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Dissertation Information for Richard Lukens Hart

NAME:
- Richard Lukens Hart

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (USA) (1993)

ADVISORS:
- Barbara B. Moran

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Edward G. Holley
- Susan Steinfirst
- Kenneth Alan Hardy
- Richard Lee Simpson

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: The information-gathering behavior of the faculty of a four-year state college

Abstract: Previous studies of information-gathering behavior among scholars and scientists have focused on faculty at major research universities or on national samples of scholars in specific subject areas. Little attention has been paid to information-gathering among faculty at the "public comprehensive" or "regional" type of college or university, an institution where the faculty commitment to teaching and to service are thought to be particularly salient values. This study examined the information-gathering behavior of the faculty at such an institution: a four-year state college in New York State.

A self-administered questionnaire--the primary method of data collection--was sent to 167 faculty in 17 academic departments. Usable responses totaled 143 (84%).

Findings indicate that these faculty are very active in their information-gathering behavior, relying heavily on their personal libraries, the College library, other libraries, professional meetings, and off-campus colleagues. Similar to previous research it was found that reliance on books and journals varies across the disciplinary areas of the sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Faculty rely more on formal sources of information than they do on informal sources.

A central issue of the study concerned the manner in which the faculty members' commitments to teaching, to research, and to service influenced their information- gathering behavior. Findings indicate that these three aspects of the professional role are related to the faculty members' preferences for sources of information. Commitment to research relates positively to use of the personal library, off-campus libraries, attendance at scholarly meetings and contact with off-campus colleagues. Commitment to teaching relates positively to use of both the College library and off-campus libraries. Commitment to service relates positively to use of the personal library and to contact with colleagues on and off the campus.

There is no relationship between level of courses taught by the faculty member and use of sources of information. Greater commitment to research was found among faculty who possessed a doctoral degree, were younger, and who had attended lower quality graduate schools. A methodological finding was that use of a source of information and the self-reported importance of the source are dissimilar variables.

MPACT Scores for Richard Lukens Hart

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:20:19

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