Information behaviour Sample Clauses

Information behaviour. A clear understanding of users‟ likely information needs and behaviour, and the tasks they engage in is critical in developing systems that support good information access and interaction (▇▇▇▇▇, 1996). One premise of user-centred design is that users of information systems have differing profiles, tasks and behaviours, and it is therefore unsurprising that there is a growing body of literature reporting on studies that have attempted to understand information users in different domains and subject disciplines. Added to this are the issues of changing patterns of information behaviour prompted by an increasing dependence on digital information resources, as well as new types of behaviour afforded by use of technologies and new sources of information previously unavailable in the analogue information environment (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2006). Our interest for the PATHS project is primarily in those few studies relating specifically to expert and non-expert information users in the cultural heritage domain. We supplement these studies on scholarly information behaviour in the arts and humanities disciplines, where cultural heritage collections are often used as primary sources of information. Studies on the information seeking needs of cultural heritage experts (▇▇▇▇ et al, 2008) and on the information seeking behaviour of non-experts in the heritage domain (▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2008) provide both insights useful for exploring the context of the PATHS project, and also for the consideration of approaches to collecting data on information behaviour in this environment, the latter being used to inform the PATHS user requirements methods and instrument design. Other studies consider information seeking behaviour in specific collections and/or sub-domains (for example, Inskip et al, 2006; ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2006; ▇▇▇▇ & Terras, 2011), and ▇▇▇▇▇ (2008) looks at the specific role and use of web sites as an adjunct to museum visiting. Key considerations across this area of research are:  Definition of user characteristics (e.g. demographics, experience, subject knowledge...)  Goals and objectives of information users  Tasks in which users are engaged (e.g. fact-finding, collecting materials on a subject...)  Sources of information used  Behavioural traits (e.g. searching, browsing, exploring, saving, annotating...)  Information-seeking processes  User preferences and satisfaction with aspects of the system, the results of their information-seeking, and the nature of the content  Cha...