Stamp of the library
Date:
ANONYMOUS QUESTIONNAIRE � INFORMATION BEHAVIOR
The aim of this questionnaire is to gather data about the information behavior of users in academic and research libraries. The data will be used in resolving the research project VEGA at the Department of Library and Information Science of Faculty of Philosophy, Comenius University, Bratislava. Circle the options or write in your text in the basic part. In further sections mark the extent of your identification with statements, or write in your text.
Explanation of concepts:
Information retrieval: seeking, acquiring, and reading information
Information problem: perceived lack of information connected with resolution of an intellectual task (student work, project, research task, etc.)
Information: professional and scientific information used for resolution of an information problem
Relevance: topical relatedness, suitability of information for use
Electronic resources: in this questionnaire especially those electronic resources (documents) available via internet, i.e. not on carriers (CD-ROM, etc.)
I. Part. Basic Data
1. sex: a) woman b) man
2. age: a) less than 18,�� b) 18-25,�� c) 25-30,�� d) 30-40,� ��e) 40-50,�� f) more than 50
3. foreign languages:� ENG�� GER�� FRE�� RUS�� SPA�� ITA� HUN� POL�� Other:
(at the level of understanding the technical text)
4. user category:
a) student (university, secondary school)��� b) teacher��� c) research worker��� d) manager
e) other category: state the profession: ______________
5. scientific field/ discipline:
a) social sciences (e.g. philosophy, law, philology)�� b) sciences and medicine�� c) technical disciplines
d) economic disciplines� e) arts�� f) other: state the field: _____________________
II. Part. Questionnaire (Sections A, B, C, D, E)
Section A
Mark the extent of your identification with the following statements on the scale 1-5 based on your relationship to information seeking and information use.
1- almost always
2 - often
3 - sometimes
4 - seldom
5 � almost never
A1. In information seeking I am willing to spend maximum amount of time (as much as 8 hours/day).
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A2. I am willing to pay for relevant information.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A3. In acquiring information I make use of informal resources of information as well (family, media, friends).
1 -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A4. I plan my strategy of seeking in catalogs, databases, and internet in advance .
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A5. In information seeking I prefer good accessibility of documents.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A6. In information seeking I put an emphasis on well-arranged and attractive form of information (e.g. on internet)
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A7. In information seeking I prefer well-known, renowned scientific documents. (familiar authors, well-known and refereed periodicals).
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A8. In information seeking I prefer organization of information by broader categories or scientific disciplines.
1 -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A9.� In information seeking I am interested especially in new ideas, so far not known for me.
�1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A10. Contradictory opinions in documents are incentives for further seeking for me.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
A11. In relevance judgements I select just those information which I can use immediately.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
SECTION B
On the scale of options mark the one which corresponds with your current behavior in the course of information seeking and information use.
1- almost always
2 - often
3 - sometimes
4 - seldom
5 � almost never
B1. In resolving information problems I make use of more than one library.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B2. In information retrieval I use the help of� a librarian / reference worker / researcher.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B3. The first resource in information retrieval for me is the internet (search engine, subject gateway).
1 -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B4. The first resource in information retrieval is for me the library catalog (online, card, on internet).
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B5. The first resources in acquiring information are for me reference works, dictionaries, and encyclopaedia.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B6. While resolving an information problem I prefer an individual, independent work.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B7. The more information I get, the more I get interested in the information problem or topic.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B8. In solving the information problem I am supported by collaboration with colleague/s.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B9. Professional periodicals (printed or electronic) are for me the most relevant resources in information retrieval.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B10. In the course of information acquisition to information problem my understanding and statement of the problem evolve.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B11. In information retrieval I make use of indexes and bibliographies in publications.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
B12. Mark the three feelings which you most often experience in the course of information retrieval:
�������� a) trust,� b) disappointment,� c) frustration d) easiness,� e) certainty,� f) confusion,
�������� g) doubts,� h) optimism,� i) satisfaction,� j) uncertainty,� k) other feeling (state which)___________
Section C
Based on the information used in the past (e.g. resolved information problem, compiled theses, projects) describe your experience by selecting a choice from the scale added to a particular statements, or write in your text.
C1. Information which I have acquired at the beginning of seeking, have confirmed what I have already known about the problem.
����� a) yes-to a large extent,� b) yes-partly,� c) to a certain extent� d) in principle no, e) not at all
C2. Information seeking has taken me up more time than I assumed.
������ a) yes-to a large extent,� b) yes-partly,� c) to a certain extent� d) in principle no, e) not at all
C3. Evaluate your individual organization of work in solving an information problem (compiling a thesis or project).
a) excellent organization of work,� b) problems with the organization of work,� c) I have not used all possibilities,�
d) weak organization of work, e) other ___________________
C4. �In solving my information problems the following document types have helped me (max.3):
������ a) articles in professional periodicals,� b) encyclopaedia c) monographs,� d) dictionaries,
������ e) theses,� f) research reports� g) search engines on internet,
������� h) other___________________________________
C5. State the criteria you have used in judging relevance of documents searched and used in solution of your information problem:
����� a) title,� b) author(s),� c) annotations,� d) keywords,� e) contents� f) titles of chapters,
����� g) structure of text,� h) indexes,� i) introductory sentences,� j) paragraphs,� k) conclusions,� l) citations,
����� m) recommended resource� n) good name of the resource� o) other criteria (state which)
����� _____________________________________________________________
C6. State, if you have used steps back to previous stages in the course of information retrieval and in the introductory reading� of documents� (several choices):
������ a) return to selection of additional systems, services, resources,�� b) return to the problem definition
������ c) return to definition of retrieval terms,�� d) I have repeated retrieval more times,
������ e) I did not have to return to additional resources ��f) other_____________________________
C7. Mark those feelings (max.3) which you have upon the completion of solving your information
������ problem:
������ a) satisfaction,� b) relief� c) uncertainty,� d) worries from evaluation,� e) excitement,
������ f) unsatisfaction,� g) curiosity,� h) other___________________________________
Section D
D.1. You have access to internet:
a) at home��� b) at work��� c) at the library��� d) other.....................................�� e) I have no access to internet
D.2. Do you use electronic resources in your research / study work?
a) yes, often���� b) seldom���� c) no, I do not use
Questions D.3 - D.8 should be answered only by those who do use electronic resources
D.3. Do you use paid electronic resources as well?
a) No, I use only resources available free of charge
b) Yes - the access is provided by library or other institution.
c) Yes - I pay for the access to some resources myself.
D.4. Which types of professional information resources on internet do you use most often? (several alternatives can be marked)
a) individual (personal) webpages,
b) electronic journals,
c) webpages of professional organizations and associations,
d) webpages of conferences and congresses,
e) mailing lists (via e-mail),
f) electronic conferences (newsgroups),
g) other ..................................................................
D.5. Do you prefer using electronic resources to traditional (printed) ones?
a) No.���� b) Yes.
D.6. Which features of electronic resources do you consider to be the most important for the efficiency of your work?
a) quick retrievability
b) up-to-datedness - quick publishing of data, research results...
c) availability free of charge
d) full-text searching
e) links to other resources
f) environmental friendliness (saving paper...)
g) multimediality
h) other...............................................
D.7. Which features of traditional (printed) resources do you consider to be the most important for the efficiency of your work?
a) seriousness � publisher�s / journal�s prestige...
b) reliability of published information
c) stability/durability of the document
d) simple mode of use (no special technology needed, can be used any time...)
e) other .....................................................
D.8. How do you look for relevant information resources on internet?
a) via on-line library catalogues
b) via portals
c) via web search-engines
Section E
E.1. As an author, do you consider electronic (network) publishing and traditional publishing to be of equal value?
a) yes���� b) no���� c) I do not know
E.1.1. Why do you consider /do not consider them equal? State the principal reason:
................................................................................................................................
E.2. In the following questions, express your attitude toward the stated claims on a scale 1 - 5 (circle):
1 � absolutely agree, 2 � agree, 3 � do not know, 4 � disagree, 5 � absolutely disagree
E.2.1. There is no difference in quality between a document published electronically and a document published in print.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
E.2.2. The application of principles of (peer-)reviewing in electronic publishing assures the quality the same way as it does in non-electronic publishing.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
E.2.3. There is a problem of securing long-term availability of documents (archiving) in electronic publishing.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
E.2.4. Publishing via non-electronic means (print) is at present more trustworthy than electronic publishing.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
E.2.5. The possibility of changing documents already published electronically on the web represents a serious threat in the area of academic/scientific publishing.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
E.2.6. When publishing a document electronically, publisher�s or journal�s prestige is equally important as in a printed publication.
1� -� 2� -� 3� -� 4� -� 5
E.3. Do you have a webpage (personal/institutional) where you can publish the outputs of your work?
a) Yes, I have a personal page���� b) Yes, we have an institutional page���� c) No
E.4. Have you ever published, or would you publish any results of your research in an electronic conference or mailing list (without publishing it in print)?
a) Yes, I published���� b) Yes, I would publish���� c) No, I would not publish
E.5. Have you ever published, or would you publish any results of your research on a webpage (without publishing it in print)?
a) Yes, I published���� b) Yes, I would publish���� c) No, I would not publish
E.6. Have you ever published, or would you publish any results of your research in an electronic-only journal (without publishing it in print)?
a) Yes, I published���� b) Yes, I would publish���� c) No, I would not publish
E.7. Which factors do you take into account when selecting publishing medium (electronic vs. traditional):
a) Suitability of the medium for scholarly communication
b) Economic evaluation (royalties)
c) More publishing possibilities
d) Problems with securing primacy and copyright
e) Criteria of scholarly evaluation in the academic environment
f) Prestige (editorial reviewing)
g) General perception of the medium "value"
h) Low production costs
i) Range of readers community
j) Relevance of readers community
k) Speed of publishing
l) Other................................................................................
Thank you for your co-operation!