For any organization whose goal is to make information available, should patronize Internet connections; currently,  most of public libraries provide Graphical Public Access Internet Terminals (hereafter referred to as “workstations”). These workstations open up the library’s catalog, other libraries’ catalogs, electronic databases, corporate and organizational web sites…you know all of this. Librarians sometimes have a reputation for being defensive about their books, but few people in other professions have so quickly grasped the potential of the Internet and labored so hard to provide it as a tool for their clientele. Internet workstations are not easy to set up and maintain, and the very fact that so many libraries have them is evidence of their determination. We can only expect the number and importance of workstations to grow.

When I first came to my current position, the library and my direct predecessor had made a Herculean effort to provide internet connectivity to the student body and members of the public. Using gift money, they purchased a total of seventy workstations, in three separate batches, and configured them all with Windows NT and Netscape Navigator, plus a myriad of helper programs and plug-ins. The machines worked, initially their speed was acceptable, and Windows NT policies provided sufficient security. However, they were never easy to update.

In order to install an upgrade, we would have to make the change on one machine and identify every altered file and registry entry. we could then design a script to make the same change to all the others. This was time-consuming, and we usually put off upgrades until we made major overhauls to the workstations. These redesigns (or “debacles”) required us to develop brand new images for each of our three different kinds of PC. An image is what we in Systems call a compressed snapshot of all the software on a computer, which can be copied to other computers in a process usually referred to as cloning or ghosting (after Symantec’s Ghost software). Different hardware requires different software, so an image designed on one PC may be worse than useless for a PC with even slightly different components. At any rate, we had to build three workstation images almost from scratch, installing, patching, resolving conflicts, tightening security, and testing. This took weeks, and then we capped it off with an all-night cloning marathon.

Worse, our workstations had just about reached the limit of what they could do. As we upgraded software, the poor things started to drag. When we added Internet Explorer (updated version), they had reached the limits of their abilities. If we wanted to keep our current system, we were going to have to upgrade at least thirty of our computers, and we estimated that we would have to upgrade the rest within two years. We experimented with different operating systems, different browsers, and different security programs: either they didn’t offer the features we needed, or they were too slow. We simply couldn’t continue along the same lines and count on regular funds to support our increasing appetite for technology.

Our salvation was the terminal server, which brought back the benefits of the text-based terminals with all the functionality of the standalone workstations. We use Citrix Met-frame software, which works in conjunction with Windows Terminal Services, on Windows servers. The terminal server sits in a closet and runs all the programs, the individual clients (workstations) don’t do anything but connect and show the user what is happening on the server. To beat a dead analogy, it’s like riding the bus: the clients only have to hop on, and the server does the driving. Our terminal server provides the entire Windows 2000 desktop, Internet Explorer, Acrobat Reader, Office viewers, RealPlayer, QuickTime, various other plug-ins, and printers. The clients don’t need to be powerful, because they don’t do much; they have a stripped-down operating system (it can be just about anything – we use Windows (available latest version) and a program that allows them to communicate with the server. This program is like telnet with graphics. The user’s keystrokes and mouse clicks are sent to the server and processed there, and video updates are sent from the server to the client. If you’ve used remote control software like pcAnywhere or Timbuktu, you know exactly what this is like. The servers do need to be beefy, and we needed several. We determined through testing that a terminal server with two 1GHz processors could easily accommodate 20 busy clients. In practice, we’ve had thirty or more clients on one server and not noticed a significant decrease in performance. We have five servers (plus a spare) supporting 90 clients; and even the Pentium 60 clients run Internet Explorer like a GHz computer.

The terminal server allowed us to actually increase the number of our public workstations for three reasons. We could use obsolete PCs for the clients, because they no longer needed to run intensive operating systems and software. Because the client is so simple to create, we no longer had to worry about the number of images we use, so we could make use of just about any PC that came into our inventory. We could even use sexy black thin clients with flat panels and no internal moving parts, but I suppose that’s hard to justify when you have a ready supply of old staff machines. Finally, the administration is so much easier! Changes are usually made to the servers, not the clients. Citrix comes with a Package Manager that lets you install or upgrade a program and then roll that change out to all of your servers automatically. One of these days we’ll want to do something that forces us to modify the client workstations, and once again we’ll plod around to every machine, but that shouldn’t happen very often.

Nothing is perfect. We have had problems, some expected and some surprising:

• We thought that our network could handle this system, and as far as bandwidth is concerned, 10Mb does seem to be more than sufficient; but we discovered some wiring and a hub that needed to be replaced. Network problems that were annoying before can be disastrous with a terminal server, because when the clients disconnect, they no longer have a desktop or any applications. Likewise, if a server should go down, about fifteen clients will go down with it. They can reconnect to other servers, but it’s a dramatic interruption of service.
   

• It’s easier to fix security holes on the terminal servers than on 90 scattered workstations, but at the same time they pose more of a risk. Each user is working on your server, which is a scary thought for a network administrator. We’ve been very careful about locking things down: users have only a couple icons on the desktop and start menu, and they have very few permissions. We use Windows 2000 policies to tighten security even more, restricting Windows and Internet Explorer privileges. Still, it’s eerie.
   

• Streaming audio and video are not quite there yet. Don’t expect CD, or even radio, quality sound over RealPlayer. Video is sometimes distorted and choppy enough that a news clip can look like a scene from “They Live.” We anticipate great improvement in the near future (fingers crossed). With the increasing importance of multimedia, this could turn out to be our Achilles heel.
   

• Every once in a while, one of our servers will fail to start the Citrix service when it reboots. If we had fewer servers or more clients, this could really be a problem; as it is, we can operate at a reasonable level while down one or even two servers.
   

• There’s really nothing wrong with giving all of your clients the same computer name, it’s just that the Citrix License Server doesn’t like it. When our workstations restart in the morning, they give a very stern warning about us not having enough licenses.
   

• We run into interesting problems with vendors of web-based electronic resources who want to restrict our access to a certain number of individual workstations. The standard way to do this is by IP address, but the IP addresses that the vendor sees are actually those of our servers, not our workstations. If they allow all of our servers, they allow all of our workstations. We think we’ve found a way to deal with this from our end using proxy configuration scripts in Internet Explorer.

  These are problems we can deal with. Moving to a terminal server solution has allowed us to increase the number and speed of our workstations, and it allows us to respond faster with updates, which makes patrons and librarians happy. It also reduces the time our small Systems department spends maintaining workstations, which allows us to concentrate on making things better for other aspects of library in broad sense- the information industry.

There is a constant stream of studies focusing on young undergraduates’ information behaviour. Distance learners and mature students, if included in the studies are not usually identified as such. These students are often mature students who have other needs than young undergraduates living near the university. In the literature some problems and barriers faced by these students are noted, e.g. reasons for dropout. However, an increasing number of universities are offering distance learning programmes as an additional educational facility. Flexible learning requires a different type of pedagogics and service than the university and the university library traditionally offer. Many of the participants in these distance learning programmes live far away from their host institution, and therefore do not have the same opportunities as students living on campus as regards the use of university libraries as information sources. Consequently, distance learners demand various services from their local public library as well as from other available institutions that might be found in their neighbourhood. What hinders distance students in their studies and how they overcome these problems have to be identified, in other words the information behaviour of distance learners ought to be studied.

The aim of the study

Hitherto, distance learners information acquisition has been associated with specific problems because they have had more difficulties than campus students in utilising university library resources. To be able to improve the conditions for distance learners we need deeper knowledge about the hindrances and problems distance learners face in their information-seeking process. The aim of the project is to gain deeper understanding of distance students’ information behaviour pattern. The questions this study deals with are:

• What problems do distance students encounter in their information provision and how do they solve these problems?
• What information channels do distance students use, and how do they use them?
• Why do distance students use the information channels they use?
• What role do various information channels fill for distance students?

Theoretical framework

In this section relevant studies within information behaviour will be briefly accounted for. The aim of this chapter is not to compile a complete survey of the literature, but to recount some of the research that has interested me, particularly Wilson’s and other researchers mentioned below.

Information behaviour

Researchers have been interested in information behaviour for over 40 years, although in the beginning the concept was mostly connected with information centres. In the late sixties, Paisley (1968) and Allen (1969) introduced models which dealt with elements that influence information-seeking behaviour. Wilson (1981) was possibly the first researcher to present the concept of information-seeking behaviour. However, today Wilson considers the concept information behaviour more suitable because it also includes other behaviours along with seeking behaviour. Wilson is of the opinion that a general information behaviour model should at least include the three following elements:

• information need and its drivers, i.e., the factors that give rise to an individual’s perception of need;
• the factors that affect the individual’s response to the perception of need; and
• the processes or actions involved in that response. (Wilson 1997: 39).

Information needs, information-seeking and formation behaviour are intertwined concepts which make the concept information behaviour very complex.

Several well known researchers have been working with developing our understanding of the users’ information needs, but for the present a brief introduction will be given of only two researchers. Research which is of specific interest to my study and which is presented here are pertain to Kuhlthau, and Limberg. Kuhlthau has conducted empirical studies of students information seeking behaviour in libraries. She has developed a model of the information search process which includes six stages: Task Initiation, Topic Selection, Prefocus Exploration, Focus Formulation, Information Collection and Search Closure. The model deals with three realms common to each stage, namely the affective, the cognitive and the physical. In this six stage model of the search process information professionals can intervene and help the users to identify as well as solve their information needs depending on where the users are in their seeking process (Kuhlthau, 1994).

Limberg (1998a, 1998b) states that content is crucial to how people seek and use information. This is contrary to the understanding that information-seeking is a general process which occurs independently of the content in the information. The aim within LIS to establish a general view of information-seeking, restrains the research and limits understanding of the various ways in which people seek information. Hence, if it were accepted that there is more than one type of information process, it would stimulate a deeper understanding of the information-seeking process in general within the field. Instead of trying to prove that the information-seeking process can be described with one model, common for different users in different contexts… ” the differences between contexts, situations and groups should be examined and illuminated, not with the purpose of separating groups but to better understand information seeking as a phenomenon.” (Limberg, 1998a: 230 (my translation)).

As my project focuses on how distance students seek information in their studies, Kuhlthau’s research is interesting since she studied information seeking in a learning context from the student’s perspective. However, I believe that content is an important factor in explaining how people seek and use information, which is why I also regard Limberg’s work as useful.

Distance education

What we know today as distance education, has its origin in teaching and learning by correspondence. Correspondence education has been known for decades and in an earlier form, even centuries, mainly through adult education. As media other than the written word became common and played a progressively greater role, the term correspondence education was regarded by many as too narrow. Hence, the term, distance education was adopted in the English-speaking world in the early 1970’s (Holmberg, 1995: 3). Numerous definitions of the concept distance education exist. There is a risk that a narrow definition of the concept may not be useful in all situations because distance education may be different at different places. In spite of this problem Holmberg describes the concept as follows in his book Theory and Practice of Distance Education. Distance education is a concept that covers the learning-teaching activities in the cognitive and/or psychomotor and affective domains of an individual learner and a supporting organization. It is characterized by non-contiguous communication and can be carried out anywhere and at any time, which makes it attractive to adults with professional and social commitments. (Holmberg,1995: 181).

However, in the recent literature the concept flexible learning is more commonly used than distance education. This concept is not easy to define either, however, my understanding of flexible learning is that it takes place, is shaped and adapted to the students’ needs, rather than to the needs of the teachers or the institution offering the course. Irrespective of which concept is used (distance learning or flexible learning) it might be described as personal learning for it removes the barriers of space, time and location. The technology we have today makes this possible. The information superhighways have lead to an exponential expansion of distance education. This is what Hawkridge (1995) called the Big Bang theory in distance education. Some universities have already created a Big Bang for their students, but some are still in the initiation stages of the process. The Big Bang refers to two-way communication between students and teachers as well as student access to an enormous amount of information through the distance education network (Hawkridge, 1995: 3). On the other hand there are barriers to using the technological tools. This creates, in turn, a need for information literacy support for distance learners. An example of measures to meet those needs, the library staff at the Central Queensland University in Australia has produced several computer-assistance learning programs aimed at the students. These packages aid the students using the library catalogue, searching electronic databases and Internet searching (Appleton & Orr, 2000: 15-17).

It appears that a comprehensive theory of distance education including all relevant and social aspects is hard to find. However, the situation could possibly be different if the theorising is restricted to the teaching-learning process. A theory covering the teaching-learning aspects of distance education could be, on the one hand, mainly of a descriptive character, dealing with learning and, on the other hand, of a prescriptive character dealing with teaching (Holmberg, 1995: 173). Holmberg tries to build a theory of distance education capable of generating testable hypotheses, in which learning, teaching, and their organisational/administrative frames are embedded. The role of the supporting organisation in distance education is seen as being on a highly personal level, where discussions between students and teachers are believed to bring about improved performance and enhance study pleasure. Such discussions would require a certain level of student maturity, self-discipline and independence. Perraton (1987) argues that it is not possible to apply only one single theory of distance education. He points out that it could be interesting to study distance education in terms of three inter-related systems of teaching, administration and assessment. We are not trying to develop theories of distance learning separate from theories in general face-to-face education, but rather studying in which ways these theories differ when applied to distance education.

Holmberg agrees with Perraton and accounts for many hypotheses derived from distance learning, teaching and from organisations and administration. He admits that his theory cannot be applied everywhere and in all circumstances. However he claims that the theory has some explanatory power, since it suggests a coherent view of sufficient learning and teaching in distance education which identifies a general approach complementary to learning and to the teaching efforts related to learning (Holmberg, 1995: 181).

Several theories within the field show that distance education theory is based on general education theory even though it represents a separate type of education which has certain target groups, methods and media. Further, distance education has divergent circumstances which vary from other types of education (Holmberg, 1995: 160-161).

Method

In the methodological literature research methods are usually divided in two parts, depending on whether the approach used to analyse the collected data is qualitative or quantitative. However, most researchers agree that it is the research topic that is decisive in the choice of method. In this project qualitative interviews were regarded suitable for getting answers to the research questions. Kvale (1997) states that the aim of the qualitative interview method is to describe and interpret the themes that exist in the interviewees’ life sphere. ‘Interviews are particularly suitable when you wish to study people’s view of the meaning of the lives they live, for describing their experiences and understanding of themselves and for elucidating and developing their own perspective of their life sphere’(Kvale 1997: 100 (my translation)). Diary notes taken by the respondents complement the qualitative interviews. In other words, this project is of a qualitative character using two kinds of data gathering methods:

Qualitative interviews. The interviews are semi-structured and concentrate on three main themes. These are: 1) the participants’ problem/problem solving when seeking and using information in their studies. 2) the participants’ experience of information seeking in their studies. 3) their experience of information sources/channels used.
Additionally the students were asked to keep diaries while they were seeking information for a certain assignment/paper. They were encouraged to describe how the search went, if they encountered any problems, and if so how these problems were solved etc.

Selection of cases

The selection of cases was not an easy task. After much consideration distance students in Library and information science (LIS) were selected. The reasons for selecting students in LIS are multiple. Students in this discipline are, in my opinion, quite special and not typical distance students as regards information seeking. This is because students in LIS are studying how to seek information and how to make information accessible for their future clients. In most other disciplines the focus is on other subjects and the information seeking process is only something that the student has to cope with in order to be able to access information on his or her subject.

The question of how many students should be interviewed was a difficult one. Kvale (1997) warns against an excessive data material and states that it is the content that matters not the quantity. If the data material is too large, the analysis will become too time consuming. Because of the enormous quantity of data it can be difficult to conduct a deep analysis which in turn can result in a superficial product (Kvale, 1997: 163). Hence, the researcher should interview as many informants as needed in order to fulfil the goal of the research (Kvale, 1997: 97).

Twenty students were selected for the study. The interviewees were selected by choosing every other student from a name list. The students were of different ages and came from all parts of the country. They were all distance students signed up for a four year part time study programme which results in a Master’s degree in LIS. The students were in the 2nd year of their studies when interviewed. I wanted to investigate a group that had some study experience because it would be more likely that they had conducted some independent work that had required information seeking. At the same time I wanted a ‘modern’ group of students that used the Internet as a work tool in their studies. It was not until 1998 that a condition of acceptance at the University College distance programme was to have access to the Internet. Internet access was one criterion for selecting this group.

Implementation of the research

After an initial study period, during which the research plan was designed, pilot interviews were conducted with two students. The interview was transcribed and analysed. The pilot interview helped me to focus more on the central question in my project. The interview was also good training in conducting interviews. It made me reflect over my own shortcomings as an interviewer. After analysing the interview I was able to reconstruct the interview guide.

Nine of the students were interviewed in my office at the University College prior to attending a meeting. Ten informants were interviewed in their home towns.

In order to minimise the anxiety of the informants they were informed, before the interview took place, that all the interviews would be anonymous. The interviewees were given assumed names in order to secure their anonymity. All the informants accepted that the interview would be recorded.

The students were interviewed when they were relatively new to a certain course1. In the interview they were asked about their information behaviour, information needs and the problems they had faced when acquiring information for their studies. They were also asked about their information channels, what kind of channels they used, why and how they used them. This included how the students used the public library in their local community as well as the university library, what role the Internet played in the students’ information-seeking process and how they used the Internet for their information provision. What other channels did the distance students make use of and what barriers were they confronted with while seeking information?

Interviews were also conducted with the distance students’ study co-ordinator at the Swedish School of Library and Information studies as well as with their librarian2. I felt that knowing about the type of library service offered to the students and being informed about the administration of the course would help me to understand the context students were acting in as well as helping me to interpret the students’ actions and answers.

The students were also asked to keep a diary for about two to three occasions when they were seeking information for the five-credit paper in their studies. The students were asked to record how they sought information and why they chose to use the information source they selected. Finally, they were asked to report the results of their information search. In May 1999, thorough written instructions on keeping the diary were posted to the students. The paper was due in September and the students were asked to return their diaries at the same time.

Method of analysis

The study is conducted from the students’ perspective and reflects their point of view. Hence, the research project highlights how the students’ experience seeking information, how they state that they use various information channels, what problems they meet, how they feel about the usefulness of the information channels etc., rather than how useful in fact these channels are.

Currently, I am working on the analysis of the interviews through a hermeneutic approach. The Atlas/ti software programme was selected to assist in exploring the material and to find patterns and categories. There are various methods within qualitative research designed for structuring data material. The majority of these methods are aimed at identifying categories in the data material, generating ideas about them and exploring the meaning of the data. It is significant that the software does not limit the method used. Richards & Richards warn against ‘…the real dangers of software constraining and distorting research’.( Richards & Richards, 1998: 212). The most common method used when structuring data material is the so-called Code and Retrieve method. Richards & Richards describe the method as follows: ‘It also expresses theories that can be represented by codes and then tested by looking for codes in text and studying the relationship of codes. Computer-based code-and-retrieve will do this better, because computers are good at working with structure, not content. In a code-and-retrieve system, we express or define content by coding the text.’(Richards & Richards, 1998: 216). The method entails that the researcher marks a certain section in the text and codes it in order to be able to retrieve this text later when analysing the material. The Code and retrieve method can only be used when we are working with text that has been coded.

After the data material was coded certain questions/themes were selected and similarities and diversities are identified by each individual as well as by the whole. Then the next question/theme is chosen and analysed in the same way. Gradually a structure is built up in the material. So far I am working only with the first phase the structure, the second phase, the interpretation of the material is yet to come.

Time schedule

During 1998 a project plan was worked out, the theoretical framework took form and an interview guide was designed. Twenty interviews (phase I) were conducted during the period March, 1999 to May, 1999. Currently, I am working on the analysis of the interviews. Early in 2001 the data collection will be completed by a second series of interviews conducted with the interviewees. The interviews will be analysed between March and December 2001 (phase II). Writing and further analysis would commence in the same period. The thesis should be revised and completed by the end of 2002.

Notes

1 The course in question “Human interaction with libraries and information systems” started in December 1998 and will finish in September 1999. The course is 14 credits and the students will have to work on a number of assignments which require information seeking. The course is to be completed by a 5-credit assignment/paper that requires independent information seeking.

2 A librarian appointed as a contact person between the library and the institution.

Gudrún Thórsteinsdóttir
The Swedish School of  Library and Information Studies
Borås, Sweden

References

• Appleton, Margaret and Orr, Debbie (2000) ‘Meeting the needs of distance education students’ In Information literacy around the world. Advances in programs and research. Edited by Christine Bruce and Philip Candy. Wagga Wagga, Centre for Information Studies.
• Hawkridge, David (1995) “The big bang theory in distance education”. In Open and distance learning today. Edited by Fred Lockwood. London Routledge, 1995, p. 3-12.
• Holmberg, Börje (1995)Theory and Practice of Distance Education. Second edition, London, Routledge.
• Kuhlthau, Carol C (1994) Seeking meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services. Norwood, NJ.: Ablex Publishing.
• Kvale, Steinar (1997) Den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun. Lund, Studentlitteratur.
• Limberg, Louise (1998a) Att söka information för att lära. En studie av samspel mellan informationssökning och lärande. Göteborg, VALFRID. (Avhandling vid institutionen för biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap vid Göteborgs
  universitet).
• Limberg, Louise (1998b) ‘Three conceptions of information seeking and use’. In Exploring the Contexts of Information Behaviour. Proceedings of the second international conference on research in information needs, seeking and use in different contexts. 13/15 August 1998. Sheffield. UK. Edited by T. D. Wilson and D. K Allen. London, Taylor Graham, p. 116-135.
• Perraton, Hilary (1987) ‘Theories, generalisation and practice in distance education’. Open learning, 2(3), 3-12.
• Richards, Thomas J., Richards, Lyn (1998) ‘Using Computers in Qualitative Research’. In: Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials. Edited by Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln. London Sage Publications, p. 211-245.
• Wilson, T.D (1981): ‘On user studies and information needs’. Journal of Documentation, 37 (1) 3-15.
• Wilson, T.D. (1997) ‘Information Behaviour: an Inter-disciplinary Perspective’. In Information Seeking in Context. Proceedings of an International Conference on Research in Information Needs, Seeking and Use in Different Contexts 14-16 August, 1996, Tampere, Finland. London, Taylor  Graham, p. 39-50.

How to cite this paper:Thórsteinsdóttir, Gudrún (2001) “Information-seeking behaviour of distance learning students”. Information Research, 6(2) Available at: http://InformationR.net/ir/6-2/ws7.html

© the author, 2001. Updated: 5th January 2001

Introduction

The theoretical basis of this study is partly in theories and conceptions of learning and partly in that research in information seeking, needs and uses which emphazies the user and takes the social context into consideration.

The need for changes and improvement in the quality of education has become apparent also in Finland in the higher education during this decade. The reasons have been the growth of information, a growing number of students in higher education, demands on output and productivity from the society, and the criticism against existing university policy. University policy has been critizised both in national evaluation reports of Finnish universities and in the OECD-report on evaluation of Finnish universities from 1994. Generally the development in scientific research in learning and knowledge has influenced the need for changes also in the university pedagogy. (Sallinen 1995, 10-12)

The old educational system has been critizised for its conception of knowledge. In the education learners have received pieces of information which have no connection with the real life. For that kind of information and knowledge is little use in the modern society. Instead there is a need for knowledge and skills for problem-solving and critical and creative thinking (Voutilainen et al. 1991, 19-21). The old static conception of knowledge has to be replaced with a dynamic conception of knowledge. According to the dynamic view knowledge is something continuously changing and growing when individuals are actively using and producing it (Voutilainen et al. 1991, 9-10).

Instruction and study are always based on some conception of learning. Two main traditions in the conceptions of learning are the empirical/behavioural and the constructivist conceptions. The constructivist conception of learning has during the last decades challenged the behavioural one. The constructivist conception has its roots in the rationalistic epistemology and in “image of man” of evolutionary theory. It has been influenced by pragmatics (Peirce), functionalistic psychology (James), progressiv pedagocics (Dewey) and symbolic interactionism (Mead). Representatives of these approaches emphasized the critical role of action in the existence of human beings generally and also in learning. The constructivist conception has also been influenced by the ideas of Gestalt psychology, Bartless’ theory of schemes, Piaget, Vygotsky and the cognitive approach (von Wright 1994).

According to cognitive psychology human beings are basically active and goal-oriented and willing to get information about themselves and the world. Their actions are directed by intentions, expectations and response. They maintain knowledge in memory in hierarcially organized structures, schemes, and new knowledge is constructed on the basis of previously learned knowledge. This process of construction has features in common for every human being but the contents are individual. Learning occurs in connection with action and is part of the cognitive process. During the last decades the cognitive approach has emphazised aspects in the contents and the context of learning (von Wright 1994, 16-18).

The constructivist conception of learning leads inevitably to emphazising flexible methods of instruction which take account of learners’ characteristics. (von Wright 1994, 19).

When the focus has been changed from the results of teaching to the learning process itself the goals of education will be to maximize learners own efforts in the learning process. Teachers’ task in the learning process is to support learners in activating their prior knowledge and skills, and to give response. This type of teaching is called activating teaching. Essential is that learners not are passive recipients of knowledge but actively processing and producing it (Lonka 1991, 10).

Activating methods of teaching which support the learning process are for example activating writing assignments, projects, tutorials, journals and cooperative learning (Lonka and Lonka 1991, 28-45). Problem-based learning (PBL) which has been applied specially in medical education is a pedagogical methodwhich is based on the modern conception of learning. In PBL the real-life situations form a starting point for problem-solving and are the basis for learning. Self-directed learning and learning in group are characteristic of PBL (Problembaserad 1993, 11).

PBL as an activating pedagogical approach to learning emphasizes the students’ independent information seeking. It’s assumed that the students are gathering information from different sources, because predetermined lists of literature, set by teachers, are usually not used. Information sources like libraries, databases, experts, different textbooks and journal articels are mentioned as possible sources. Although lectures are not regarded as a primary mode of instruction, they are used also in PBL, and can form a source of information for students (Nikkarinen and Hoppu 1994; Andrup et al. 1995; Poikela and Öystilä 1996). Also members of the tutorial group function as information sources to each others (e.g. Nikkarinen and Hoppu 1994). Egidus has pointed out that because of the lack of reference materials in libraries, PBL students often have to buy relevant books in the beginning of education (Egidus 1991).

The problem-solving process, learning in groups, integration of basic sciences into patient cases, and self-directed learning are all that kind of factors which may have an impact on information behaviour of students. In the process of problem solving, during the different steps different kinds of information from a variety of sources may be needed. When PBL students are seeking information they should be aware of which type of information they need in the problem solving and learning process, for example overview of the subject area, information about the new developments or relations to other subjects (Andrup et al 1995).

Because teachers’ task isn’t any more to deliver pieces of information but to support the learning process independent information seeking and gathering plays an important role in all activating teaching and learning methods.

Studies in information needs and seeking is a central part of research in information studies (Järvelin 1987, 18). Studies have been conducted from the 1940s and the perspective was first the view of information systems. This
research tradition has been called the system oriented paradigm. In those studies the aim has been to obtain knowledge to support organizational development and administrative decision-making. The approach has been critizised because of unsufficient theories, concepts and research methods and because it hasn’t taken into consideration the needs of the information-seeking persons. In analysis of data quantitative methods usually has been used (e.g Dervin & Nilan 1986; Ginman 1995; Järvelin & Vakkari 1981; Wilson 1994).

At the end of 1970’s and in the beginning of 1980’s researchers began to realize that questions in information needs, seeking and use couldn’t been seen only from the systems point of view. The user of the information and his/her needs came into focus and research in cognitive science was applied in the studies. The new view was called the new paradigm or the cognitive view (Dervin & Nilan 1986; Ginman 1995, 14).

Today the cognitive view has been critizised for not taking into consideration peoples social and cultural contexts in studies of information needs and seeking. (e.g. Capurro 1992, 82-96; Miksa 1992, 242-243; Vakkari 1994, 51). To obtain better knowledge about human information behaviour there is a need for a more holistic view which takes contextual aspects in to account in the research in information behaviour.

It has been pointed out that information seeking and use should be studied as a whole (e.g., Savolainen 1994,115; Wilson 1981). Use of information has been studied in information as studies in scientific communication, for example citation analysis. There has been efforts to explore the question of use by studies in use and relevance of different information channels and sources. Savolainen mentiones Brenda Dervin (Sense-making theory), and Robert S. Taylor (Information use environments) as examples of the few researchers who have tried to conceptualize questions concerning use of information more deeply. Existing theoretical and methodological problems have influenced that use of information hasn’t been successfully studied and it has been suggested that also results of research in other disciplines (e.g. artificial intelligence, cognitive research in learning, memory and thinking) should be taken into consideration when information scientist try to conceptualize processes in information use. (Savolainen 1994, 111-117)

Aim of the study

The aim of this two-phased study is to investigate what kind of activating teaching methods are in use in the Finnish universities, and how students’ information behaviour is affected by these methods. A model for information behaviour of university students will be the result of the study. The model will be developed on the basis of existing theories of information behaviour, learning, and empirical studies.

The two phases are:

I. How are students information needs, seeking and use affected by the
problem-based learning (PBL) approach? – A comparative study of information behaviour between medical students studying according the problem-based curriculum and the traditional curriculum.

II. University students’ information behaviour in a changing learning
environment – The effect of new teaching methods on information behaviour.

In the first phase the main problem is to study how problem-based learning affects information needs, seeking and use, i.e. information behaviour, of university students.

Questions of concern are:

1. What kind of information is needed for learning purposes ?
2. What kind of sources and channels are used, how and why are they used?
3. Which factors, connected to the teaching methods (PBL vs. traditional) and learning environment, affect information seeking and use and in what way?
4. How is information used in the process of learning?

In the second phase the questions of concern are:

1. Which other kind of student-centred activating teaching methods than PBL are in use in the Finnish universities?
2. How much do these methods imply students independent information seeking ?
3. Do students get any instruction in information skills?
4. What kind of information is needed for studies?
5. How is this information gathered? What kind of sources and channels are used, how and why are they used?
6. Which factors, connected to the teaching methods and learning environment affect information seeking and use and in what way?
7. How is information used for the purpose of learning?

All these questions together will give an answer to the main question of the second phase: How do activating, self-directed methods of teaching and learning influence university students’ information behaviour?

Basic concepts

A. Information

In information science the concept of information is defined in many different ways. In the following are definitions which have through the cognitive approach relations with the modern conception of learning. In the cognitive viewpoint of information science Belkin (1977 in 1978, 81) defines: “the information associated with a text is the generator’s modified (by purpose, intent, knowledge of recipient’s state of knowledge) conceptual structure which underlines the surface structure (e.g. language) of that text”. Definition is subsequantely elaborated by Ingwersen (1995, 165; 1996, 98) as information being “the result of a transformation of the generator’s cognitive structures (by intentionality, model of the recipients’ state of knowledge, and in the form of signs), and “on the other hand information is something-a structure- which, when perceived, may affect and transform the recipient’s state of knowledge”. Information is seen as “something constructed by human beings” (Dervin & Nilan 1986, 16).

In this study information is conceptualized generally as something which
students need during their studies when they construct meaning about the subjects in the process of learning. After the empirical studies further specification can be made of the concept.

B. Information behaviour

Information behaviour can be defined by the general model of information behaviour developed by Wilson. (Wilson 1997a, 39).

According to Wilson a general model of information behaviour needs to include at least the following three elements:

• “an information need and its drivers, i.e., the factors that give rice to an individual’s perception of need;
• the factors that affect the individual’s response to the perception of need; and
• the processes or actions involved in that response.”

Taylor defines information behaviour as the product of certain elements of the information use environment. The elements are:

• “The assumptions, formally learned or not, made by a defined set of people concerning the nature of their work.
• The kinds and structure of the problems deemed important and typical by this set of people.
• The constraints and oppoturnities of typical environments within which any group or subgroup of this set of people operates and works.
• The conscious, and perhaps unconscious, assumptions made as to what constitutes a solution, or, better said, a resolution of problems, and what makes information useful and valuable in their contexts.”

Based on the definition he believes that the information behaviour of different groups of people, also is different. (Taylor 1991, 221-22)

C. Information need

Information need is often understood in information science as evolving from a vague awareness of something missing and as culminating in locating information that contributes to understanding and meaning (Kuhlthau 1993). Information need is described as an anomalous state of knowledge (ASK) (Belkin et al. 1982) or a gap in individual’s knowledge in sense-making situations (Dervin & Nilan 1986). Wilson points out that there must be an attendant motive when a person experiences an information need (Wilson 1997b).

D. Learning

Lehtinen(1997) summarizes the latest results of learning research and defines learning as constructivist, cumulative, structural, self-directed, strategic, goal-oriented, situated, abstract, co-operative, and individually different processing of knowledge. (Lehtinen 1997, 14-20)

E. New teaching methods

By new teaching methods are referred to student-centred methods which emphasize learners’ own activity in learning process. Essential in these methods are the active role of learners as processors and producers of information and knowledge, self-directed learning and independent information seeking (e.g. Lonka 1991).

F. Learning environment

Learning occurs everywhere and on all levels of education the role of
information technology and information retrieval systems has been intensifyed. The conception of learning environment has expanded from the place of the study, for instance, the school to include also those sources for information which can be used and followed by different media, and those events which students can take part in outside the school virtually or directly (Lehtinen 1997).

Relations between the concepts

The basic assumption of this study is that activating, self-directed methods of learning, for example PBL, lead students to a diversified and active use of various sources and channels of information. This assumption is based on the modern conception of learning according to which learners are activly constructing knowledge and skills, the cognitive psychology’s view of human beings as active and goal-directed, who seek for feedback and information about themselves and the world. The assumption is also based on the experiences reported by studies concerning student-centered teaching methods and library use as part of information behaviour.

Previous research on students’ information behaviour

Many of the studies in information science concerning aspects in university students’ information behaviour has described students’ use of library services and problems in using those services. Wilson, dividing the research field of information needs and uses in system studies and user studies, subsumes the studies conducted until the beginning of the seventies under the general heading of library surveys in his review of research in information needs and uses. Also attitudes of students towards libraries and their staff and the extent to which students buy books has been explored in the surveys. These studies report that students seldom buy books, they have difficulties in using libraries and they often use the neighbouring public library and that seminars on library use have little effect. (Wilson 1994)

During the last decades the interest in students’ library use and information behaviour has increased mainly because of the increase in student numbers and libraries needs to meet their clients demands in the best possible way. Studies of students’ attitudes to and use of university libraries has been conducted in several countries. Findings from earlier studies concerning students problems in trying to use the library are validated in the studies performed in 80’s and 90’s. (Höglund & Thorstéinsdóttir 1996)

Studies of undergraduate students relations to libraries has been conducted also in the Nordic countries in Danmark 1995, Sweden 1995 and Finland 1996. The results show that students are rather frequent library users (Höglund et al. 1995; Pors 1995; von Ungern-Sternberg 1996) although there are large differencies in how students of different disciplines utilize library services (Höglund et al. 1995). The students want more study carrels, more course litterature and more generous opening hours (Pors 1995). The user education programs of libraries are not frequently used by the students (Pors 1995). According to the Finnish and Swedish studies students themselves ask for more education in information seeking and library use (Höglund et al. 1995; von Ungern-Sternberg 1996). The students also expect a traditional service from the library and look at the library as a depot for literature and do not identify the library as an information center or as a place for studies (von Ungern-Sternberg 1996). The results indicate also that systematic cooperation is needed between teachers and librarians, both regarding education in information seeking and in support of information service to students (von Ungern-Sternberg 1996).

In these studies the perspective is the users and knowledge has been obtained about the role of libraries in the students information needs and seeking.

More generally students’ information behaviour has been studied by Carol C. Kuhlthau. She has made empirical research about students’ information seeking behaviour in libraries and developed a general model of the information seeeking process (ISP). ISP consists of 6 stages: initiation, selection, explication, formulation, collection, and prestation. Students experience the ISP holistically with an interplay of taughts, feelings, and actions (Kuhlthau 1993). Limbergs study concerns the interaction between information use and learning outcome, when high school students work at an assignment implying independent use of information. According to the study, which has been done by using the phenomenographic method, variation in information seeking and use interact closely with variation in ways of experiencing and understanding the content of information (Limberg 1998).

Questions concerning the relation between teaching methods and students’ information behaviour has not been investigated thorougly – although PBL- students’ information seeking behaviour and libray use have been compared in a few studies, which are described later in connection with medical students’ information behaviour.

In Finland, in addition to the study of students’ library use mentioned above (von Ungern-Sternberg 1996), a few master and licentiate theses have been done in the area of students information needs and uses at the departments of information studies in Tampere and Oulu. For example Rissanen has studied health care students information needs, uses and information literacy in a case study. Teachers, staff, and the collections on the practice department, the libray of the college and the public library, textbooks and journals were the most important information channels for the studied students. Their informations gathering was restricted by lack of time and money, language problems and poor skills in information seeking. (Rissanen 1994). Kautto has explored instruction given to students in seeking and using literature as a part of university education. The findings showed that teachers do not usually teach the central literature in a domain and information skills of students are regarded as satisfactory by teachers. The subject field strongly influences on teachers’ thinking and actions connected to instruction given in seeking and using literature. (Kautto 1997).

Medical students’ information behaviour

Medicine is among many other sciences an area in which the expansion of information is enormous and which is critically dependent on up-to-date information. These factors have influenced the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) approach in the medical education. Students can’t learn during their formal education all what is needed and therefore skills in problem-solving and independent information seeking are emphasized in the PBL-curriculum.

Although interest in information behaviour in the context of health care has increased, the main part of it concerns physicians (Hewins 1990). Medical students’ information behaviour has been explored in connection of library user or use studies. In the beginning of 1990’s Rankin wrote that few libray user or use studies have centered on medical students. According to a study conducted in the beginning of 1980’s medical students use most often textbooks and general or overview material to meet their information needs (Rankin 1992). Results of Mick’s study of information behaviour of medical students indicate that the students were dependent on their personal notes and colleagues (Mick 1972 in Taylor 1991).

Due to changes in the medical education interest in medical students’
information behavior has grown during the last decade.

PBL students’ use of libraries and different information sources has been
explored in a few studies. Results of these studies indicate that the way how the library and its services are used changes, and the use of the library, and library services increases when the PBL -method is applied in the curriculum. PBL-students use a greater variety of sources more frequently than students taught with traditional methods. PBL- students choose sources which support learning process and they learn how to seek information on an early stage of education (Saunders et al. 1985 in Andrup 1995; Rankin 1992; Fridén & Oker-Blom 1995). According to Marshall et al. students in the problem-based curriculum use Medline searching more often than the students in conventional curriculum (Marshall et al. 1993.)

The implementation of student-centred learning and teaching methods in the medical curriculum has also resulted in a growing body of literature which explores different aspects of information literacy and user education of libraries. One of the main concerns has been questions of the integration of skills in information literacy or information management instruction in the curriculum (e.g. Minchow 1996; Schilling 1995).

Wildemuth et al. has conducted several studies on medical students’ information and search behaviours (e.g. Wildemuth et al., 1991, 1992). They have for example explored medical students’ information seeking behaviour by studying the questions the students have asked of librarians and physicians. When first-year medical students sought information about clinical scenarios in toxicology, they asked questions of a physician concerning the explanation of symptoms of a case, what tests or methods could be used to distinguish between toxins, and how to treat the patient. Librarians were asked how to find the bibliographic references relevant to clinical cases (Wildemuth et al. 1994). In another study medical students’ personal knowledge, searching proficiency, and database use in problem solving has been investigated. Medical students solved biomedical problems on four occasions over a two year period. The results of the study indicated that there was little evidence of any relationship between personal domain knowledge and searching proficiency (i.e. search results, selection of search terms, improvement in selection of search terms over the course of the search, and efficiency). Search results, selection of search terms, and efficiency were found to be related to database assisted problem solving performance (Wildemuth et.al. 1995).

Different subjects and settings produce different definitions of information needs, and information systems designed for one setting can be unuseful in an other context. Questions and information needs present in educational settings, for example in medical education, differ traditionally from those of acting physicians (Gorman 1995). On the other hand changes are made in medical education in order to enhance problem-solving skills of students and to help them learn to think like experts when solving clinical problems. It may be possible that these changes also influence students’ information behaviour and it may become more similiar to the behaviour of practicing physicians.

Questions concerning the relations between teaching methods and students’ information behaviour has not been investigated thorougly – although PBL-students’ information seeking behaviour and library use have been compared in a few studies. Results of the international studies can’t directly be adopted to the Finnish society because the educational systems and practices alter by countries. However, when an essential factor in the learning environment, the teaching methods, is changing it can be assumed that new, important knowledge can be obtained from this area.

Data material and method

The study consists of a theoretical and an empirical part. The empirical part is divided into two phases. The research methods in the first phase are qualitative. In the second phase both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied.

Qualitative methods

In the social sciences it is common to distinquish between two different
methodological approaches; quantitative and qualitative methods. Within the quantitative approach statistical methods for gathering and analysing data are generally used and the qualitative approach uses methods which are not based on quantitative measuring. Depending on theories, hypothesis and research questions methods from both approaches can be used in the same research project (Silverman 1995, 2). Qualitative methods are applied to research on complex fenomena of the society for example social processes, structures, and relations when the purpose is to gather information which can’t be expressed in numbers and quantities (Holme & Sovang 1991, 85-7). By using qualitative methods a researcher is not trying to generalize results but to obtain more understanding about the problems studied (Holme  & Sovang 1991, 95).

There are four main data collecting methods which are used by qualitative researchers: observation, analysis of texts and documents, interviews, records and transcripts. These methods are often combined with each other (Silverman 1995, 8-9). Use of several methods (triangulation) is one way to ensure validity in qualitative research (Fidel 1993, 232).

Researchers in information science have paid attention to qualitative analysis methods because of three different factors: unsuccess with quantitative methods in research; change to a user-oriented research tradition in information science; the growing interest in qualitative methods in other areas of the social sciences. Information scientists have pointed out that individual, situational, historical, and contextual factors which are essential in information behaviour have not been taken into account in research which has applied only quantitative methods (Fidel 1993, 233).

Research material and data collecting methods

The material of the study consists of data which shall be collected and analysed by qualitative and quantitative methods.

In the first phase the information behaviour of students in medical education will be studied. The study objects are students in the university of Tampere medical faculty in the problem-based learning education and students in the medical faculty of  Turku university studying according to the traditional curriculum. Because of the qualitative methods for collecting and analysing data the number of subjects in both groups will be 15 – 20.

The methods for collecting data are interviews (open-ended questions), students’ diaries and observation .

The second phase of the study will be based on the findings of the first phase. The developed model for information behaviour will be tested empirically in the context of other activating teaching methods in addition to PBL. First, information about those methods and the use of them in the Finnish universities is to be collected by questionnaries to university teachers. The study objects will be randomized among the teachers. Because of the large sample data will be analysed by quantitative methods. Secondly, those students which have been taught by activating teaching methods will be interviewed about their information behaviour. The interviews will be more structured than in the first phase because of the larger number of informants and in the analysis both quantitative and qualitative methods will be utilized.

Proposed work plan and the progress to date

Work plan for the study is:

Collection of data for the first phase 1997-1998, analysis and conclusions of the first phase 1998 – spring 1999, collection of data for the second phase autumn 1999-2000, analysis and conclusions of the second phase 2001.

The work was started by getting acquainted with the theoretical backgrounds and preparations for the empirical research in 1997. During the spring 1998 data for the first phase was gathered by open-ended thematic interviews and students’ diaries about their learning process. The students have been interviewed about the following themes: studies, learning process, information needs, information seeking and use. In connection to the different themes various factors influencing the learning process and information behaviour are explored. In the diaries students have described their learning situations and thaughts, possible difficulties and feelings concerning studying and learning. Observation of different learning situations has been used in order to obtain more knowledge about those situations and their role as information source in the students’ learning process. Transcription of the recorded interviews has begun during the summer 1998.

Eeva-Liisa Eskola
Department of Information Studies
Abo Akademi University
eeskola@abo.fi

References

• Andrup, S., Fagerjord, K. & Magnussen, M.T. (1995). Fagbibliotekets rolle i problembasert læring (PBL). Oslo: RBT/Riksbibliotektjenesten. (Skrifter fra RBT/Riksbibliotektjenesten, Nr. 69).
• Belkin, N. (1978). Information concept for information science. Journal of documentation 34(1): 55-58.
• Belkin, N.J., Brooks, H.M., Oddy, R.N. (1982) ASK for information retrieval. Journal of Documentation 38:61-71.
• Capurro, R. (1992). What is information science for? A philosophical reflection. In: Conseptions of library and information science. Historical, empirical and theoretical perspectives. Ed. P. Vakkari & B. Cronin. London: Taylor Graham, 82-96.
• Dervin , B. & Nilan, M. (1986). Information needs and uses. In: Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, vol. 21. Ed. M.E.Williams. New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 3-33.
• Egidus, H. (1991). Problembaserad inlärning – en introduktion. Lund: Studenlitteratur.
• Fidel, R. (1993). Qualitative methods in information retrieval research. Library & Information Science Research 15:219-247.
• Fridén, K. & Oker-Blom, T. (1995) Påverkar problembaserad inlärning studenternas informationsvanor och biblioteksanvändning?. Stockholm: Karolinska institutes bibliotek och informationscentral. (Linköpings universitetsbibliotek, Publikation nr 52).
• Ginman, Mariam (1995). Paradigm och trender inom biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap. In: Biblioteken, kulturen och den sociala intelligensen. Aktuell forskning inom biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap. Ed. Lars Höglund. Stockholm : Forskningsrådsnämnden, FNM, 9-18.
• Gorman, P. (1995). Information needs of physicians. Journal of the American society for information science 46 (10): 729-736.
• Hewins, E.T. (1990). Information needs and uses. In: M. E. Wilson (ed.) Annual Review of Information Science and Technology. American Society of Information Science. Vol. 25: 145-168.
• Holme, I.M. & Sovang, B.K. (1991). Forskningsmetodik. Om kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
• Höglund, L. et al. (1995). Tusen studenter om biblioteket – vanor, attityder och krav. Stockholm: BIBSAM. (Delstudie 2)
• Höglund, L., Thorstéinsdóttir, G. (1996). Students and the university library. Attitudes to and use of university libraries among students and faculty. Svensk biblioteksforskning 4: 29-42.
• Ingwersen, P. (1995). Information and Information Science. In: Allen Kent (ed.). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. 56. Suppl. 19. New York: Marcel Dekker. 137-174.
• Ingwersen, P. (1996). Information and information science in context. In: J. Olaisen, E. Munch-Petersen, P. Wilson (eds.) Information Science. From the development of the discipline to social interaction. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press. 69-111.
• Järvelin, K. (1987). Kaksi yksinkertaista jäsennystä tiedon hankinnan tutkimista varten. Kirjastotiede ja informatiikka 6(1): 18-24.
• Järvelin, K. & Vakkari, P. (1981). Tiedontarpeiden ja kirjaston käytön tutkimisesta. Kaksi tutkielmaa. Tamperen yliopisto. Kirjastotieteen ja informatiikan laitos. Julkaisuja A Tutkimusraportit nro 15.
• Kautto, V. (1997). Kirjallisuuden haun ja kirjaston käytön opetus korkeakouluopetuksen osana. Informaatiotutkimuksen lisensiaatintutkimus. Oulu: Oulun yliopisto. Unpublished.
• Kuhlthau, C. (1993). Seeking meaning. A process approach to library and information services. Norwood, N.J. : Ablex.
• Limberg, L. (1998). Att söka information för att lära. En studie av samspel mellan informationssökning och lärande. Doctoral Thesis. Borås: Valfrid. Skrifter från Valfrid, nr 16.
• Lehtinen, E. (1997). Tietoyhteiskunnan haasteet ja mahdollisuudet oppimiselle. In E. Lehtinen (ed.) Verkkopedagogiikka. Helsinki: Edita, 12-40.
• Lonka, Kirsti (1991). Oppimiskäsitys muutuu – entä koulutus? In: Aktivoiva opetus. Käsikirja aikuisten ja nuorten opettajille. Toim. Kirsti Lonka ja Irma Lonka . s. 7-11. Helsinki: Kirjayhtymä.
• Lonka, Kirsti ja Lonka Irma (1991). Aktivoivia ja prosessipainoitteisia työtapoja. Aakkosellinen hakemisto. In: Aktivoiva opetus. Käsikirja aikuisten ja nuorten opettajille. Toim. Kirsti Lonka ja Irma Lonka . s. 28-45. Helsinki: Kirjayhtymä.
• Marshall, J. & Fitzgerald, D. & Busy, L. & Heaton, G. (1993). A study of library use in problem-based and traditional medical curricula. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. 81 (july 1993): 299-305.
• Miksa, F.L. (1992). Library and information science. Two paradigms. In: Conseptions of library and information science. Historical, empirical and theoretical perspectives. Ed. P. Vakkari & B. Cronin. London: Taylor Graham, 229-252
• Minchow, R.L. (1996). Changes in information-seeking patterns of medical students: second-year students’ perceptions of information management instruction as a component of a problem-based learning curriculum. Medical reference services quarterly, vol. 15 (1): 16-31.
• Nikkarinen, T. & Hoppu, K. (1994). Ongelmakeskeinen opetus, ongelmalähtöinen oppiminen ja aktivoivat opetusmenetelmät. Duodecim 110:1548-1555.
• Poikela, S. & Öystilä, S. (1996). Ongelmaperustainen oppiminen korkeakoulutuksessa. Esimerkkinä Tampereeen yliopiston lääkärikoulutus. Korkeakoulutieto 2:81-86.
• Pors, N.O. (1995). Studerende og biblioteker. En undersøgelse af studerendes bibliotesbenyttelse. Statens Bibliotekstjeneste: København. (Skrifter fra Statens Bibliotekstjeneste, 9).
• Problembaserad inlärning. Erfarenheter från Hälsouniversitet (1993). Red. Karin Kjellgren, Johan Ahlner, Lars Owe Dahlgren, Lena Haglund. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
• Rankin, I. A. (1992). Problem-based medical education – effect on library use. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 80(1):36-43.
• Rissanen, K. (1994). Opiskelijat terveydenhuoltoalan tietoa etsimässä. Case-tutkimus Tamperen terveydenhuolto-oppilaitoksessa. Tampere. Ammattikasvatushallinon koulutuskeskus. (Ammatti-kasvatushallinnon koulutuskeskuksen julkaisuja 1/1994).
• Sallinen, Aino (1995). Opetus ja yliopiston tuloksellisuus. In:
  Yliopisto-opetus. Korkeakoulupedagogiikan haasteita. Toim: Juhani Aaltola, Markku Suortamo, s. 10-24. Porvoo: WSOY.
• Schilling, K., Ginn, D.S., Mickelson, P., Roth, L.H. (1995). Integration of information seeking skills and activities into a problem-based curriculum. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 83(2):176-183.
• Savolainen, R. (1994). Tiedon käytön tutkimus informaatiotutkimuksessa. Kirjastotiede ja informatiikka 13(4): 101-119.
• Silverman, D. (1995). Interpreting qualitative data. Methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. Reprint. London: Sage.
• Taylor, R. S. (1991). Information Use Environments. In: Brenda Derwin & Melvin J. Voigt (eds). Progress in Communication Sciences. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Vol. 10: 217-255.
• Vakkari, P. (1994). Library and information science. Its content and scope. In: Advances in Librarianship. Vol. 18. New York: Academic press, 1-55.
• von Ungern-Sternberg, S. (1996). Studenterna och biblioteket. En fokusgrupp-undersökning av Åbostudenternas informationsanskaffning. Åbo: Åbo Akademi, Instituitonen för biblioteks- vetenskap och informatik. (Finnish Information Studies, 2).
• von Wright, J. (1994). Oppimiskäsitysten historiaa ja pedagogisia seurauksia. 2. muuttamaton p. Helsinki: Opetushallitus
• Voutilainen T., Mehtäläinen J., Niiniluoto, I. (1991). Tiedonkäsitys. 5p. Helsinki: Kouluhallitus.
• Wildemuth, B. & Jacob, E. & Fullington, A. & de Bliek, R. & Friedman, C. (1991). A detailed analysis of end-user search behaviours. In: Jose-Maria Griffiths (ed.) ASIS ‘91. Systems understanding people. Proceedings of the 54th annual meeting of the American society for information science. Vol. 28: 302-312.
• Wildemuth, B. & Friedman, C. & He, S. & de Bliek, R. (1992). Search moves made by novice end users. In: Debra Shaw (ed.) Proceedings of the 55th annual meeting of the American society for information science, Pittsburgh, 26-29 Oct 1992. pp. 154-161.
• Wildemuth, B. M & de Bliek, R. & Friedman, C.P. & Miya, T (1994). Information-seeking behaviors of medical students: a classification of questions of librarians and physicians. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 82(3): 295-304.
• Wildemuth, B. & File, D. & Friedman, C. & de Bliek, R. (1995). Medical students’ personal knowledge, searching proficiency, and database use in problem solving. Journal of the American society for Information Science 46 (8): 590-607.
• Wilson, T.D. (1981). On user studies and information needs. Journal of Documentation 37(1): 3-15.
• Wilson, T.D. (1994). Information needs and uses: Fifty years of process? In: B. Vickery (ed.) Fifty years of information progress. A Journal of Documentation review. London: Aslib, 15-51.
• Wilson, T.D. (1997a). Information behaviour: An inter-diciplinary persepective. In: P. Vakkari, R. Savolainen & B. Dervin (eds.) Information seeking in context. Proceedings of an international conference on research in information needs, seeking and use in different contexts 14-16 August, 1996, Tampere, Finland. London: Taylor Graham, 39-50.
• Wilson, T.D. (1997b). Information behaviour: An inter-diciplinary persepective. Information Processing & Management 33(4):551-572.

Information Research, Volume 4 No. 2 October 1998 University students’ information seeking behaviour in a changing learning environment, by Eeva-Liisa Eskola
Location: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~is/publications/infres/isic/eeskola.html © the author, 1998. Last updated: 9th September 1998

METHODS: A case study of general practitioners (GPs) in Aylesbury Vale incorporated a quantitative study of use of the medical library, and two qualitative techniques, in-depth interviews and group discussions.

RESULTS: A total of 58 GPs, almost three quarters of those in the Vale, participated; 19 via individual interviews and a further 39 via two group discussions. Family doctors are prompted to seek information by needs arising from a combination of professional responsibilities and personal characteristics. A need for problem-orientated information, related to the care of individual patients, was the predominant factor that prompted these GPs to seek information. Personal collections remain the preferred information resource; electronic sources rank second. The study demonstrated low use of the medical library. However, both vocational training and the employment of a practice librarian impacted on library use.

CONCLUSIONS: The study illuminates the information needs and preferences of GPs and illustrates the contribution that librarians may make at practice level, indicating the importance of outreach work.

PMID: 15191599 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Bryant SL.

laceybryant@clara.co.uk

Presents a critical description of Wilson’s (1996) global model of information behaviour and proposes major modification on the basis of research into information behaviour of managers, conducted in Poland. The theoretical analysis and research results suggest that Wilson’s model has certain imperfections, both in its conceptual content, and in graphical presentation. The model, for example, cannot be used to describe managers’ information behaviour, since managers basically are not the end users of external from organization or computerized information services, and they acquire information mainly through various intermediaries. Therefore, the model cannot be considered as a general model, applicable to every category of information users. The proposed new model encompasses the main concepts of Wilson’s model, such as: person-in-context, three categories of intervening variables (individual, social and environmental), activating mechanisms, cyclic character of information behaviours, and the adoption of a multidisciplinary approach to explain them. However, the new model introduces several changes. They include: 1. identification of ‘context’ with the intervening variables; 2. immersion of the chain of information behaviour in the ‘context’, to indicate that the context variables influence behaviour at all stages of the process (identification of needs, looking for information, processing and using it); 3. stress is put on the fact that the activating mechanisms also can occur at all stages of the information acquisition process; 4. introduction of two basic strategies of looking for information: personally and/or using various intermediaries.

The 1999 through reform of Polish health care system revealed large deficiencies of data and research evidence and a lack of organized systems for information provision. Professionals who seemed to need effective information systems were mostly policymakers and health care managers. So, a study was conducted to identify the information needs and behaviour of this category of users. The study’s primary goal was to obtain preliminary data about current information needs, preferences and the limitations of health care managers as information users. The secondary goal was to identify significant environmental factors influencing their information behaviour.