How college students use the Web to conduct everyday life research

Author(s):  
Alison J Head ◽  
Michael B. Eisenberg

This paper reports on college students’ everyday life information-seeking behavior and is based on findings from 8,353 survey respondents on 25 U.S. college campuses. A large majority of respondents had looked for news and, to a slightly lesser extent, decision-making information about purchases and health and wellness within the previous six months. Almost all the respondents used search engines, though students planning to purchase something were more likely to use search engines, and those looking for spiritual information were least likely to use search engines. Despite the widespread use of search engines, the process of filtering relevant from non-relevant search results was reportedly the most difficult part of everyday life research. As a whole, these students used a hybrid information-seeking strategy for meeting their everyday life information needs, turning to search engines and Wikipedia almost as much as they did to friends and family. A preliminary theory is introduced that describes the relationship between students’ evaluation practices and their risk-associated searches.

Author(s):  
Hawa Alnaki

The study will examine the everyday life information seeking behavior of new Muslim immigrants in Montreal, as well as their information needs and the challenges they face. While there has been some work that focuses on the information needs and information seeking behavior of new immigrants in the United States, to date there has been little research within the Canadian context. Specifically, there is a failure to account for new Muslim immigrants' information needs in Montreal from the perspective of the library and information science field. Most information behavior research categorizes Muslim immigrants in Canada according to nationality or gender.


Author(s):  
A. Dakshayani ◽  
S. Srinivasan

Due to the continuous research and development activities taking place in almost all the disciplines, information overload and information explosion has occurred, which in turn poses a challenge to the user community to keep up with the knowledge in their discipline. The dynamic nature of information has forced the users to change the way of seeking information. Hence, there is an immediate need for the information professionals to update the services and facilities of the library. He/she should act as a ultimate search engine and satisfy the information needs of the users. This chapter highlights the changing approach to information by the user community in the present scenario and also provides the solutions to information professionals to tackle the information expectations of the users. This chapter has been written based on the observation of library users and the way they seek information for their business requirements and research and development activities.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Hirsh

This literature review explores the Everyday Life Information-Seeking needs of adolescents. Adolescents are at a unique stage in their development and have needs that distinguish them from both younger children and adults. This review first defines Everyday Life Information-Seeking and adolescence. It then explores arguments that ELIS needs grow out of developmental needs. It describes several typologies of adolescents’ ELIS needs. Finally, it examines the ELIS needs of specific adolescent populations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Dankasa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the pattern of everyday life information needs of a group of people in an area with limited access to information, and to investigate how the major dimensions of the everyday life information seeking (ELIS) model apply to information needs in the contexts of the Catholic clergy. Design/methodology/approach – The study applied the concurrent triangulation strategy of mixed-methods research. Data from 15 episodic interviews and surveys of 109 Catholic clergy in Northern Nigeria were collected and analyzed. Findings – A map of the everyday life information needs was developed. Three types of everyday life information needs were identified: essential needs; circumstantial needs; and occasional needs. The information needs of these clergy did not fit into the two major dimensions of Savolainen’s ELIS model. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted only with Catholic clergy serving in the Northern Catholic dioceses of Nigeria. Originality/value – Although the ELIS model has been applied in several studies, not much attention has been given to comparing how the major dimensions of the model apply to information needs of a group of people in a variety of contexts. This study contributes to the ELIS model by pointing to other contextual situations where seeking orienting and practical information may not be sufficient to account for the everyday life information needs of some types of users.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3884
Author(s):  
Sadaf Rafiq ◽  
Abid Iqbal ◽  
Shafiq Ur Rehman ◽  
Muhammad Waqas ◽  
Muhammad Asif Naveed ◽  
...  

Purpose: Everyday life information seeking (ELIS) is essential for the mastery of life and plays a central role in the daily problem-solving activities of all human beings. This study aimed to investigate the everyday life information seeking of female university students residing at hostels in Lahore, Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research approach using a survey method was adopted to identify the dimensions of ELIS and to fill the paucity of research on the topic. Two-hundred and forty-eight female students living in various university and private hostels in Lahore, Pakistan, were surveyed, and the collected data was analyzed using Statistics Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Findings: Results of the study revealed that hostel living expanded the social circle of students, as it offered exposure to diverse multicultural social groups. Female students living in hostels required information related to their academic needs, safety concerns, social life, and self-help issues. They relied mainly on mobiles phones, the internet, social media, and inter-personal relationships for everyday information. Cultural differences, natural hesitation, language barriers, time concerns, and difficulty in identifying reliable information were the primary obstacles in meeting everyday life information needs. Originality/value: The findings of this study can be used as a premise for developing interventions and information services for female students that allow them to live comfortably in a safe environment in hostels and achieve their educational goals. The study results may also provide useful insights for university administrations to establish libraries in hostels to better cater to their female residents’ information needs.


Author(s):  
Muhammad Asif Naveed ◽  
◽  
Syeda Hina Batool ◽  
Mumtaz Ali Anwar ◽  

Introduction. This study seeks to investigate the everyday-life information seeking behaviour of postgraduate students living in the residence halls of the University of the Punjab, Lahore. Method. A critical incident technique, a qualitative research approach, was used in order to achieve its objectives. Face to face interviews of twenty postgraduate students, having a rural background, selected through purposive sampling, using a semi-structured interview approach were conducted. Analysis. The verbal data was organized and analysed using thematic analysis. The important data was coded and grouped for deriving themes. Results. The participants' situations were centred on health, socio-economic, cultural, technological, and legal issues. These students mainly relied on inter-personal information sources in order to resolve their everyday-life issues. The role of university libraries was non-existent in meeting the everyday-life information needs of these participants. Some participants suspected the quality and scope of information received from news and social media. These participants were mostly unsuccessful in accessing needed everyday-life information on time due to lack of information sources. Conclusions. The results have implications for both theory and practice. It extends the scope of the everyday-life information seeking model by adding a new dimension and provides insights into trans-national perspectives. If the everyday-life issues of resident postgraduate university students remained unresolved due to lack of information and institutional support, it might affect their academic achievement and research productivity. Therefore, the university administration should plan on-campus consultancy services within student affairs offices for supporting such students to overcome difficulties in light of their everyday-life information needs. The library staff should also design services to support those provided by the university administration.


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