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National study of information seeking behavior of academic researchers in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Xi Niu
  • Bradley M. Hemminger
  • Cory Lown
  • Stephanie Adams
  • Cecelia Brown
  • Allison Level
  • Merinda McLure
  • Audrey Powers
  • Michele R. Tennant
  • Tara Cataldo

Abstract

As new technologies and information delivery systems emerge, the way in which individuals search for information to support research, teaching, and creative activities is changing. To understand different aspects of researchers' information‐seeking behavior, this article surveyed 2,063 academic researchers in natural science, engineering, and medical science from five research universities in the United States. A Web‐based, in‐depth questionnaire was designed to quantify researchers' information searching, information use, and information storage behaviors. Descriptive statistics are reported. Additionally, analysis of results is broken out by institutions to compare differences among universities. Significant findings are reported, with the biggest changes because of increased utilization of electronic methods for searching, sharing, and storing scholarly content, as well as for utilizing library services. Generally speaking, researchers in the five universities had similar information‐seeking behavior, with small differences because of varying academic unit structures and myriad library services provided at the individual institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Xi Niu & Bradley M. Hemminger & Cory Lown & Stephanie Adams & Cecelia Brown & Allison Level & Merinda McLure & Audrey Powers & Michele R. Tennant & Tara Cataldo, 2010. "National study of information seeking behavior of academic researchers in the United States," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(5), pages 869-890, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:61:y:2010:i:5:p:869-890
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.21307
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gabriela Meșniță & Dumitru Oprea & Florin Dumitriu, 2011. "Research Projects And Web 2.0: Challenges And Effects," Analele Stiintifice ale Universitatii "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" din Iasi - Stiinte Economice (1954-2015), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 2011, pages 265-277, july.
    2. Elizabeth Martín-Mora & Shari Ellis & Lawrence M Page, 2020. "Use of web-based species occurrence information systems by academics and government professionals," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-41, July.
    3. Kwabena Asiedu Bugyei & Raphael Kwame Kavi & Grace Obeng-Koranteng, 2019. "Assessing the Awareness and Usage of Reference Management Software (RMS) Among Researchers of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Ghana," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(03), pages 1-24, September.
    4. S. Ravikumar & Bidyut Bikash Boruah & M. N. Ravikumar, 2022. "Correlation study between citation count and Mendeley readership of the articles of Sri Lankan authors," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(8), pages 4873-4885, August.
    5. Ehsan Mohammadi & Mike Thelwall & Kayvan Kousha, 2016. "Can Mendeley bookmarks reflect readership? A survey of user motivations," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(5), pages 1198-1209, May.

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