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Dissertation Information for Maxine H. Reneker

NAME:
- Maxine H. Reneker

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Columbia University (USA) (1992)

ADVISORS:
- Redmond Kathleen Molz
- Ellis Mount

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Information seeking among members of an academic community

Abstract: Using a naturalistic approach, the information-seeking activities of 31 members of the Stanford University academic community were examined over a two-week period during the 1990-91 academic year. The study's participants, called informants following an ethnographic orientation of studying individuals' behavior in the context of their environment, recorded into a microcassette tape recorder the information needs they experienced, how they went about answering them, sources of information they used, and level of satisfaction with the information.

The set of 2050 information-seeking incidents gathered by this methodology was supplemented by information relating to role, urgency of query, alternative sources, and source preferences, as well as personal characteristics of the informants, such as sex, discipline, academic and scholarly interests, academic status, and cognitive style as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

The textual data is analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, using ETHNOGRAPH and SPSS/PC+ software, to explore relationships among personal characteristics, perception of information environment, types of queries, sources used, and level of satisfaction obtained.

The picture of information seeking which emerges shows the informants to be active information seekers who successfully negotiate and actively create their information environment to achieve a high level of satisfaction with their information-seeking activities. Informants' perception of their information environment is expressed in positive terms, and there is a close relationship between knowledge of the information environment and the sources used.

Information seeking is embedded in the day-to-day activities and relationships of the participants and is triggered both by the articulation of need and availability of information. A large number of needs are satisfied by sources the informants created or organized themselves and by interpersonal information sources. The data reveal relationships between personal characteristics, type of needs, sources used, and levels of satisfaction with the sources.

MPACT Scores for Maxine H. Reneker

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:02:07

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Students under Maxine H. Reneker

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None