Although information has become increasingly prevalent in young people's lives, minimal research has addressed children's attitudes to the word itself. This paper scrutinizes questionnaire-based data to explore how 45 eight- to ten-year-old Canadians understood the term. "Information" was often considered to be material that met a need,…

This article presents the results of a pilot study of the research information needs, behaviour and source preferences of academic researchers at a regional university engaged in a public policy research project. In-depth interviews with three public policy oriented academic researchers undertaking interdisciplinary research projects at Charles…

A study of the information world of custodial workers at a large university in the South revealed: (1) information needs in the areas of health, career opportunities, and interpersonal relationships; (2) little information exchange among workers; and (3) little use of the public library. The interview schedule is appended. (51 references) (MES)

Describes evolution of fact books at the University of Southern Mississippi, highlighting strategies for maintaining and enhancing its utility to users. Issues discussed include four audience considerations (context, customer, distribution, readability for middle-aged readers), format (fact sheet, pamphlet, pocket book, electronic fact book,…

Drawing from a bibliographic survey of statistical data on two-year colleges, this digest indicates what kinds of data are available, what data are not readily accessible, and the limitations that affect the available information on two-year college finances, curriculum, students, and personnel. The digest recognizes the availability of data on…

The objective relevance of a document to a request is crucial to the design and testing of bibliographic retrieval systems, while subjective relevance is paramount in the use of such systems. The distinction provides a rationale for a trial-and-error mode of interaction with information systems. (Author/EM)

The report proposes a conceptual framework for researching key issues relating to rural public facility policy affecting such services as fire protection, water systems, roads, wastewater treatment, hospitals, and others, and identifies important research needs in this area. Major components of the framework are sources of financing (private and…

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of the perceived communication and support linkages between high school principals and vocational agriculture teachers in the state of Indiana. A survey questionnaire using a Likert-type scale was mailed to all vocational agricultural teachers and their respective high school administrators in the…

Considers nature of information-seeking in terms of decision making and problem solving, dynamics of process, and value of information. Basic psychological studies, effects of cognitive style, human behavior models, and design issues (attributes and evaluation of information systems, analysis of information needs, information seeking aids) are…

This paper reviews 19th and 20th century English-language literature dealing with the user friendliness of library catalogs and cataloging. Sections cover literature on: (1) the need for catalogs and the possibility of substituting subject bibliographies for the subject catalog; (2) user needs and the dichotomy between designing catalogs based on…

General data on suicide among the elderly are available but the trends and levels often have been either ignored or misrepresented. Available data indicate that despite declines, suicide rates in the United States remain highest in old age. Impediments to understanding elderly suicide occur due to omissions in available national data bases.…

This study investigated information needs and use by groups in decision-making processes. Problem contexts were varied by conflict, quality, and time conditions and presented to 89 graduate level education students who simulated school board members making decisions about educational programs. The research hypotheses were: (1) there are no…

This report summarizes the results of a 1-year exploratory research project addressing the central question of why women prisoners are less litigious than men. Chapters 1 and 2 present the major research questions, i.e., the legal concerns of women prisoners, resources available to female inmates, and factors related to the availability and use of…

Although the media has attended to the subject of juvenile homicide, the professional literature on the subject is sparse. To identify a model for standardized data collection for juveniles who murder, 12 juveniles charged with first degree murder were administered a series of tests during psychological interviews. Data were collected on social…

Designed to assist evaluators in selecting the appropriate software for the generation of various data collection instruments, this guide discusses such key program characteristics as text entry, item storage and manipulation, item retrieval, and printing. Some characteristics of a good instrument generation program are discussed; these include…