Showing papers in "Information Research: An International Electronic Journal in 2016"

Abstract: Background. In the past decade, scholars of information science have started to conduct research on information behaviour in serious leisure. Presently, these studies lack common concepts and terms and empirical discoveries are not easy to assemble into theory. Aim. This conceptual and methodological paper surveys the aforementioned research area and introduces Anders Hektor’s model of information behaviour in conjunction with the serious leisure perspective as a means to systematically study information behaviour in serious leisure. Method. Three methods are employed. The first is a selective literature review and intellectual history of research into information behaviour in serious leisure. The second is a conceptual analysis of Hektor’s model that relates its key features to the serious leisure perspective. The third consists of a deductive audit of three forms of serious leisure (the liberal arts hobby, amateur musicianship, and the hobby of running), utilizing the frameworks, concepts, and terms outlined in the paper. Results. Studies of information behaviour in serious leisure have increased and deepened in the past decade, largely through ideographic case studies. Hektor’s model of information behaviour, with its locus in everyday life and precise delineation of eight information activities, can complement such research designs. A deductive audit guided by Hektor’s model illuminated information activities within the three forms of serious leisure and enabled comparative observations. Conclusions. When combined with the serious leisure perspective, Hektor’s model enables research that is comparative and more precise. However, the extent to which this model captures physical or embodied information should be further examined.

Abstract: Introduction The article contributes to conceptual studies of information behaviour research by examining the conceptualisations of information seeking and related terms such as information search and browsing Method The study builds on Bates' integrated model of information seeking and searching, originally presented in 2002 The model was slightly elaborated, resulting in the identification of four main modes of information seeking: (i) active seeking and searching, (ii) browsing and scanning, (iii) passive monitoring, and (iv) incidental acquisition of information The study draws on the conceptual analysis of fifty-two key articles or books characterizing the constituents of the above modes Results The main activities constituting active seeking and searching are the identification, selection, location and accessing of information The mode of browsing and scanning is based on the selection and sampling of information sources The core activity of passive monitoring is the recognition of potentially relevant sources, while the mode of incidental acquisition of information is based on passive reception of information in certain events or situations Conclusions Information seeking is a multifaceted phenomenon, the research of which has led to conceptual multiplicity The present study helps to create an overview of the multiple viewpoints by specifying the conceptual space of information seeking phenomena

Abstract: Introduction. Computer scientists and other researchers often make their programs freely available online. If this software makes a valuable contribution inside or outside of academia then its creators may want to demonstrate this with a suitable indicator, such as download counts. Methods. Download counts, citation counts, labels and licenses were extracted for programs that were both hosted in the Google Code software repository and cited in Scopus. Analysis. Download counts were correlated with Web of Science citations, the distributions of both were compared and common software labels and licencing arrangements were identified. Results. Although downloads correlate positively and significantly with Scopus citations, the correlation is weak (0.3) because some software has a large natural audience outside of academia. There is disagreement on the best licence to use for shared software, with no licence chosen by more than about a fifth of the projects. The most common language label was Java (20%) and, excluding generic computing terms, the most common topic labels were Google (5%), security (3%) and bioinformatics (3%). Conclusions. Download counts can give evidence of wider nonacademic uses of software. However, software that is apparently not primarily designed for research but that is nevertheless cited by academics can also attract many downloads. Overall, download counts can be used as an indicator of academic value, but only if contextualised with the purpose of the program.

Abstract: Introduction. This article explores parental perceptions of young children's everyday life information practices related to their hobbies and interests. Method. Thirty-one parents of children between the ages of four and eight years old completed a survey about their children's hobbies and interests. Questions were related to the nature of the children's activities and the ways in which children seek, use, and share information related to their hobbies and interests. Analysis. Survey responses were analysed for common themes in information seeking, information use and information sharing. Information practices of children with intense interests were compared with information practices of children with more typical hobbies and interests. Results. Findings indicate that young children exhibit a heavy reliance on interpersonal interactions for information seeking and information sharing, while information use is more likely to be an individual activity. Children with intense interests did not engage in information practices of a different nature from those with more typical hobbies and interests. Conclusion. The findings of this study indicate that children as young as four years of age engage in observable information practices related to their hobbies and interests. Additional research is needed to better understand young children's everyday life information practices.

Abstract: Introduction This paper focuses on the information culture of higher education institutions in Estonia The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between information culture, information management and job satisfaction, leadership style, and selfreported individual performance Method A total of 160 faculty members from twelve institutions of higher education completed an online survey The aim of the online survey was to identify the behaviour and values that characterise the information culture of Estonian higher education institutions Analysis Factor analysis and multivariate analysis were performed to analyse online survey data Results Taking into account six components of information culture identified by earlier researchers, analysis revealed three types of information culture characterised by their dominant components: integrated, proactive, and informal A significant correlation was found between information culture with integrated information culture and job satisfaction, leadership style, and selfreported individual performance Conclusion Our study suggests that the construct of information culture is valuable in analysing information environments and their relations with job satisfaction, leadership style, and selfreported individual performance In addition, integrated information culture seems to be (at least in the sample of academic staff) the most sensitive one, having significant correlations with several indicators of subjective well-being within the academic staff

Abstract: Introduction. This paper reports the findings of a study of risk management in public libraries. The focus of the research was to determine whether the libraries had a risk management and disaster plan for major disasters. Method. A qualitative study was done to investigate risk management and disaster recovery in public libraries in South Australia. Seven personal interviews were conducted with library managers and librarians at four public libraries. Analysis. The qualitative results emerging from the interviews were analysed through hand coding using grounded theory. Results. Participants confused risk management and disaster recovery with the practice of work (occupational) health and safety. None of the participating libraries have a risk management or disaster plan. Conclusions. The library managers do not rate the risk of disaster as high, believing that their library is located in a low-risk disaster area. They also do not regard any part of their collections to be of great value. Loss of a collection is perceived as an opportunity to refresh that collection. The participants do not consider risk management and disaster recovery as an important part of their business.

Abstract: Introduction. Text genres used by so-called information organizers in the processes of information organization in information systems were explored in this research. Method. The research employed text genre socio-functional analysis. Five genre groups in information organization were distinguished. Every genre group used in information organization is described. Empirical evidence for genre group two was obtained through specific analysis of genres used by cataloguers cooperating within the Polish union catalogue. Analysis. A qualitative genre analysis concerning the choice and description of five groups of genres most important for information organization was carried out. Most attention was paid to the second group of text genres, consisting of vocabularies and rules used in cataloguing. Results. The text genre system used in information organization and showing the roles of any specified text genre group is described. The case of the Polish union catalogue database helped to present temporo-spatial dependencies appearing in the regulated genre system. Conclusions. Information organization involves the creation of representations of published texts with a variety of text tools. The creation of these texts and their use (reading) results in individual knowledge reorganization (modification) of all people involved in these processes, that is both writers (including authors of vocabularies, cataloguing rules and bibliographic records) and readers.

Abstract: Introduction.This paper looks at the issue of inadequate and omitted citations in manuscripts by collecting the experiential opinions of researchers from the dual perspectives of manuscript reviewers and authors. Method. An online survey was conducted with participation from 207 respondents who had experience of reviewing and authoring research papers. Analysis. The collected data were analysed quantitatively. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed. Results. Reviewer and author groups opined that manuscript authors fail to cite seminal and topically-similar papers, while the reviewer group indicated that authors include too few papers and cite irrelevant papers. The lack of experience was perceived as a major reason for inadequate and omitted citations, followed by lack of overall research experience and working in interdisciplinary research projects. Authors needed external assistance in finding papers for a literature review. Google Scholar was the most used system among the list of information sources. Conclusions. The findings may benefit subsequent studies conducted to solve the issue of inadequate and omitted citations through process improvements and technological interventions. The findings helped in identifying three tasks for a literature review and manuscript writing assistive system. The usage preferences on information sources helped in shortlisting Google Scholar's userinterface as a basis for the user-interface design for the assistive system.

Abstract: Introduction. Health information-seeking and sharing online has become immensely intertwined with day-to-day information-seeking of US immigrants with health concerns. Despite the consist recognition of unique health needs among different US immigrant communities, little is known about the distinctive patterns and extent of health information behaviour of Korean Americans, who are one of the most rapidly growing Asian immigrant populations in the USA. Method. The study uses online discussion forums whose participants are Korean Americans living in the USA. A mixed methodology of both content and semantic network analyses was used for data analysis. Results. It was revealed that forum participants discuss two dominant topics: breast cancer tests and treatment. Although breast cancer tests was the central topic, the emphasis was on diagnosis rather than prevention. Additionally, the data indicates that participants derive psychological or emotional support from breast cancer information-seeking and sharing. Moreover, concerns stemming from insurance and financial difficulties are the biggest causes of distress for those affected by breast cancer. Conclusions. The findings from this study demonstrate the complexity of health information-seeking behaviour and the subsequent vast spectrum of concerns. Online health information behaviour involving breast cancer is often copnnected not only with medical practices but also with social, financial and psychological challenges as well.

Abstract: Introduction. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for building a consumer health ontology using social tags. This would assist health users when they are accessing health information and increase the number of documents relevant to their needs. Methods. In order to extract concepts from social tags, this study conducted an empirical study on terms collected from a social networking site. The semantics of tags were analyzed and a concept list was developed by using the middle-out strategy. Analysis. This study analysed the semantic values of tags by employing Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). This is a method for extracting and representing the contextual-usage meaning of words by analyzing relationships between documents and the terms they contain and word semantics. Results. The process of building an ontology using social tags shows how using this consumer health ontology could improve user access and retrieval. It demonstrates how terms extracted from tags are related to each other with similarity and relationships within hierarches in the ontology. Conclusion. The study has implications for better design of ontology applications that support the search for healthrelated resources. This will enhance the communication between health consumers and professionals.

Abstract: Introduction. This study examines ways in which college students perceive the credibility and usefulness of health information on Facebook, depending on topic sensitivity, information source and demographic factors. Method. With self-selection sampling, data were collected from two universities through an online survey; 351 responses were used for analysis. Analysis. The data were analysed using analysis of variance and t-tests. Results. Overall, college students tend to consider health information with low sensitivity levels as significantly more credible and useful than health information with high sensitivity levels on Facebook. Regardless of topic sensitivity, college students tend to consider professional information sources as more credible and useful than non-professional information sources on Facebook. However, among non-professional information sources, they prefer an experienced person over family when it comes to serious health issues. Female students tend to trust highly sensitive health information more than male students. Students living in campus residence halls are less likely to consider health information on Facebook as credible or useful. The more students are educated, the more credible or useful they consider professional information sources. Conclusions. This study demonstrates critical factors influencing students' perceptions of health information on a social networking site and provides implications for healthcare marketers and health educators.

Abstract: Introduction We report an investigation on collaboration practices in research papers published in the most prestigious English-medium astrophysics journals Method We propose an evaluation method based on three numerical indicators to study and compare, in absolute terms, three different types of collaboration (international, national and local) and authors' mobility on the basis of co-authorship AnalysisWe analysed 300 randomly selected research papers in three different time periods and used the student's t-test to determine whether the paired two-sample differences observed were statistically significant or not Results International collaboration is more common than national and local collaboration International, national and local authors' mobility and intra-national collaboration do not seriously affect the indicators of the principal levels of collaboration International collaboration and authors' mobility are more relevant for authors publishing in European journals, whereas national and intra-national collaboration and national mobility are more important for authors publishing in US journals Conclusions We explain the observed differences and patterns in terms of the specific scope of each journal and the socio-economic and political situation in both geographic contexts (Europe and the USA) Our study provides a global picture of collaboration practices in astrophysics and its possible application to many other sciences and fields would undoubtedly help bring into focus the really big issues for overall research management and policy

Abstract: Introduction. In the big data age, we have to deal with a tremendous amount of information, which can be collected from various types of sources. For information search systems such as Web search engines or online digital libraries, the collection of documents becomes larger and larger. For some queries, an information search system needs to retrieve a large number of documents. On the other hand, very often people are only willing to visit no more than a few top-ranked documents. Therefore, how to develop an information search system with desirable efficiency and effectiveness is a research problem. Method. In this paper, we focus on the data fusion approach to information search, in which each component search model contributes a result and all the results are combined by a fusion algorithm. Through empirical study, we are able to find a feasible combination method that balances effectiveness and efficiency in the context of data fusion. Analysis. It is a multi-optimisation problem that aims to balance effectiveness and efficiency. To support this, we need to understand how these two factors affect each other and to what extent. Results. Using some groups of historical runs from TREC to carry out the experiment, we find that using much less information (e.g., less than 10% of the documents in the experiment), good efficiency is achievable with marginal loss on effectiveness. Conclusions. We consider that the findings from our experiment are informative and this can be used as a guideline for providing more efficient search service in the big data environment.

Abstract: Introduction. The analysis of detailed interaction records is fundamental to development of user-centred systems. Researchers seeking such data must recruit volunteers willing to allow tracking of their interactions. This study examines privacy and trust attitudes in the intent to volunteer for research requiring installation of tracking software. Method. A quasi-experimental survey was used to determine how privacy and trust attitudes and the intent to volunteer differ depending on whether tracking software is installed on one’s own computer or a university lab computer. Analysis. Data from 110 valid responses were analysed using SPSS. Responses were compared between three levels of intent to volunteer (open, closed, unsure) and installation requirements. Results. Comparing those who decided on installation in the lab to those who decided on installation on their own computers, the acceptability of data tracking differed significantly and differences in the intent to volunteer approached significance. Attitudes on technology, information privacy, trust and research participation differed only with the intent to volunteer. Conclusion. Few people are likely to be open to volunteering when required to install data-tracking software on their own computers. Addressing privacy concerns and conditions of trust requires understanding the dependencies between these factors through further research with broader populations.

Abstract: Introduction. Studies have indicated that users' text highlighting behaviour can be further manipulated to improve the relevance of retrieved results. This article reports on a study that examined users’ text highlight frequency, length and users' copy-paste actions. Method. A binary voting mechanism was employed to determine the weights for the feedback, which were then used to re-rank the original search results. A search engine prototype was built using the Communications of the ACM test collection, with the well-known BM25 acting as the baseline model. Analysis. The proposed enhanced model’s performance was evaluated using the mean average precisions and F-score metrics, and results were compared at the top 5, 10 and 15. Additionally, comparisons were also made based on the number of terms used in a query, that is single, double and triple terms. Results. The findings show that the enhanced model significantly outperformed BM25, and the rest of the models at all document levels. To be specific, the enhanced model showed significant improvements over the frequency model. Additionally, retrieval relevance was found to be the best when the query length is two. Conclusions. Users’ post-click behaviour may serve as a significant indicator of their interests, and thus can be used to improve the relevance of the retrieved results. Future studies could look into further extending this model by including other post-click behaviour such as printing or saving.