Dissertation Information for Richard Hopkins NAME: - Richard Hopkins
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- University of Toronto (Canada) (1988)
ADVISORS: - Adele Fasick
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Frances Halpenny - Margaret E. Anderson - Patricia Fleming
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: The information-seeking behaviour of literary scholars in Canadian universities
Abstract: The descriptive objective of the study was to test nine assumptions about the information seeking behaviour of Canadian literary scholars. The analytical objective was to explain different degrees of campus library use by these scholars, first by examining the effect of a wide number of social, situational, attitudinal and perceptual variables, then by developing three multiple regression models, one for the entire sample of scholars, one for a subgroup using primary materials in their work "often" or "occasionally," and one for a subgroup using primary materials "seldom" or "never." The models were also used to test a theory that there is an interaction effect between the norms imposed on information seeking by a discipline or a sub-discipline, the individual scholar's own attitude toward information seeking, and amount of campus library use.
The population for the study was over 1,000 literary scholars teaching at 35 Canadian universities. Following interviews and a pre-test, a questionnaire survey was mailed to a random sample of 250 scholars for which a response rate of 64% was achieved.
A number of long-held assumptions about the information seeking behaviour of literary scholars were supported by the findings of the study; e.g. that literary scholars are reluctant to delegate searching and that informal communication is not of great importance to them. A number of other assumptions, however, were not supported by the findings: e.g. that browsing is an important way of locating information and that literary scholars are skeptical about the value of using computers in bibliographic searching.
The regression models developed for the two sub-groups of scholars were the most successful. The model developed for those scholars who used primary source materials in their work "often" or "occasionally" contained six variables and explained 62% of the variance of campus library use. The model developed for those scholars who used primary source materials "seldom" or "never" contained two variables and explained 44% of the variance of campus library use. The models further revealed that the attitude of the individual scholar toward information seeking was a good predictor of campus library use for those scholars who were judged to be working in areas with weak norms governing information seeking behaviour (those who used primary source materials "seldom" or "never" in their work) and a poor predictor for those scholars working in areas judged to have strong norms governing information seeking behaviour (those who used primary source materials "often" or "occasionally" in their work).
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MPACT Scores for Richard Hopkins A = 0
C = 1
A+C = 1
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:26:07
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