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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Discovering Usability : Comparing Two Discovery Systems At One Academic Library, Mireille Djenno, Glenda Insua, Gwen M. Gregory, John Stephen Brantley Sep 2014

Discovering Usability : Comparing Two Discovery Systems At One Academic Library, Mireille Djenno, Glenda Insua, Gwen M. Gregory, John Stephen Brantley

Steve Brantley

In the spring of 2013, the University Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago was in the unique position of having access to two discovery systems, Summon and WorldCat Local, at the same time. When tasked with choosing between the two systems, librarians undertook a usability study of Summon and WorldCat Local. The goal of this study was two-fold: to test the ease-of-use of each discovery system with an eye toward identifying one tool to retain for the longer term, and to learn about the search behaviors of different types of user groups. Eighteen subjects, consisting of undergraduate students, …


Discovering Usability : Comparing Two Discovery Systems At One Academic Library, Mireille Djenno, Glenda Insua, Gwen M. Gregory, John Stephen Brantley Sep 2014

Discovering Usability : Comparing Two Discovery Systems At One Academic Library, Mireille Djenno, Glenda Insua, Gwen M. Gregory, John Stephen Brantley

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

In the spring of 2013, the University Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago was in the unique position of having access to two discovery systems, Summon and WorldCat Local, at the same time. When tasked with choosing between the two systems, librarians undertook a usability study of Summon and WorldCat Local. The goal of this study was two-fold: to test the ease-of-use of each discovery system with an eye toward identifying one tool to retain for the longer term, and to learn about the search behaviors of different types of user groups. Eighteen subjects, consisting of undergraduate students, …


Google Vs. The Library (Part Ii): Student Search Patterns And Behaviors When Using Google And A Federated Search Tool, Helen Georgas Jan 2014

Google Vs. The Library (Part Ii): Student Search Patterns And Behaviors When Using Google And A Federated Search Tool, Helen Georgas

Publications and Research

This study examines the information-seeking behavior of undergraduate students within a research context. Student searches were recorded while the participants used Google and a library (federated) search tool to find sources (one book, two articles, and one other source of their choosing) for a selected topic. The undergraduates in this study believed themselves to be skilled researchers, but their search queries and behaviors did not support this belief. Students did not examine their topics to identify keywords and related terms. They relied heavily on the language presented to them via the list of research topics and performed natural language or …