by Barbara J. Hampton
in partial fulfillment of the requirements of ILS 537-70
under the supervision of Dr. Mary Brown
at Southern Connecticut State University,
November 2003
Jump to Cooperative ISB SurveyFull Data Analysis
Cooperative Survey
Report of Descriptive Data and Respondent Comments
Gifted and Talented Advocates Subset
(Datasets 151-175, 431, and 432)
The following observations and descriptions pertain to responses which I received to the collaborative survey distributed as part of the work for ILS 537-70, Information Seeking Behavior. These notes are intended to call attention to some aspects of this study which warrant further exploration. Analysis of the full data sets regarding aspects of this study is contained in a separate paper, Choosing an Information Guide: Are Information Preferences Affected by Job Status? Other aspects of this study were reported by other members of the class on personal websites.
I distributed printed surveys to adults attending the 10th Annual New England Conference on Gifted and Talented Education, held this year in Nashua, NH. Attendees are primarily educators and parents of gifted children, as well as administrators, researchers, and other advocates. Respondents, some of whom were personally known to me, were assured that individual surveys contained no identifying data and all data would be reported anonymously to reduce the likelihood that responses would be distorted by embarrassment concerning inexperienced or unsophisticated information seeking or by a desire to avoid negative responses concerning my chosen profession.
Survey instruments were reproduced on plain white paper from the master copy distributed by Dr. Mary Brown without changes in the typesize, formatting, etc. I distributed 40 surveys; 27 were completed and returned. The combined datasets collected by class members of ILS 537-70, Information Seeking Behavior, were compiled by Dr. Brown. Responses are as reported with the exception of minor correction of typographical errors.
Observations and Discussion Concerning Characteristics of This Subset of Respondents
Inasmuch as my subset was drawn from a group which is disproportionately female, professional, and more highly educated, it is not surprising that the subset paralleled that demographic distribution: 85 per cent female, 81 per cent professional, and 82 per cent with Master's Degrees or higher. 71 per cent identified themselves as 46 years or older. All were from the Northeast, and 52 per cent lived in suburban towns.
Other distributions of note in this subset can be found in Item 6, where 59 per cent reported use of library computers, and Items 7 & 7a, where 85 per cent reported that they had used a librarian's services and were satisfied therewith. In Item 8, library visits were seeking specific books (37 per cent) or specific topics (33 per cent). Their preferred personal information source was the Internet (41 per cent), with 30 per cent preferring books, and 22 per cent preferring people.
For this subset, the preferred method for learning about finding information (Item 14) was fairly evenly divided between classes (30 per cent), online tutorials (26 per cent), and figuring it out while searching (22 per cent). A similar-sized group (26 per cent) did not want help or planning. Compared to the data reported across Cooperative ISB Survey, these adults seem more amenable to bibliographic instruction than the general population, where the most common response was that "I find the information I need without help or planning."
Questions for Further Research
Adults, especially professional educators and parents, are important role models for children developing information skills for a lifetime. These skills are particularly important for gifted and talented students, who typically use independent study and research intensively as key to acceleration and expansion of curriculum content. Often, these students have developed extensive computer skills and familiarity with the Internet, and this can easily intimidate their mentors, who honed research skills with traditional library materials. Nonetheless, gifted and talented students are often naive about the completeness and accuracy of materials on the Internet and will need skills with traditional library materials to pursue high-level study. Thus, while these adults who work with gifted and talented students seem more willing to receive formal training in the use of library resources, the number remains a minority. Since none of the alternative bibliographic instruction methods named in the survey was the choice of more than 30 per cent of the respondents, additional research should be directed towards identifying the reasons these users do not choose any learning methods and identifying other options for enhancing information skills among this group.
Comments and Supplemental Responses
Many respondents included comments and supplemental responses to the survey items. Per instruction of Dr. Mary Brown, those instances where two selections were made when one was expected were given dual codes, e.g., "BI" where both "book" and "internet were selected. Where more than two such selections were made, these were coded "O" for Other.
Comments submitted by respondents are noted below according to survey item number, with respondent number following the corresponding comment in square brackets.
Item
1 (First Source):
"only one!" noted after question; [162]
"depends on the info I need" noted after question; [174]
Item
2 (Personal Contact):
"assumes I do -" noted after question; [162]
"for full info, Q&A" noted after Talk selection, "only
for speed" noted after "e-mail selection; [168]
"depends on the person and the need" noted after question; [174]
Item 3 (Internet Target):
"why is this offset?" added to "No search" selection;
[174]
Item 4 (Internet Success):
"(not always!)" with "often" double-underlined; [154]
"what if it's 50-50? or 25-25-25-25" noted after question; [162]
Item 5 (Search Engine):
"Vivisimo" noted in "Other" selection; [157]
"< why is this offset?" noted after Google selection; [162]
"what if it depends on the type of info?" noted after question;
[162]
"Metacrawler" noted in "Other" selection; [167]
"Should be alphabetized - this favors Google" added after question;
[174]
Item 5a (Search Engine
Rationale):
"have had good results; perhaps just habit" noted with "Other"
selection; [154]
"it groups results by category" noted with "Other" selection;
[157]
"often updated, less ranking by $" noted with "Other"
selection; [162]
"I like the word Google" noted with "Other" selection;
[169]
"Could be combinations - actually I favor Google because of its wide
scope" noted after question; [174]
"It's fast and accurate with advanced search options I like" noted
with "Other" selection; [175]
Item 5b (Search Revision):
"Depends on the situation" noted after question; [174]
Item 5c (Search Tools):
"Often advanced search is Boolean" added after question [174]
Item 6 (Library Computer
Use):
"Note: I am responsible for the implementation and support of these services
at school" noted below question; [175]
Item 6a (Library Computer
Resources Used):
"librarian" noted alongside "World Wide Web" selection;
[169]
Item 6b (Library Computer
Problems):
"no problems" noted without selecting response; [169]
Item 7b (Information
Needed):
"for my daughter's school research project" added to "Other"
selection; [151]
"Inter-library loan" added after "Other" selection; [162]
"why is this offset?" added to "Someone else" selection;
[174]
Item 8 (Library Visit
Purpose):
"only one?!" added after question; [162]
"& a topic!!" added after "book" selection [162]
"& browse" added after "topic" selection [162]
"encyclopedias" added after "Other" selection; [163]
Item 9 (Personal Info
Preference):
"Depends on the info" added after question; [ 174]
Item 9a (Personal
Preference Rationale):
"I like the interpersonal contact and can explain what I need. I can
discuss the information with someone" added to "Other" selection;
[151]
"Depends on type of information needed" noted after question; [153]
"that is what I am used to! (& I love books)" added to "Other"
selection [153]
"Depending upon nature of the question" noted after selections "people"
and "books"; [154"
"contains the most info" added after "Other" selection;
[158]
"friendly, like people!" added after "Other" selection;
[162]
"I like to read the whole thing" added after "Other" selection
[164]
"I have a better collection in the field than any library in my state"
added after "Other" selection [165]
"familiar" added after "Other" selection; [171]
Item 10 (Multilingual
Librarians):
"depending on the library" added after selections; [165]
"who would disagree with these" and "What does this Q have
to do with research" added after question; "prob not necessary"
added after ASL selection; [174]
"For a large well-funded library these are practical questions, However
for a library with only one or two staff members, as in our town, these are
not practical (though perhaps desirable.) added after selections; [175]
"it would be nice if feasible (budget-wise); my community has Albanian,
& mainland Chinese speakers" added after question [432]
Item 11 (Use Proxy
Searcher):
"rarely" added below "Never" selection with word "never"
struck out; [163]
"I am comfortable letting others search for me when they are more knowledgeable
in the area than I." added after question; [175]
Item 12 (Satisfaction
With Advice):
"confusing wording" added after question with no selections made;
[161]
Item 13 (Proxy Searcher
For):
"Friend - concerns that they seek my professional advice" added
to "Other" selection; [153]
"my entire office or institution" " added to "Other"
selection; [156]
"friend" added to "Other" selection; [161]
"a friend" added to "Other" selection; [162]
"peers" added to "Other" selection; [163]
"clients/students" added to "Other" selection; [165]
"parents" added to "Other" selection; [173]
"students" added to "Other" selection; [431]
"other children" added to "Other" selection; [432]
Item 13a (Proxy Searching
Preferred Resource):
"my personal notes" added to "Other" selection; [162]
"encyclopedias" added to "Other" selection; [163]
"Depends on the data needed" added to "Other" selection;
[174]
"Whichever source seems most appropriate to the question" added
to "Other" selection; [175]
Item 13b (Proxy Searching
Preference Rationale):
"It is the best place to start and provides discussion and interpersonal
contact" added to "Other" selection; [151]
"access to info not otherwise available in my household from people &
books" added to "Other" selection; [154]
"most amt. of info" " added to "Other" selection;
[158]
"variety of resources + points of view in one place" added to "Other"
selection; [161]
"contains the information they are seeking" added to "Other"
selection; [165]
"It makes the most sense" added to "Other" selection;
[175]
Item 15 (Entertainment
Preference):
"Depends on the medium and circumstances" added to "Both"
category; [174]
Item 15a (Prefer Entertaining/Educational
Activity):
"learn/feel/experience/learn about myself/think!" added after "Yes"
selection; [162]
"over what? Boring activities? yes." added after questions; [174]
Item 15b (Learn Information
Best with Entertainment):
"yes - but not entertaining in a cutsy [sic] way - just not dull &
boring" added after "Yes" selection; [156]
"No" selection altered to read "Not necessarily"; [175]
Item 17 (Status):
"teacher, EMT, elected municipal official, small business person, mother"
added after "Professional" selections; [154]
Item 18 (Enrollment):
"online course" added after "Recent" selection; [154]
Item 19 (Degrees):
"6th year certificate" added after selections (coded as Masters);
[157]
"2 masters" added after "Masters" selection; [172]
Item 22 (Community):
"inner city" added after "Urban" selection; [157]
[Back to Analysis and Discussion]
Item 16 (Gender):
· 4/27 = Male (15 per cent);
· 23/27 = Female (85 per cent)
Item 17 (Status):
· 3/27 = Student (11 per cent);
o 0/27 =Traditional Student (0 per cent);
o 3/27 = Returning Student (11 per cent);
· 22/27 = Professional (81 per cent);
o 14/27 = Professional - Education (52 per cent);
o 2/27 = Professional - Health Care (7 per cent);
o 0/27 = Professional - Law (0 per cent);
o 6/27 = Professional - Other (22 per cent);
· 0/27 = Clerical (0 per cent);
· 2/27 = Not Employed (7 per cent);
Item 18 (Enrollment):
· 6/67 = Current (22 per cent);
· 4/27 = Recent (15 per cent);
· 17/27 = Not Enrolled (63 per cent);
Item 19 (Degrees):
· 5/27 = Bachelors or Associates (19 per cent);
· 17/27 = Masters (63 per cent);
· 5/27 = Doctorate (19 per cent);
Item 20 (Age):
· 1/27 = 18-25 (4 per cent);
· 0/27 = 26-35 (0 per cent);
· 7/27 = 36-45 (26 per cent);
· 17/27 = 46-55 (63 per cent);
· 1/27 = 56-65 (4 per cent);
· 1/27 = 65+ (4 per cent)
Item 21 (Region):
· 27/27 = Northeast (100 per cent)
Item 22 (Community):
· 3/27 = Urban (11 per cent);
· 14/27 = Suburban (52 per cent);
· 6/27 = Rural (22 per cent);
· 2/27 = Other (7 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
[Return to Analysis and Discussion]
Subset Response Data and Information Seeking Behaviors
Item 1 (First Source):
· 8/27 = Ask another person (30 per cent);
· 13/27 = Internet (48 per cent);
· 6/27 = Book (22 per cent);
Item 2 (Personal Contact):
· 18/27 = Talk in person (67 per cent);
· 9/27 = E-mail (33 per cent);
Item 3 (Internet Target):
· 2/27 = Website (7 per cent);
· 25/27 = Topic (93 per cent);
· 0/27 = Browse (0 per cent);
· 0/27 = Not used (0 per cent);
Item 4 (Internet Success):
· 9/27 = Quick & Exact (33 per cent);
· 15/27 = Some searching (56 per cent);
· 2/27 = Not what needed (7 per cent);
· 1/27 = Quit (4 per cent);
Item 5 (Search Engine):
· 20/27 = Google (74 per cent);
· 0/27 = AllTheWeb (0 per cent);
· 2/27 = Yahoo (7 per cent);
· 1/27 = MSN Search (4 per cent);
· 2/27 = AOL Search (7 per cent);
· 1/27 = AskJeeves (4 per cent);
· 0/27 = HotBot (0 per cent);
· 0/27 = Lycos (0 per cent);
· 2/27 = Other (7 per cent);
Item 5a (Search Engine
Rationale):
· 18/27 = Fast (67 per cent);
· 6/27 = Accurate (22 per cent);
· 2/27 = Familiar (7 per cent);
· 6/27 = Homepage (22 per cent);
· 5/27 = Other (19 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
Item 5b (Search Revision):
· 13/27 = Change terms (48 per cent);
· 10/27 = Add terms (37 per cent);
· 3/27 = Different engine (11 per cent);
· 0/27 = Nothing there (0 per cent);
· 0/27 = Other (0 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
Item 5c (Search Tools):
· 6/27 = Help screens (22 per cent);
· 17/27 = Advanced searching (63 per cent);
· 7/27 = Boolean searching (26 per cent);
· 3/27 = No response (11 per cent);
Item 6 (Library Computer Use):
· 16/27 = Used (59 per cent);
· 10/27 = Not used (37 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
[Return to Analysis and Discussion]
Item 6a (Library Computer
Resources Used):
· 14/27 = Library catalogue (52 per cent);
· 9/27 = Periodical databases (33 per cent);
· 9/27 = World wide web (33 per cent);
· 9/27 = Online encyclopedia (33 per cent);
· 11/27 = Other reference databases (41 per cent);
· 10/27 = No response (37 per cent);
Item 6b (Library Computer
Problems):
· 0/27 = No know-how (0 per cent);
· 5/27 = Not user-friendly (19 per cent);
· 1/27 = Needed information not available (4 per cent);
· 7/27 = Computers often in use (26 per cent);
· 10/27 = No response (37 per cent);
Item
7 (Librarian Use):
· 23/27 = yes (85 per cent);
· 1/27 = no (4 per cent);
· 3/27 = no response (11 per cent);
Item 7a (Librarian
Helpful):
· 23/27 = yes (85 per cent);
· 0/27 = no (0 per cent);
· 4/27 = no response (15 per cent);
Item 7b (Information
Needed):
· 14/27 = Academic/work related (52 per cent);
· 5/27 = Personal interest (19 per cent);
· 1/27 = For someone else (4 per cent);
· 4/27 = Other (15 per cent);
· 4/27 = No response (15 per cent);
[Return to Analysis and Discussion]
Item
8 (Library Visit Purpose):
· 10/27 = Specific book or item (37 per cent);
· 9/27 = Specific topic (33 per cent);
· 7/27 = Browse (26 per cent);
· 0/27 = Program (0 per cent);
· 2/27 = Bringing someone else (11 per cent);
· 1/27 = No visits (4 per cent);
Item 9 (Personal Info
Preference):
· 6/27 = People (22 per cent);
· 8/27 = Books (30 per cent);
· 0/27 = Magazines/journals (0 per cent);
· 11/27 = Internet (41 per cent);
· 1/27 = Libraries (4 per cent);
· 1/27 = Other (4 per cent);
Item 9a (Personal
Preference Rationale):
· 8/27 = Easy access (30 per cent);
· 1/27 = Easily understood (4 per cent);
· 3/27 = Reliable (11 per cent);
· 8/27 = Confidence (30 per cent);
· 8/27 = Other (30 per cent);
Item 10 (Multilingual
Librarians):
· 17/27 = Foreign language staff (63 per cent);
· 18/27 = Non-English programs (67 per cent);
· 15/27 = ASL signers (56 per cent);
Item 11 (Use Proxy
Searcher):
· 15/27 = For school or work (56 per cent);
· 7/27 = For personal interests (26 per cent);
· 6/27 = For someone else (22 per cent);
· 8/27 = Not comfortable (30 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
Item 12 (Satisfaction
With Advice):
Domain Expert
· 16/27 = Satisfied (59 per cent);
· 12/27 = Pursue additional resources (44 per cent);
· 0/27 = Not likely to consult (0 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
Family
· 8/27 = Satisfied (30 per cent);
· 15/27 = Pursue additional resources (56 per cent);
· 3/27 = Not likely to consult (15 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (11 per cent);
Friend
· 8/27 = Satisfied (30 per cent);
· 17/27 = Pursue additional resources (63 per cent);
· 1/27 = Not likely to consult (4 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
Work Associate
· 7/27 = Satisfied (26 per cent);
· 19/27 = Pursue additional resources (70 per cent);
· 0/27 = Not likely to consult (0 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
Acquaintance
· 2/27 = Satisfied (7 per cent);
· 16/27 = Pursue additional resources (59 per cent);
· 8/27 = Not likely to consult (30 per cent);
· 1/27 = No response (4 per cent);
Item 13 (Proxy Searcher
For):
· 12/27 = My child (44 per cent);
· 5/27 = My spouse or partner (19 per cent);
· 4/27 = My parent (15 per cent);
· 13/27 = Coworker (48 per cent);
· 4/27 = My boss (15 per cent);
· 8/27 = Other (30 per cent);
Item 13a (Proxy Searching
Preferred Resource):
· 5/27 = People (19 per cent);
· 14/27 = Books (52 per cent);
· 0/27 = Magazines/journals (0 per cent);
· 11/27 = Internet (41 per cent);
· 1/27 = Libraries (4 per cent);
· 1/27 = Other (4 per cent);
Item 13b (Proxy Searching
Preference Rationale):
· 14/27 = Easy access (52 per cent);
· 0/27 = Easily understood (0 per cent);
· 2/27 = Reliable (7 per cent);
· 7/27 = Confidence (26 per cent);
· 6/27 = Other (22 per cent);
Item
14 (Learning Preferences):
· 8/27 = Classes & workshops (30 per cent);
· 7/27 = Online tutorials (26 per cent);
· 6/27 = Figure out while searching (22 per cent);
· 7/27 = No help (26 per cent);
[Return to Analysis and Discussion]
Item 15 (Entertainment
Preference):
· 3/27 = Educational (11 per cent);
· 1/27 = Relaxing (4 per cent);
· 22/27 = Both (81 per cent);
Item 15a (Prefer Entertaining/Educational
Activity):
· 24/27 = Yes (89 per cent);
· 3/27 = No (11 per cent);
Item 15b (Learn Information
Best with Entertainment):
· 20/27 = Yes (74 per cent);
· 7/27 = No (26 per cent);
[Return to Analysis and Discussion]
Question? Problems? Suggestions? Please contact page owner, Barbara J. Hampton.
Last revised 10 November 2003.