Information Seeking Behaviour: A Comparison Between Business and

Engineering Students in Tertiary Environments

Hula Kahlal – S3236327Supervisor: Dr. Mary Carroll

Topic Selection:Information available on the web

Debates about Information Seeking Behaviour

Investigate the presence of the academic library

Methodology:Online survey using SurveyMonkey.com

Target: Business and Engineering students

Desired no. Of respondents = 40

Actual no. Of respondents = 42

Desired time limit to respond = 7-10 days

Actual time taken = 3-4 weeks

Challenges faced:Software’s useful features need to be paid for

Survey errors discovered

Collecting responses

A variety of information available on the web

Some participants found the survey a little confusing

Research Findings:Age of Participants:

67%

33%

Under 1818-2223+

Research Findings: Methods used to search for information for a university task Business students

Primary source Google and other search engines

Secondary source Databases & library e-materials

Last option Library hard copy resources

Engineering studentsPrimary source Materials given by

academicsSecondary source Google and other

search enginesLast option Library hard copy resources

Research Findings: The use of Google and other search engines Business students

Students always formulate key words using the

question given

Students often scan through the information

found to decide its relevance

Sometimes, some students copy the

information found into their paper; others,

rarely or never do so.

Research Findings: The use of Google and other search engines Engineering students

Students always develop more keywords as

they proceed with their searching process

Some students often formulate the answer in

their own words, others tend to copy the

information into their work

Students rarely or never narrow down their

result list

Research Findings: The use of the academic libraryBusiness students

40% of participants were not fully familiar with the services the library offers

40% were familiar enough with how the library materials are organised

60% rarely or never look for materials written by a specific author

60% sometimes ask for the help of a librarian to find relevant resources

45% end up using library hard copy materials in their work

Research Findings: The use of the academic libraryEngineering students

42% of participating students are sometimes familiar with the services the library offers

38% are sometimes familiar with how the materials are organised in the library

67% rarely or never look for materials written by a specific author

48% rarely or never ask for the help of a librarian to find relevant information

38% often go to the library, hoping for the best48% sometimes end up using library materials in

their work

Research Findings: Feelings associated with ISPBusiness students

02468

10121416

AlwaysOftenSomtimesSeldom/Never

Research Findings: Feelings associated with ISPEngineering students:

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

AlwaysOftenSometimesSeldom/Never

Conclusions:Aim: to reveal any common patterns between

Business and Engineering students Does subject specialisation affect the way students search for information?

Research findings supported the current literature

Common patterns were evident

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http://books.google.com.au/books?id=DWlIY1PxkyYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false   Timmers, C & Glas, C 2010, ‘Developing scales for information-seeking behaviour’, Journal of Documentation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 46-69, viewed 2 March

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http://informationr.net/tdw/publ/papers/1999JDoc.html