Faced the vast amount of information, choosing the appropriate materials is a prerequisite for effective self-directed learning. The recommendation algorithm is a kind of intelligent technology that can accurately locate the required information which the users care about most. However, many recommendation techniques experience can not be trained…

To better engage our graduate students, we asked them to describe their research strategy and challenges, helpful research support services, and their preferred venue for learning research skills. We conducted a thematic analysis and found that participants' top reported research strategies included "Research Topic Development" and…

Discovery layers provide a simplified interface for searching library resources. Libraries with limited finances make decisions about retaining indexing and abstracting databases when similar information is available in discovery layers. These decisions should be informed by student success at finding quality information as well as satisfaction…

Graduate students lament the need to achieve the proficiency necessary to competently search multiple databases for their research assignments, regularly eschewing these sources in favor of Google Scholar or some other search engine. The author conducted an anonymous survey investigating graduate student knowledge or awareness of the open-access…

Librarians are frequently asked to teach several databases in a one-shot session, despite findings suggesting that such database demonstrations do not lead to optimal student outcomes. The "ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" highlights the concepts of metaliteracy and metacognition. This paper investigates ways…

The Claremont Colleges Library Instruction Services Department developed a quiz that could be integrated into the consortial learning management software to accompany a local online, open-source information literacy tutorial. The quiz is integrated into individual course pages, allowing students to receive a grade for completion and improving…

Investigates the search behavior of CD-ROM database users in Zagreb (Croatia) libraries: one group needed a minimum of technical assistance, and the other was completely independent. Highlights include the use of questionnaires and transaction log analysis and the need for end-user education. The questionnaire and definitions of search process…

Describes program at Pennsylvania State University Libraries designed to inform faculty and graduate students about activities of library's fee-based search service and to explain individual subscription alternatives available to microcomputer owners for running searches. Registration form, results of pre-session and post-session questionnaires,…

A two-part text, "Science Resources: A Self-Paced Instructional Workbook," was designed to provide science students at Mississippi State University with: (1) instruction on basic library usage and reference tools common to most scientific disciplines; (2) materials adapted to specific disciplines; and (3) services available to them from the…

This report presents an American Library Association (ALA) Book Fellow's observations of schools and libraries in Sweden's Vasterbotten County in the fall of 1988. The narrative report discusses Sweden's cultural policy, comprehensive library service, library classification system, databases, audiovisual services, and education policy, as well as…

Describes how four classes of high school students were introduced to concepts and terminology of online bibliographic searching, were instructed to formulate their own search strategies, and received opportunity to observe their execution. Purpose, course description, course evaluation responses, and postcourse examination results are noted.…

This report discusses a workshop conducted by the library of San Jose State University to instruct eight students with learning disabilities (SLD) in the use of CD-ROM databases. The workshop contributors believed that CD-ROM databases could simplify research paper and homework assignments for such students. The 5-month workshop sought not only to…

Describes a study that sought to identify successful and unsuccessful search patterns for known-item serial literature. The results indicate that multiple factors contribute to an unsuccessful outcome. Information gathered through in-depth interviews is used to suggest further evaluation and development of public access to serials holdings and…

One hundred sixty-one MEDLINE searches conducted by third year medical students were analyzed and evaluated to determine which search behaviors were used, whether those individual moves are effective, and whether there is a relationship between specific search behaviors and the effectiveness of the search strategy as a whole. The typical search…

This study attempted to determine if the type of training that CD-ROM patrons received had an effect on the satisfaction level of their search results by use of the survey method. Kent State University students, faculty, and patrons who used CD-ROM databases for information retrieval were asked to complete a one page (front and back) questionnaire…