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Information seeking by geoscientists: an update on Bichteler and Ward (1989)

Information seeking by geoscientists: an update on Bichteler and Ward (1989) The purpose of this paper is to investigate how often geoscientists use different information sources and how this pattern of source use balances their perceptions of the quality and ease of use of the information sources.Design/methodology/approachThe geoscientists at the Geological Survey of Norway were surveyed about their information-seeking behavior. The response rate was 70 percent.FindingsThe geoscientists primarily relied on web search and colleagues for information. These two information sources were perceived as easy to use, more so than bibliographic databases (GeoRef, Web of Science, and the library database). Bibliographic databases were used infrequently and perceived as yielding poorer quality results than consulting a colleague. The likelihood of using web search and colleagues to find information about a new topic was determined by the ease of using these sources. In contrast, the quality of the resulting information did not determine the frequency with which any of the information sources were used. The geoscientists who spent more time looking for information searched the web more often, had more reservations toward the quality of information obtained from colleagues, and read more journal articles and conference papers.Research limitations/implicationsGeoscientists’ use of an information source is self-reinforcing and unlikely to increase through improving its quality alone. It should be noted that the study is restricted to one geoscience organization.Originality/valueThe main reference about the information-seeking behavior of geoscientists is almost three decades old. This study provides an update. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Documentation Emerald Publishing

Information seeking by geoscientists: an update on Bichteler and Ward (1989)

Alstad, Knut; Hertzum, Morten
Journal of Documentation , Volume 74 (2): 14 – Feb 7, 2018
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
0022-0418
DOI
10.1108/jd-07-2017-0114
Publisher site
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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how often geoscientists use different information sources and how this pattern of source use balances their perceptions of the quality and ease of use of the information sources.Design/methodology/approachThe geoscientists at the Geological Survey of Norway were surveyed about their information-seeking behavior. The response rate was 70 percent.FindingsThe geoscientists primarily relied on web search and colleagues for information. These two information sources were perceived as easy to use, more so than bibliographic databases (GeoRef, Web of Science, and the library database). Bibliographic databases were used infrequently and perceived as yielding poorer quality results than consulting a colleague. The likelihood of using web search and colleagues to find information about a new topic was determined by the ease of using these sources. In contrast, the quality of the resulting information did not determine the frequency with which any of the information sources were used. The geoscientists who spent more time looking for information searched the web more often, had more reservations toward the quality of information obtained from colleagues, and read more journal articles and conference papers.Research limitations/implicationsGeoscientists’ use of an information source is self-reinforcing and unlikely to increase through improving its quality alone. It should be noted that the study is restricted to one geoscience organization.Originality/valueThe main reference about the information-seeking behavior of geoscientists is almost three decades old. This study provides an update.

Journal

Journal of Documentation – Emerald Publishing

Published: Feb 7, 2018

Keywords: User studies; Information seeking; Information studies; Information behaviour; Geoscience; Source selection

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