Author
Barbara Valentine
Bio: Barbara Valentine is an academic researcher from Linfield College. The author has contributed to research in topics: Usability engineering & Web usability. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 7 publications receiving 200 citations.
Papers
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TL;DR: In this paper, a study of attitudes toward and skills in conducting library research among a group of undergraduate library assistants was conducted, where focus groups and individual interviews were used to obtain qualitative data.
117 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that students writing research papers reveal a disparity between their and faculty expectations of the place of academic work in the educational process, and that understanding the conflicts and tacit agreements that come out of this disparity may help librarians to become more active participants in the research process.
52 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the findings of two surveys comparing the frequency and use of various digital and communication technologies by high school and college students and explore differences between populations, implications for teaching, and questions for further study are explored.
11 citations
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present preliminary results from a qualitative study that elicits perspectives of undergraduates engaged in writing research papers and highlight some commonly used information gathering strategies, issues which impact motivation and use of time, and sources of help students consult most often in the process.
Abstract: If we are to develop library services that meet the expectations of our patrons in this changing technological environment, we must first understand how they currently interact with our information services and systems.This paper presents preliminary results from a qualitative study that elicits perspectives of undergraduates engaged in writing research papers. Because this study has been in progress since the early nineties, results also reflect ways in which technological advances such as the Internet may have altered strategies. Findings highlight some commonly used information gathering strategies, issues which impact motivation and use of time, and sources of help students consult most often in the process. Implications and recommendations for librarians conclude the paper.
10 citations
TL;DR: In the process, researchers gained insights into student online searching and research patterns that have informed reference and teaching activities as well that proved invaluable in making effective modifications to library Web pages.
Abstract: Library Web pages are increasingly designed to be the initial entry point for research, whether used from the library or off campus. But the pages must be intuitive and easy to use or students may bypass them completely, in favor of more familiar Web resources. This article presents the process, results, and evaluation of a Web usability study conducted at Linfield College with undergraduate participants. Web usability testing was a relatively quick and inexpensive way to find out how students used the library Web pages, information that proved invaluable in making effective modifications to them. In the process, researchers gained insights into student online searching and research patterns that have informed reference and teaching activities as well.
7 citations
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TL;DR: Reading a book as this basics of qualitative research grounded theory procedures and techniques and other references can enrich your life quality.
13,415 citations
1,024 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between information literacy skills and self-assessments predicted by competency theory in the domain of information literacy and found a significant negative correlation between the information literacy scores and knowledge of the library.
256 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an exploratory research study on the information-seeking habits of graduate student researchers in the humanities was conducted to explore to what extent humanities graduate students might constitute a user group distinct from faculty and undergraduate models.
207 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss information-seeking problems which the typical research paper assignment creates, and they assume more responsibility for teaching information-retrieval skills in their courses, and illustrate how this could be accomplished through a stratified methodology.
185 citations