Looking for the Information Needle in the Internet Haystack.

Fuente: ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Clausen, Helge
Format: Recurso educativo Open Access
Language:en
Published: 1996
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author Clausen, Helge
author_facet Clausen, Helge
Clausen, Helge
collection Education Resources Information Center
contents Looking for the Information Needle in the Internet Haystack. Clausen, Helge Access to Information Computer Mediated Communication Electronic Libraries Foreign Countries Information Retrieval Information Technology Information Utilization Internet Library Automation Library Development Online Searching Surveys Technological Advancement Users (Information) This paper presents the results of an empirical survey conducted in the winter of 1995-96 among 413 Danish Internet users (business people, higher education/research and students). Data from a recent Danish Mediacenter Internet survey (n=2981) are also included. Findings indicate that women tend to use the Internet to solve well-defined problems, while men are inclined to serf the net (called "net watching" by serious users). In terms of information retrieval, female Internet users seem to be more goal-directed and convergent; in most cases they stop when the information has been found, while male Internet users have adopted a more divergent/explorative attitude. In this survey, the average user sent 13.3 messages per week (ranging from 0 to 170) and received 21.3 messages per week (ranging from 0 to 1000). Survey respondents subscribed to 5.2 electronic conferences on the average; 59%, however, did not subscribe at all and 24.3% had limited themselves to fewer than six conferences. Most of the respondents were using Internet resources for information retrieval, which, in their opinion has improved the quality of their reference work to some extent; very few respondents expressed negative expectations in terms of the quality of Internet information sources. A recent survey among British business librarians revealed some disadvantages, including a lack of: organized information, information quality, relevant information, and reliable information, as well as too much information. The inevitable "virtualization" of libraries will necessarily include: the replacement of printed matter by electronic information; increasing use of computer-mediated communications; and universal access to information. (Contains 19 references.) (AEF)
format Recurso educativo Open Access
id eric_ED411821
institution ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
language en
publishDate 1996
record_format eric
spellingShingle Looking for the Information Needle in the Internet Haystack.
Clausen, Helge
Access to Information
Computer Mediated Communication
Electronic Libraries
Foreign Countries
Information Retrieval
Information Technology
Information Utilization
Internet
Library Automation
Library Development
Online Searching
Surveys
Technological Advancement
Users (Information)
Looking for the Information Needle in the Internet Haystack. Clausen, Helge Access to Information Computer Mediated Communication Electronic Libraries Foreign Countries Information Retrieval Information Technology Information Utilization Internet Library Automation Library Development Online Searching Surveys Technological Advancement Users (Information) This paper presents the results of an empirical survey conducted in the winter of 1995-96 among 413 Danish Internet users (business people, higher education/research and students). Data from a recent Danish Mediacenter Internet survey (n=2981) are also included. Findings indicate that women tend to use the Internet to solve well-defined problems, while men are inclined to serf the net (called "net watching" by serious users). In terms of information retrieval, female Internet users seem to be more goal-directed and convergent; in most cases they stop when the information has been found, while male Internet users have adopted a more divergent/explorative attitude. In this survey, the average user sent 13.3 messages per week (ranging from 0 to 170) and received 21.3 messages per week (ranging from 0 to 1000). Survey respondents subscribed to 5.2 electronic conferences on the average; 59%, however, did not subscribe at all and 24.3% had limited themselves to fewer than six conferences. Most of the respondents were using Internet resources for information retrieval, which, in their opinion has improved the quality of their reference work to some extent; very few respondents expressed negative expectations in terms of the quality of Internet information sources. A recent survey among British business librarians revealed some disadvantages, including a lack of: organized information, information quality, relevant information, and reliable information, as well as too much information. The inevitable "virtualization" of libraries will necessarily include: the replacement of printed matter by electronic information; increasing use of computer-mediated communications; and universal access to information. (Contains 19 references.) (AEF)
title Looking for the Information Needle in the Internet Haystack.
topic Access to Information
Computer Mediated Communication
Electronic Libraries
Foreign Countries
Information Retrieval
Information Technology
Information Utilization
Internet
Library Automation
Library Development
Online Searching
Surveys
Technological Advancement
Users (Information)
url https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED411821