one area that may be preventing students from searching the Primo mobile interface. The sample for this study includes students from two campuses with a variety of experience with library instruction and searching the library’s discovery system. Participants were given the same set of six common academic tasks to complete. Both mobile and desktop participants found three tasks relatively easy to complete. When there were differences in completion rates between the mobile and desktop users, the desktop users were overall more successful. No task was consistently difficult for desktop users to complete, while mobile users found two of the tasks very challenging to complete. Based on the findings, the authors make recommendations for improving the experience of mobile users.     

国内外信息检索行为研究比较

对近十年来国内外的信息检索行为研究论文进行统计分析,通过对论文数量、主题分布、研究方法的比较,得出二者的差距并提出相关建议,为我国今后信息检索行为的研究提供依据。     

Teaching Reprint File Management

The development of user-friendly search systems has enabled physicians to perform their own MEDLINE searches. These physicians are recognizing a need to learn how to organize their growing reprint collections. Librarians at the University of Michigan, Alfred Taubman Medical Library have developed a unique course that presents a variety of techniques to meet the needs of a wide audience. For some users, such as students or house officers who have limited funds or lack support devices, a variety of manual methods are presented. Advantages and disadvantages of using manual versus computerized systems are discussed. Following the illustration of the manual methods, users are introduced to a simple computerized method using a utility type database management package, PC-FILE. Hands-on training under the direction of librarians allows students to develop and use a practice database while having experts available to answer questions. Users are encouraged to take a copy of PC-FILE (shareware) with them to experiment with before committing themselves to a more expensive database management software package. Before the class ends, those interested in a more sophisticated package with specialized report formats and downloading/uploading capabilities are given a brief demonstration of PRO-CITE. Evaluations have shown that there is interest in all three methods.     

Chauffeured by the User

Abstract

Librarians have not traditionally been the developers of iiifurnuition retrieval systems. However, with the growth of the World Wide Weh and online knowledge management opportunities, academic librarians have begun to emerge as online system developers and designers. As librarians jockey lor position as experts in understanding information-seeking behavior in this virtual landscape, they must learn about usability testing. Usability testing reveals how users search for online information and is a key component in determining when a product is easy to use and ready for public use. Both the University of Arizona and OCLC have undergone usability evaluation in various ways and have integrated results of these evaluations into their Web and online product designs.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Abstract

A CLASSROOM OF ONE: HOW ONLINE LEARNING IS CHANGING OUR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. Maeroff, Gene I. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, 320pp., $26.95, ISBN 1-4039-6085-2. Reviewed by Jerilyn Marshall.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DISTRIBUTED LEARNING. DiStefano, Anna, Kjell Erik Rudestam, and Robert J. Silverman (Eds.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2004, 575pp., $125.00, ISBN0-7619-2451-5. Reviewed by Jerilyn Marshall.     

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.     

Face-to-Face

ABSTRACT

Research consultations can be an integral layer of instruction for an information literacy program. One-on-one instruction provides an ideal situation for librarian teachers to reinforce and deliver personalized information literacy instruction in a confusing, information-glutted environment. However, reference departments must consciously move away from a service model of source provision to one of instruction provision in order to develop and provide this much needed supplement to an information literacy program. This article discusses the implementation of a research consultation service at Missouri State University's Meyer Library, as well as the results and analysis of user satisfaction surveys administered to both the patrons and the librarian providers of the new service. doi:10.1300/J106v14n03_06     

Serials Report

Abstract

An exploratory study of the information-seeking experiences of women's studies faculty provided interesting insights into their use and collection of periodical literature. Using in-depth interviews and observations, as well as postings from a listserv, the study identified problems, influences, and expectations involved in faculty's daily work with magazines and journals.     

Artificial intelligence behind the scenes: PubMed's Best Match algorithm

This article focuses on PubMed''s Best Match sorting algorithm, presenting a simplified explanation of how it operates and highlighting how artificial intelligence affects search results in ways that are not seen by users. We further discuss user search behaviors and the ethical implications of algorithms, specifically for health care practitioners. PubMed recently began using artificial intelligence to improve the sorting of search results using a Best Match option. In 2020, PubMed deployed this algorithm as the default search method, necessitating serious discussion around the ethics of this and similar algorithms, as users do not always know when an algorithm uses artificial intelligence, what artificial intelligence is, and how it may impact their everyday tasks. These implications resonate strongly in health care, in which the speed and relevancy of search results is crucial but does not negate the importance of a lack of bias in how those search results are selected or presented to the user. As a health care provider will not often venture past the first few results in search of a clinical decision, will Best Match help them find the answers they need more quickly? Or will the algorithm bias their results, leading to the potential suppression of more recent or relevant results?     

高校图书馆虚拟参考咨询服务对学生信息查询行为的指导策略

高校图书馆虚拟参考咨询服务是支持学生学习的一个重要途径,文章基于教育学原理总结出一些参考咨询员可以用来提升学生信息查询行为的指导策略,在提供咨询服务的同时,激发学生的学习积极性和实践能力,从而提升其信息查询能力。