CEBE transactions paper final.pdf (156.9 kB)
Download fileA study of students’ information searching strategies
journal contribution
posted on 2011-03-16, 14:42 authored by Andrew N. Baldwin, Elizabeth GaddElizabeth Gadd, Panagiotis BalatsoukasConcerns have been expressed with respect to students’ ability to search for
information using electronic search engines and databases. This research adopted a
structured method comprising a combination of questionnaire surveys, an
observational study and a ‘sense making’ interview to assess the information
searching skills of a group of 14 students undertaking their final year dissertation
studies on undergraduate programmes within the Department of Civil and Building
Engineering at Loughborough University. The findings reveal that the participants
encountered problems with each type of search engine used (Google, Metalib, the
Library OPAC system, and individual databases) and lacked knowledge of how to use
advanced search strategies. All the participants formulated queries using simple words
or free text and there was no evidence of consideration of structured word searching
using systematically selected keywords. The results indicate priority areas for
additional tuition in information literacy.
History
School
- University Academic and Administrative Support
Department
- University Library
Citation
BALDWIN, A.N., GADD, E. and BALATSOUKAS, P., 2010. A study of students’ information searching strategies. CEBE Transactions, 7 (2), pp. 3-25.Publisher
Cardiff University, CEBE (© The authors)Version
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publication date
2010ISSN
1745-0322Publisher version
Language
- en