Describes a study conducted at Rutgers University that examined the problem of the judgment of information quality and cognitive authority by observing users' searching behavior in the Web, and the effects of those judgments on selection behaviors. Discusses implications for Web design and suggests future research. (Author/LRW)

College students were trained to do online searching in a mandatory research paper course. Bibliographies from student papers, search transcripts, questionnaires administered to students, the library's serials holdings, and interviews with instructors and librarians provided data for analyses of students' database and library searches and the…

Introduction: Explores the complexity of online information use for learning in the culturally-diverse, information and communication technologies-intensive, higher education context. It presents a Model of responses and influences in online information use for learning, which aims to increase awareness of the complexity of online information use…

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)

Designed to introduce the college student to library research and information use skills, this guide begins with an initial survey of the topic and progresses to how to write a report. It is divided into the following sections: (1) Introduction to Library Research; (2) Analyzing Your Subject and Beginning Your Research Plan; (3) Gathering…

A comparative analysis of two decision making strategies was conducted. One strategy compared alternatives on their best attributes for "the best payoff," while the other strategy called for accepting the first alternative that achieved all minimum cutoff values for all attributes. The subjects, 211 college students, selected a mayoral preference…

Presents results of survey of academic economists and political scientists concerning actual and potential use of microformatted government publications. Research design and survey results are discussed, noting response rate, use of publications, purposes for using documents, means of locating documents, and role of microforms in information…

Reports on findings from a survey exploring the information literacy of physical science graduate students. Describes the students' perceptions of the physical and psychological components that enhance or detract from their ability to find, appraise, and use information and how they feel during the various stages of an information search.…

Describes a course in information research in which students use a package of representative information sources to identify seminal works in a given field of inquiry. The materials contained in the package and specific procedures followed by students are described, and some informal evaluation of the process is provided. (CLB)

Describes a unit developed to introduce chemical technology students to basic library research using the resources related to chemistry. The unit consists of a lecture on basic library organization, bibliography and abstracting, a lab with hands-on bibliographic searching, and a follow-up independent exercise in research. (BT)

The library instruction program conducted at the University of Colorado consisted of classroom contact with students in the history and economics departments, and production of a slide tape. Evaluation instruments were developed for discovering present student and faculty library use and faculty attitudes toward the library, with the idea of…

Describes a program developed to expose college chemistry students to some of the more modern information retrieval tools, as computerized online databases. Following classroom lectures and discussions, students individually develop a search statement relevant to their own research needs and run it in the Chemical Abstracts files. (BT)

The use, history, and role of machine-readable data base technology is discussed. First the development of data base technology is traced from its beginnings as a special resource for science and technology to its broader use in universities, with descriptions of some specific services. Next the current status of mechanized information services in…

The Eighteenth Century Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) on compact disc provides access to nearly 300,000 printed materials from Britain and the British colonies from 1701 to 1800. The file contains a wide variety of materials (laws, almanacs, posters, catalogs, directories, verses, monographs, advertisements, and flyers) in all languages, and covers…

Conducts a scenario-based usability test with 10 data analysts using visual querying (visually analyzing data with interactive graphics). Details a range of difficulties found in visual selection that, at times, gave rise to inaccurate selections, invalid conclusions, and misguided decisions. Argues that support for visual selection must be built…