Running head: INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER

Interview with an Information Seeker Megan Cline Emporia State University School of Library and Information Science October 25, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER Interview with an Information Seeker The information seeker I chose to interview was Constance, a senior at a prominent

northern Missouri college who is majoring in religion and philosophy with the intent of teaching at a private high school. When I interviewed her, she had recently done research for her Old Testament class. During the course of the class, students are to be working on an ongoing research paper, on a topic of their choosing. Constance and her classmates had chosen the topic, from a list provided by the professor, at the beginning of the semester. According to their syllabus, they were to submit an outline along with an annotated bibliography at mid-term. While Constance knew this was an ongoing project, she did not realize the deadline for her outline was quickly approaching, as it was only in the printed syllabus. The decision to satisfy the need was based on the fact that it was due the day she started her research. She could have chosen to ignore it with little or no consequence because of the professors leniency with deadlines. However, she did not want it to be a source of constant worry, so she decided to complete the assignment hours before the deadline. Constance had previously chosen for her topic the history and use of the Psalms. The reason she chose the Psalms was simply because she liked them and found them interesting, (personal communication, October, 22, 2010) but also because they were less complicated and argumentative than other Biblical subjects. According to Constance, Im a pacifist when it comes to papers. I want to be informative, not persuasive (personal communication, October, 22, 2010). Before beginning her research, Constance felt like she had a fair grasp of the topic, but had very little experience with the types of research this type of paper required.

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER From previous experience, Constance knew the professor required more historical sources rather than theological ones, and this knowledge influenced her research. Obviously, time was also a factor for her, due to her only having a few hours before her deadline, so she

relied primarily on resources she could access from her dorm room. First, she used the Bible she had on hand, as well as her textbooks for the class. The textbooks provided a valuable jumping off point for her because many of their articles provided their own bibliography. Utilizing these, she was able to do more extensive research based on these articles, and felt confident that they were sources the professor valued as they arose from the required text. Constance did attempt to use the campus librarys website, but since most of the sources were microfilms from the 1800s, she knew that they would be out-dated and theological in tone, and of little use for her paper. Due to the nature of her topic, the titles she found during her search often had generic titles which made it difficult to distinguish between good and bad resources, with many of the books about Psalms being devotional books with no relevance to her paper. Based on class discussion, she knew that most American authors were not considered good sources, as were any books that were explicitly Christian, as the professor wanted a historical analysis. According to Constance, the professor recommended she focus on German scholars, as they tended to provide a more historical and critical analysis of the Bible. Ultimately the searches performed on the librarys website proved fruitless for they types of works she desired, and so she turned to other means of research such as MOBIUS and GoogleBooks. The medium of the information was a factor for Constance. She knew the required length of paper and her professors preferences, so she could not use any journal articles, websites, magazines, or online databases. She felt these would have only provided a bit or piece of information, (personal communication, October, 22, 2010) she was seeking. Further problems

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER arose due to the fact that the information needed to be from an informative or historical viewpoint, and the vast majority of journal articles on this topic have strong or argumentative

viewpoints. According to Constance, Websites on the Psalms are varied and unreliable, if there are any (personal communication, October, 22, 2010). Also, the work had to be scholarly, and she felt websites or blogs often lacked any academic rigor. Eventually, the needed sources were found; if not physically, then in broader strokes online. The rationale behind Constances research methods stemmed from two sources: deadline constraints and professors requirements. Due to the short amount of time available, she wanted to use local sources. While, she found most of her resources through MOBIUS, she did find one from an alternative source, GoogleBooks. Even though she was not able to preview the book in its entirety, she was able to view the table of contents, and based on its structure, Constance was able to determine that it would be highly valuable. The topic of Psalms offers a wide range of opinions, but Constance narrowed her search to meet her professors perspective. According to her, My professor wants something in the middle of maximalist perspective and a minimalist perspective: literal versus allegorical (personal communication, October, 22, 2010). Constance went on to explain that maximalists believe everything in the Bible is true, while minimalists believe everything is fabricated. Because Constance did all her research from her dorm room, she relied on her confidence in her computer skills which allowed her to navigate her way around a computer, the internet, the Truman library catalog, and MOBIUS (personal communication, October, 22, 2010). Although Constance identified herself as a visual learner and adept at memorization, she relied on her research skills rather than her learning style to guide her. Constance said, I spend a lot of time in the library, but mainly for recreational use, not just research papers (personal

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER communication, October, 22, 2010). She went on to say she uses also uses MOBIUS for entertainment purposes, but the skills learned through play have transferred to her academic research. Despite Constance saying her developmental level is somewhere between that of a 10year-old boy in the early 90s and an adolescent girl in the 80s, (personal communication, October, 22, 2010), she did receive a 32 on her ACT and a full ride to her current University. Her aforementioned developmental level will explain her MOBIUS searches. Her use of the database to search for Gen Y nostalgia items such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, The Babysitters Club, and Transformers have helped her to develop useful research skills. For example, when searching for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Constance initially found only a few related books, but by breaking down the topic into different keywords, she was able to greatly expand her search. She also discovered that MOBIUS is dependent upon how specific libraries enter their books, with a lack of standardization in cataloging making some book series difficult to find. For example, while Constance was searching for certain titles in The

Babysitters Club by Ann Martian, she was able to find some titles by their number in the series, i.e. The Babysitters Club #3. However, some entries could only be located by the specific title, i.e. The Truth About Stacey, even though they were the same book. While Constance knew the series and the author, she would often have to consult outside resources to find the specific title. Finally, Constance learned how to sort vast amounts of information by searching for Transformers. She wanted to search for information on Transformers, the 1980s cartoon, but most of the hits brought up information on appliances or electrical work. Constance said this taught her to scan her results with a discerning eye, as [she] had to look through a lot because

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER most are hits you cant use, but there might be a choose your own adventure book in the mix, so I had to be very thorough (personal communication, October, 22, 2010). When the time came to actually write the outline and bibliography, Constance reviewed

her textbook, and formatted her outline based on the format of the chapters within her book. For her bibliography, she made up each citation, gave a summary of each source, and then highlighted how it would be used in the paper. She then expressed any concerns with the source and how she would address them. Even with the brief amount of time available to her, she was pleased with her choice of resources. Her main worry was that she was unable to use Anchor Bible Dictionary, which is a standard reference highly recommended by her professor. Even though she was under a short deadline, Constance felt she made efficient use of time. She said that, Writing the annotations and citations went smoothly, but the outline was sloppy, due to most of my time spent finding good sources (personal communication, October, 22, 2010). Constance initial reaction to her assignment was anger, because she felt the professor had not discussed it adequately during class. Students had picked their topics, but the syllabus was their only reminder that the assignment was due. According to Constance, this class already had featured massive amounts of homework, making the addition of this assignment feel overwhelming. She also felt rushed and nervous that she would not be able to complete the work on time. However, once she began researching, a direction for the paper developed, and she felt more confident. She does still have to utilize her chosen works and is worried that her sources may have too much information to cull into coherence. Constance said, Im afraid I have either too much or too little information to digest and it will affect my paper (personal communication, October, 22, 2010). She also is concerned she relied too heavily on her textbooks, which may not provide enough variety for her professor.

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER Constance experienced a few disappointments in her research. For example, she was very unsatisfied with the universitys library website, which was not user friendly. The broad search engine found too many sources without being able to effectively narrow her choices. Constance knew she needed to be more specific in her searching, but was at a loss for key terms to use because they had not been covered by her professor. She ultimately had to find other resources, primarily electronic ones. My interviewee was very similar to the students discussed by Carol Collier Kuhlthau in chapter 3 of Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services, (2004) . Because of this, I modeled my interview questions after those featured in similar case studies (2004, p. 34). According to Kuhlthau, the interviews allowed subjects to explain their actions and elaborate on perceptions and predications that lie behind the action (2004, p. 34). Unlike the high school students in the case studies, Constance was very reflective during her research. Even though time was an obstacle, she was still able to weed out some of her resources. She did not simply use the first few resources she found about Psalms, but rather she quickly analyzed each source based on prior knowledge.

Also according to Kuhlthau, Anxiety may be an integral part of the information seeking process (2004, p. 7). However, Constances anxiety did not stem solely from uncertainty of her topic but rather her time constraint and the standards set by her professor. Kuhlthau also points out some anxieties are caused by a lack of familiarity with sources and technology (2004, p. 7). While Constance felt confident with the technology she was using, she did experience some uneasiness when choosing her sources, struggling throughout her research with selecting books that would be the most relevant. Case states, The main problem facing an objective operationalization of relevance is the contextual nature of human judgment (2007, p. 94).

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER Constances primary relevancy issues were due to the keyword Psalm including devotional books, which is technically relevant to the keyword search, but not for her specific topic. Based on my interview with her, Constance seems a fairly standard information seeker. She started with a need, stated her problem, sought to fill her need, and in the end, her information needs were satisfied. Constance faced barriers that all information seekers face, such as anxiety and trepidation about unfamiliar topics. Although Constance had a unique way of using MOBIUS for recreational purposes, she was able to successfully transfer those skills to her academic research. Several parts of Constance interview resonated for me, for instance, I

was unaware that MOBIUS entries were library specific. Requiring MOBIUS to have a standard entry form would no doubt help many information seekers, enabling them to search by series number, title, or author would eliminate the need to consult outside sources. The problems Constance faced when searching her university library website made me question how many other students face the same issues. While Constance admittedly waited until the last minute to start her research, if this is an assignment the professor requires every semester, then the library should have more current resources. Her anxiety during the research process has also made me consider what steps a librarian might take to make the process less fearsome. Megan Oakleaf and Amy VanScoy outline some suggestions along these lines in their article, Instructional Strategies for Digital Reference Methods to Facilitate Student Learning. According to the authors, librarians should . . . respond to students in the context of a community of learners by fostering a climate of collaborationexplaining that others wrestle with the same issues (2010, p. 384). Being part of a community of learners would help many information seekers cope with the barriers and anxieties that are associated with research. By

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER collaborating and sharing their ideas, information seekers will have a more positive and satisfactory research process.

INTERVIEW WITH AN INFORMATION SEEKER References Case, D. O. (2007). Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behavior. 2nd ed. Wagon Lane, Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services. 2nd ed. Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited.

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Oakleaf, M., & Vanscoy, A. (2010). Instructional Strategies for Digital Reference: Methods to Facilitate Student Learning. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 49(4), 380-90.

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