Using a Multiple-Case Studies Design to Investigate the Information-Seeking Behavior of Arts Administrators

The case study method, and in particular the multiple???case studies design, offers LIS researchers a proven tool for achieving a deep understanding of a specific phenomenon???-for example, the information- seeking behavior of a particular user group. Although the case study method has been dismissed by critics who question the rigor of the approach, numerous studies over the past twenty years have demonstrated that the case study method can be used successfully to probe beneath the surface of a situation and to provide a rich context for understanding the phenomena under study. This article summarizes the application of the multiple???case studies design, in which a literal and theoretical replication strategy is used to identify consistent patterns of behavior and to uncover new and/or divergent themes. The motivation behind arts administrators??? decisions to seek information is investigated using this approach and examples are given of sample selection, data collection, and analysis. Specific issues associated with the case study method are identified and practical steps used to address them are suggested.published or submitted for publicatio

Classification for collections mapping and query expansion

Abstract. Dewey Decimal Classification has been used to organize materials owned by the three scientific libraries at the University of Pavia, and to allow integrated browsing in their union catalogue through SciGator, a home built web-based user interface. Classification acts as a bridge between collections located in different places and shelved according to different local schemes. Furthermore, cross-discipline relationships recorded in the system allow for expanded queries that increase recall. Advantages and possible improvements of such a system are discussed

Information seeking and stopping among undergraduate interns

postprintThe 6th International Conference on Knowledge Management (ICKM 2009), Hong Kong, 3-4 December 2009. In Proceedings of ICKM, 2009, p. 1-1

Searching and Stopping: An Analysis of Stopping Rules and Strategies

Searching naturally involves stopping points, both at a query level (how far down the ranked list should I go?) and at a session level (how many queries should I issue?). Understanding when searchers stop has been of much interest to the community because it is fundamental to how we evaluate search behaviour and performance. Research has shown that searchers find it difficult to formalise stopping criteria, and typically resort to their intuition of what is "good enough". While various heuristics and stopping criteria have been proposed, little work has investigated how well they perform, and whether searchers actually conform to any of these rules. In this paper, we undertake the first large scale study of stopping rules, investigating how they influence overall session performance, and which rules best match actual stopping behaviour. Our work is focused on stopping at the query level in the context of ad-hoc topic retrieval, where searchers undertake search tasks within a fixed time period. We show that stopping strategies based upon the disgust or frustration point rules - both of which capture a searcher's tolerance to non-relevance - typically result in (i) the best overall performance, and (ii) provide the closest approximation to actual searcher behaviour, although a fixed depth approach also performs remarkably well. Findings from this study have implications regarding how we build measures, and how we conduct simulations of search behaviours

The information-related behaviour of emerging artists and designers Inspiration and guidance for new practitioners

Purpose – This paper aims to report an empirical study of the information-related behaviour of emerging artists and designers. It also aims to add to understanding of the information behaviour of the group both as practising artists (a little understood category of information users), and also as “new practitioners”. Design/methodology/approach – A literature analysis is used to guide creation of an online questionnaire, eliciting both qualitative and quantitative data. A total of 78 practising artists participated, all having graduated in the seven years prior to the survey. Findings – The group have generally the same information practices as more established artists. They place reliance on internet and social networks, while also using traditional printed tools and libraries. Browsing is important, but not a predominant means of accessing information. Inspiration is found from a very diverse and idiosyncratic set of sources, often by serendipitous means. Their status as emergent practitioners means that their information behaviour is governed by cost factors, and by needs for career advice and interaction with peers. Research limitations/implications – The study group are a convenience sample, all having access to the internet. No observation or interviews were carried out. Practical implications – The results will provide guidance to academic and public librarians serving artist users, and to those providing career advice to them. It will also be valuable to those providing services to “new practitioners” in any field. Originality/value – This is one of a very few papers reporting empirical studies of the information behaviour of artists, and has the largest sample size of any such study. It is one of a very few papers considering the information needs and behaviour of new practitioners

The Information-Seeking Habits of Baptist Ministers

The aim of this article is to determine how Baptist ministers seek information. Further research questions were used to narrow down the broad aim to a workable level. What causes ministers to seek and stop seeking information? What sources do they use? How do the information-seeking habits change as they pursue their various roles? A multiple-case study design was used. Ten ministers were interviewed with a protocol that used the Critical Incident Technique. Interviews were transcribed and coded in order to identify patterns. Baptist ministers sought information in order to accomplish a wide variety of administrative tasks, prepare for sermons, and provide counsel. When ministers searched for information in the role of administrators, they preferred informal sources of information but often used formal sources also. When searching as preachers, they used formal sources. Level of effort was influenced by experience, potential impact, and the importance of the task. When they had enough information to complete a task and when collecting more information was not worth the effort, ministers stopped looking for information. I concluded that Baptist ministers varied their information-seeking process based upon the roles they played, primarily the roles of administrator and preacher

USO E INFLUENCIA DE LA INFORMACIÓN EN PROCESOS ESTRATÉGICOS: ESTUDIO EXPLORATORIO EN UNA UNIVERSIDAD MEXICANA

The information is considered a strategic asset for institutions of higher education. Since 1980, it has been argued that Mexican universities have had difficulties in improving strategic management processes; collection and usage of information for decision making have been pointed out as causal factors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use and influence of information in strategic processes in an institution of higher education in Mexico. A case study, exploratory and descriptive-comparative, was conducted in which four groups were integrated to perform controlled strategic processes. Three groups received explicit information: quantitative, qualitative, or combined (quantitative + qualitative); the fourth group did not receive information whatsoever. Groups' conversations were recorded, transcribed and analyzed by means of the software HyperRESEARCH and the statistical program SAS. The results suggest that the type of information influenced on the behavior and characteristics of the strategic processes

The impact of result diversification on search behaviour and performance

Result diversification aims to provide searchers with a broader view of a given topic while attempting to maximise the chances of retrieving relevant material. Diversifying results also aims to reduce search bias by increasing the coverage over different aspects of the topic. As such, searchers should learn more about the given topic in general. Despite diversification algorithms being introduced over two decades ago, little research has explicitly examined their impact on search behaviour and performance in the context of Interactive Information Retrieval (IIR). In this paper, we explore the impact of diversification when searchers undertake complex search tasks that require learning about different aspects of a topic (aspectual retrieval). We hypothesise that by diversifying search results, searchers will be exposed to a greater number of aspects. In turn, this will maximise their coverage of the topic (and thus reduce possible search bias). As a consequence, diversification should lead to performance benefits, regardless of the task, but how does diversification affect search behaviours and search satisfaction? Based on Information Foraging Theory (IFT), we infer two hypotheses regarding search behaviours due to diversification, namely that (i) it will lead to searchers examining fewer documents per query, and (ii) it will also mean searchers will issue more queries overall. To this end, we performed a within-subjects user study using the TREC AQUAINT collection with 51 participants, examining the differences in search performance and behaviour when using (i) a non-diversified system (BM25) versus (ii) a diversified system (BM25+xQuAD) when the search task is either (a) ad-hoc or (b) aspectual. Our results show a number of notable findings in terms of search behaviour: participants on the diversified system issued more queries and examined fewer documents per query when performing the aspectual search task. Furthermore, we showed that when using the diversified system, participants were: more successful in marking relevant documents, and obtained a greater awareness of the topics (i.e. identified relevant documents containing more novel aspects). These findings show that search behaviour is influenced by diversification and task complexity. They also motivate further research into complex search tasks such as aspectual retrieval -- and how diversity can play an important role in improving the search experience, by providing greater coverage of a topic and mitigating potential bias in search results

To What Extent Does Domain Knowledge Influence Search Stopping Behavior?

Recently, search stopping behavior has gained attention from researchers. The purpose of the present research study was to investigate if users' level of domain knowledge influenced when they chose to end a search for information. The topic of stopping behavior was investigated using a convenience sample of 15 third-and fourth-year undergraduate students at a large university. This study investigated how users' level of domain knowledge influenced their decisions to stop information searches. Subjects were asked to complete four search task in which their completion time was measured. Subjects also completed questionnaires about their experiences and participated in an exit interview. The results of the study indicated that there was not an association between knowledge level and stopping behavior. However, the results of the study indicated there was a correlation between levels of domain knowledge and levels of interest in domains. There was also a strong correlation between the subjects' satisfaction with the search process and the retrieved results. Lastly, there was a negative correlation between the subjects' level of domain knowledge and their task times