This study sought to (1) Determine how international students conduct research. (2) Determine whether international students conduct research in the way they perceive that they do. (3) Determine whether international students are efficient in conducting research. This study collected data from 67 international students who attend the University of…

Parents of children with autism face many challenges that arise from the practical, day-to-day issues of living with autism. The specific goals of this guide are to help parents: (1) find information about autism; (2) distinguish between research-based and non-research-based information; (3) become savvy consumers of information by giving them the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which organized training on accessing library resources affects library anxiety. The researchers revised and used the Multidimensional Library Anxiety Scale created by D. J. Van Kampen-Breit, which was designed to assess an individual's perception of an academic library and the information…

The University of Michigan Library wanted to learn more about the kinds of searches its users were conducting through the "one search" search box on the Library Web site. Library staff conducted two investigations. A preliminary investigation in 2011 involved the manual review of the 100 most frequently occurring queries conducted…

Eighteen scholarly papers and twelve abstracts comprise the content of the fourteenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of librarianship.…

Library patrons familiar with Web searching conventions often find library searching to be less familiar and even intimidating. This article describes and evaluates a series of usability research studies employing two different and popular methodologies: user-centered redesign and usability testing. Card sorting and affinity mapping were used to…

Describes a low cost study of the transaction logs of an online catalog at an academic library that examined failure rates, usage patterns, and probable causes of patron problems. The implications of the findings for bibliographic instruction and collection development are discussed and the benefits of analyzing transaction logs are identified.…

Describes a study that used the shelf availability research methodology to identify and quantify the causes of users' failures to identify and locate library materials. The factors resulting in unsuccessful searches are discussed, and recommendations for reducing these factors are made. (26 references) (CLB)

The use of search strategy as a conceptual framework for teaching research techniques has long been a central concept of library instruction. It involves teaching analysis of research questions, understanding of structural differences in knowledge across disciplines, and evaluation of information. (MSE)

Discussion of the difficulties undergraduates have with the research process focuses on the research process of scholars and suggests guiding questions for students to ask. Highlights include finding a topic and its focus; selecting a search method; the role of the librarian; and evaluating Web sites. (Author/LRW)

Describes quantitative and qualitative research that investigated students' perceptions of the library service at the University of Sussex (England). Highlights include results of a user survey regarding the reserve collection, user interviews and the software package used to analyze them, and types of student searching. (Author/LRW)

Reports on a study that examined transaction logs of end users of PaperChase searching UM-MEDLINE at the University of Michigan to describe the use of various search features and to determine the effects of search experience on the use of search features. Boolean operators are discussed, and further studies are suggested. (23 references) (LRW)

Describes a study of graduate students that examined how Web interfaces impact the quality or outcome of online searches, as well as the information seeking behavior of the searcher. Examines how two search interfaces work to noticeably increase or decrease the impact of the emotive aspects of search behavior. (LRW)

Discussion of a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to elicit information about the library's online catalog. Highlights the use of focus group interviews. Topics include experience with other catalogs, approaches to searching, positive feedback, barriers to use, and changes to the catalog as a result of the study. (LRW)

The Getty Information Institute conducted a two-year study of online searching by 27 humanities scholars using DIALOG. Discusses results and recommends that library services: provide interdisciplinary information for humanities scholars; recognize that online searching in humanities may be harder than in sciences; expect wide preferences for…