1©2002 outsell, inc. the voice of the user: where students and faculty go for information leigh...
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1©2002 Outsell, Inc.
The Voice of the User:Where Students and Faculty Go for Information
Leigh Watson HealyVice President & Chief Analyst
October 2, 2002
Copyright Leigh Watson Healy, 2002. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.
2©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Users
Vertical Portals,Web-based Archives
& Search Engines
Print Publishers, Electronic Publishers & Content Creators
Established Aggregators
DocumentDelivery
Syndicators & Infomediaries
Information Centers Market Intelligence Training & LearningWeb Site Mgrs. Academic & Public Libraries
Indexers, Abstractors, Secondary Publishers
The Current State of the Industry
Employee Portals Extranets Open Web Sites Intranets Corporate Portals Learning Portals
3©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Our View: Making Sense of Nonsense
• Data, information, and analysis of:– 3,000 vendors
– 400+ product evaluations
– Corporate and education markets
– Global 2000 buyers
– Performance benchmarks - four deployment functions
– 23,000 end users
• On-going intelligence and trend tracking
• Advice and experiential knowledge
4©2002 Outsell, Inc.
User Research Needed
• To help libraries and universities plan information services and technologies focused on explicit needs of faculty and students.
• How do faculty and students use information to support research, teaching, and learning functions?
• Where do users prefer to find and use information?• How do they perceive and use libraries as part of their overall
information environment?• What are users’ problems and barriers and unmet needs?
• Project commissioned by the Digital Library Federation, funded by Mellon Foundation, and managed by Outsell.
5©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Methodology
• Over 3,200 in-depth telephone interviews nationwide.
• Users across disciplines and academic career levels– Faculty Members
– Graduate Students
– Undergraduate Students
• Academic institutions– Doctoral and research universities
– Liberal arts colleges
• Interviews conducted November 2001 – January 2002.
6©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Key Findings
• Patterns of use vary significantly both by discipline
and by users’ application of information.– Ex: scientists show very different patterns of using online
indexes, technical reports, and photographs for research as
compared to teaching.
• Use of print books and journals predominates, for now.
• To find information, everyone goes online first.– Next, faculty turn to print before asking for personal assistance.
– Students prefer to ask for help before going to print resources.
• Students’ and faculty research and coursework needs
are met by online information more than half the time.
7©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Key Findings (continued)
• Nearly all users have a high degree of trust in library-deployed information resources.
• The Internet receives high marks as resource for daily information use, but most users don’t trust it without additional verification.
• Top information problems: having enough time, knowing what’s available, and having access to all information from one place.
8©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Academic Work EnvironmentPercentage of Time Spent at Each Location
26%
47%
30%34%
5%
8% 10%
1%
20%
74%
28%
30%
11%
26%
10%7%
8%
5%2% 3%2%
1%3%7%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Total (Base = 1,656)
Faculty (Base = 475)
Graduate (Base = 539)
Undergrad (Base = 642)
Office Residence Physical Library Computer Lab
Science Lab Classroom Other
2%
9©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Information Types UsedFor Research, Teaching, and Learning
Total Research
Total Teaching
Total Learning
Base (1,563)
%
(1,299)
%
(2,304)
%
Print or hardcopy books 97 96 93
Print or hardcopy journals 97 81 81
Online abstracts and indexes 88 60 73
Papers delivered at professional meetings 85 48 41
Online databases, data sets or data sources 82 60 80
Manuscripts and other primary source documents 81 57 64
Print abstracts and indexes 78 38 59
e-journals 75 37 53
Dissertations 71 21 38
Technical reports 58 33 38
News 54 66 64
Magazines 49 55 57
Photographs, prints and other visual resources 49 63 60
Pre-prints 39 22 21
e-books 18 10 20
10©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Information Use Habits & PreferencesWhere Researchers and Students Go For Information
Where Users Find Information For
Research
%
For
Coursework
%
Go Online 88 76
Go to Print Sources 41 25
Ask Someone to Assist 24 31
11©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Information Use Habits & PreferencesWhere Researchers Go Online to Find Print or Hardcopy Books and Journals
8%
2%
11%
14%
15%
15%
27%
23%
5%
6%
11%
13%
18%
23%
27%
14%
Online Abstracting & Indexing Services
Online Bookstore
Internet Searches
Web Directory/Subject Web Site
Own Institution's Web Site
Search Engine
Online Databases
Online Library Catalogs and Finding Aids
Bases: Books, 328; Journals, 379
12©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Information Use Habits & PreferencesWhere Researchers Go Online to Find E-Journals
9%
5%
11%
15%
18%
22%
22%
18%
Other
Online Abstracting & Indexing Services
Internet Searches
Web Directory/Subject Web Site
Online Library Catalog & Finding Aids
Search Engine
Own Institution's Web Site
Online Databases
Base: 246
13©2002 Outsell, Inc.
13%
13%
10%
7%
7%
10%
53%
43%
38%
21%
30%
39%
38%
32%
42%
50%
71%
60%
52%
50%
4%
3%
4%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Law (Base = 18)
Business (Base = 148)
Engineering (Base = 79)
Arts & Humanities (Base = 239)
Social Sciences (Base = 491)
Physical Sciences/Math (Base = 320)
Biological Sciences (Base = 269)
All of the time Most of the timeSome of the time None of the time
Information Use Habits & PreferencesUse of Electronic Resources for Research
14©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Perceptions of Current Information EnvironmentViews of Library and Internet Services
Online Information Needs For Research For
Teaching
For Coursework
Base (1,519)
%
(1,166)
%
(2,214)
%
What percent of online
information that you use is
available from the library?63 59 67
What percent of online
information that you use is
available from the Internet?58 62 63
15©2002 Outsell, Inc.
61%58%
49%
36%
55%
62%
78%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Bio. Sci.(Base = 269)
Phy. Sci./Math
(Base = 320)
Soc. Sci.(Base = 491)
Arts & Hum.(Base = 239)
Engineering(Base = 79)
Business(Base = 148)
Law (Base = 18)
Perceptions of Current Information EnvironmentResearch Information Needs Met Online
Perceptions of Current Information EnvironmentViews of Library and Internet Services
Statements Bio. Sci. Phys.Sci/Math
Soc. Sci. Arts & Hum.
Engin. Bus. Law Undecl.
Base (112) %
(136) %
(237) %
(134) %
(33) %
(100) %
(9) %
(32) %
Library
Info credible sources
99 98 98 98 98 99 98 94
High quality info
98 97 99 98 98 97 100 94
Info I use & cite
94 92 98 95 97 89 98 97
Info I use & trust
89 93 85 88 91 93 90 94
Internet
Info I use & cite
69 81 77 71 81 89 88 100
High quality info
74 77 79 65 76 76 92 97
Info credible sources
70 74 76 70 76 81 83 76
Info I use & trust
40 51 45 37 47 57 59 55
©2002 Outsell, Inc.
17©2002 Outsell, Inc.
Perceptions of Current Information EnvironmentViews of Library and Internet Services
Statements Total Faculty Graduate Student
Undergrad
Base (1,076)
% (296)
% (370)
% (410)
%
Comfortable using my institution’s Web site 95 92 97 95
Comfortable locating and using print information
95 96 94 94
Comfortable retrieving and using information electronically
94 92 95 95
Printed books & journals will continue to be important sources for the next five years
91 96 88 89
Finding more relevant information on Internet than two years ago
87 90 84 88
Campus library meets most of my information needs
86 77 85 93
Browsing stacks or journal shelves in a library is an important way to get information
55 55 51 60
Use the library significantly less than two years ago
35 43 38 26
18©2002 Outsell, Inc.
The State of theAcademic Information User
• Institution type and the functional role of the user drive striking differences information habits and use preferences.
• Students and faculty prefer to work online and remotely, from offices and homes.
• Self-sufficiency is the academic information work paradigm.
• Users trust the library, but the Internet wins for daily information use.
• Print is still preferred format for using content, but users want to find it online.
19©2002 Outsell, Inc.
In Outsell’s OpinionWhat Academic Information Users Want
• Highly relevant information access at point of need.
• Self-serve online environment with high-touch support.
• Access to the library for printed books, manuscripts, primary sources, and other elusive materials.
• Humanists need access to physical collections and are under served in the online environment.
• Engineers and scientists want anytime anywhere access to online information and are finding more needs met on the Internet.
20©2002 Outsell, Inc.
OUTSELL, INC.
www.outsellinc.com
ABOUT OUTSELL Outsell is the only research and advisory firm that focuses exclusively on the Information Content Industry. As an independent advisor, we emphasize close relationships with our clients and deliver high-quality, fact-based research, analysis, and advice about every aspect of content strategy, deployment, and use to a wide range of vendors, buyers, and users of information.
Founded in 1994, Outsell helps world-class content vendors, Global 2000 companies, and leading education institutions increase their understanding of users and end-markets, assess content quality and effectiveness, benchmark operations, hire and retain executives, and develop more successful internal and commercial content products and services. Visit us at our headquarters at 330 Primrose Road, Suite 510, Burlingame, CA 94010. Phone (650) 342-6060, fax (650) 342-7135. Or see our Web site at http://www.outsellinc.com.