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Research Approach Explained
There can
be little dispute that the Information Technology (IT) revolution has
changed the way we attempt to satisfy information needs. Tertiary level
students, who have grown up during the IT revolution, regularly exposed
to popular media culture, easily relate to the idea of someone who
“googlewhacked” or “googled” their problem to find an answer; the terms
are even appearing as words in dictionaries (OneLook Dictionary Search,
Date unknown). In an age where googlewhacking is becoming part of
everyday speech and life, there may be little understanding of a world
where searching for information does not involve a computer. Students
believe searching is easy; they find the search window, type in the
desired topic, click the search button, scan the results list, and
select a few from the first page or two of results. However, this
simplistic perspective may be contributing to a lack of understanding
of the information environment, leaving students in a world of possible
impediments to searching, without an understanding of ways to improve the
process. As teachers, we see the results of their searching in
assignments that have been developed from inferior information resource
citations. We need to know how students learn to search and how they
approach their searching, in order to help them deal with the
information resource environment in a more productive, even a more
professional, manner.
Based on a summary of research findings, and teaching
observations, the research project had a series of broad aims including:
- To determine variation in the ways students approach
information searching when using the Internet and library databases.
- To determine variation in students’ ways of learning to
search for information when using the Internet and library databases.
- To recommend teaching and learning strategies for
curriculum design that are based on managing students’ experiences.
- To determine if there are levels of sophistication in
information searching, or other differences in student information
searching behaviour approaches.
- If levels do exist, to identify any triggers to move from
one level of searching sophistication to another level.
Ethical clearance was obtained from the QUT Ethics Committee.
For research purposes, it was important to make sense of the
students’ understanding of the information searching and retrieval
concepts within their individual educational experience context. That
coupled with a desire to understand and study student approaches to
learning to search, means that this research naturally lent itself to phenomenography and variation theory.
Futher details on the methodology, including data gathering and
analysis, may be found in the citation below, or in any of the research publications to date.
Please Note: This material is Copyright to the author and the publishers. Extract Source: Edwards,
Sylvia L. (2006) Panning for gold: understanding students information searching experiences. In Transforming IT Education: Promoting a Culture of
Excellence. Brisbane: Faculty of Information, QUT.
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