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EDITOR'S SUMMARY ASIS&T's Special Interest Group/Information Needs, Seeking and Use (SIG/USE) met during the 2014 Annual Meeting for the group's 14th Annual Research Symposium, focusing on Context in Information Behavior Research. Keynote speaker J. David Johnson set the tone as he encouraged research into the context of information activities outside the usual settings and using varied theoretical perspectives and tools. Attendees also heard 14 lightning talks exploring conceptual and methodological issues. Speakers considered time and emotion as dominant contextual influences in information behavior, the role of information overload and ways diverse contexts affect seeking and providing information. Discussion of research methods encouraged a mixed-method approach and analytic bracketing and illuminated how study participants create their own information context. During the world cafe session, tablemates discussed how information context is constructed and evolves, research gaps and available methodologies. The symposium ended with presentation of awards for outstanding research, best paper and poster and for travel to pursue studies. Gary Marchionini was recognized for his outstanding contributions to information behavior research throughout his career.

How to obtain valuable knowledge more effectively from historical cases and satisfy the requirements of supporting diagnosis or management decision making is one of the important and challenging issues in the research field of modern historical information management and intelligent decision-making science. In this study, we develop a novel case-based reasoning (CBR) method which is based on information entropy and improved gray systems theory for knowledge acquisition of historical diagnosis decision-making cases. Specially, information entropy for weight determination is introduced into the CBR, as well as a gray system theory combined to support the diagnosis decision making of breast cancer. Based on two different real-world data sets, we conduct experimental studies to compare the performance of the Delphi method and information entropy. We also investigate which combination is best among different weight determination methods and retrieval algorithms. The results suggest that: generally, information entropy is a better approach to weight derivation and better matching effect can be obtained if it is integrated into the retrieval algorithm based on gray system theory rather than Euclidean distance algorithm. Our study can provide a novel approach to obtain weight values of cases, as well as an effective tool to mine valuable decision knowledge from historical cases in public hospitals.

The study examines two aspects that relate to undergraduates’ selection and use of information sources for their academic assignments: (1) sources perceived useful vs. sources frequently used, and (2) source characteristics considered important as selection criteria vs. selection criteria used as reflected in characteristics of frequently used sources. A survey of 251 undergraduate students attempted to address the gaps between what students think they should do and what they actually do with regard to source selection. Characteristics of frequently used sources were analyzed to find out the criteria used for source selection. Friends/family were among the frequently used sources although they were not perceived as useful. Unlike other sources suffering gaps between the perceived usefulness and the use behavior. Web sources were the ones not only perceived most useful but also used most frequently. When the important selection criteria were compared with the characteristic of sources used often. students did not seem to actually use the selection criteria they thought important. While students considered some characteristics related to information quality (e.g., accuracy, comprehensiveness) as important criteria for source selection, the actual criteria they applied for choosing information sources could be described as ‘convenient’ or ‘accessible’ (e.g., efficient/time saving, easy to use, familiar, accessible). Based on the findings, suggestions were made to help bridge such gaps through information literacy programs and information systems design.

This study investigated undergraduates’ source selection behaviour: what sources they use frequently, what criteria they consider important for source selection, how they perceive different sources, and whether their source selection behaviour is related to what they know about selection criteria. Semantic differential rating scales and correspondence analyses were used to capture the participants’ perception of source characteristics. Five hundred and seventy-six undergraduate students from a public university participated in the study. The study found discrepancies between what students know and what they do regarding source selection. Spearman’s rank correlation results imply that participants did not apply the criteria they considered important (e.g. accuracy, currency) frequently when selecting sources. Sources perceived to be ‘accessible’ in economical, physical, and psychological senses tended to be used often. Suggestions were made to refine information literacy programmes to support the selection of quality sources.

The study investigated how users' emotion control and search tasks interact and influence the Web search behavior and performance among experienced Web users. Sixty-seven undergraduate students with substantial Web experience participated in the study. Effects of emotion control and tasks were found significant on the search behavior but not on the search performance. The interaction effect between emotion control and tasks on the search behavior was also significant: effects of users' emotion control on the search behavior varied depending on search tasks. Profile analyses of search behaviors identified and contrasted the most commonly occurring profiles of search activities in different search tasks. Suggestions were made to improve information literacy programs, and implications for future research were discussed.

This article provides a review of cataloging and classification publications that appeared in the last two years. The review considers the papers in two categories. Cataloging Theories and Practices covers descriptive cataloging, authority control, classification, subject cataloging, cataloging nonbook materials, electronic resources and metadata, and international cooperation. The second section covers other issues related to cataloging, including management, and education and training. Throughout the review, the author identifies trends and important developments in the area of cataloging and classification.

Users' individual differences and tasks are important factors that influence the use of information systems. Two independent investigations were conducted to study the impact of differences in users' cognition and search tasks on Web search activities and outcomes. Strong task effects were found on search activities and outcomes, whereas interactions between cognitive and task variables were found on search activities only. These results imply that the flexibility of the Web and Web search engines allows different users to complete different search tasks successfully. However, the search techniques used and the efficiency of the searches appear to depend on how well the individual searcher fits with the specific task.

The study described in this article investigated how differences in cognitive style and online search experience influence the search performance and navigational pattern of individuals utilizing a university World Wide Web (WWW) site. Forty-eight undergraduate students with diverse academic backgrounds participated in the study. On the basis of cognitive style and prior experience with online database search, the participants were assigned to 1 of the following groups: (a) field-dependent (FD) with little or no online search experience, (b) FD with substantial online search experience, (c) field-independent (FI) with little or no online search experience, and (d) FI with substantial online search experience. It was found that cognitive style influenced search time, whereas online search experience affected navigational style, such as jumps and layer traversal. Cognitive style and online search experience also interacted to influence search performance and navigational style. FDs with little or no online ...

This study investigates how cognitive style (field dependence vs. field independence), online database search experience (novice vs. experienced searchers), and task type (known-item vs. subject search tasks) influence users’ search behavior on the Web. Forty-eight undergraduate students participated in this study. The participants were divided into four groups according to cognitive style and online database search experience. Each participant searched for information on a university Web site to complete two differing search tasks. The time spent and the number of nodes visited in retrieving information were used to measure users' search performance. The choice of navigation tools was examined to determine users' search and navigational style. It was found that online search experience and cognitive style interacted and influenced search performance, as well as navigational style. Online search experience also interacted with task type to influence navigational style and the number of nodes visited. The article concludes with suggestions for improving Web interfaces and Web-user training programs.

With advances in information technologies, a wide variety of sources and channels have been made available to provide access to information. As different sources offer information with varying qualities, evaluating and selecting quality information sources is crucial and has become a key element in bibliographic instruction and information literacy training. Despite efforts in helping them to select optimal sources, individuals choose to use sources that are not necessarily accurate or reliable. Users often turn to information sources that are not suitable to their tasks. This study aims at understanding the relationship between the perception and selection of information sources. Surveying undergraduate students, this study examines three aspects related to their source selection behavior: (1) perceived characteristics of different sources; (2) source characteristics considered to be important for the source selection; and (3) frequently selected/used sources. The study will help understand how users view sources differently and how such perception is related to the source selection behavior. Based on the study findings, suggestions will be made to improve information literacy programs that can support the selection of the best sources.

Summary Understanding user needs and the ways in which users utilize information systems is important since it can help us in developing and designing more effective and efficient information systems. This paper examines some of the theories that have evolved to explain what kind of mental processes are required for the use of information systems. Research on users of information systems is categorized into two basic groups (system-oriented vs. user-oriented studies), and reviewed. A sample of methodologies used for examining users and their information seeking behavior is then introduced and described. Finally, implications of these theories and methods for librarians and information specialists are discussed.

The number of institutions offering online courses has been growing steadily. According to the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2003), approximately 90% of public four-year institutions and about 50% of private institutions were offering, or planning to offer, distance education programs in 2000–2001. By 2006, 90% of public two- and four-year institutions actually offered distance education courses (NCES, 2006). In response to the increasing interest in and demand for online instruction, various course management systems (CMS) have been developed, including commercial systems, such as Blackboard, Angel and Desire to Learn, and open source systems, such as Moodle and Sakai. The CMSs, defined as software systems specifically designed for teaching and learning, are useful tools for online instruction. They make it easy to organize and deliver content, including lecture materials, and to link the course web site to other related web sites. They also provide tools for communication, learning assessment and activity management (Colaric & Jonassen, 2001; Morgan, 2003).

This study investigates how students’ characteristics and behaviors affect their satisfaction and learning experience within Web–based courses. Eighty–two graduate students taking a Web–based course from a Midwest university participated in the study. Web–based questionnaires were used to collect data on student demographics as well as learning experiences and styles. Findings suggest that students’ interaction with classmates and their instructor may have an impact on their satisfaction with Web–based courses. In addition, students’ gender and their perceived level of course difficulty seem to be correlated with interaction.

In this paper, we present an image compression algorithm that is capable of significantly reducing the vast amount of information contained in multispectral images. The developed algorithm exploits the spectral and spatial correlations found in multispectral images. The scheme encodes the difference between images after contrast/brightness equalization to remove the spectral redundancy, and utilizes a two-dimensional wavelet transform to remove the spatial redundancy. The transformed images are then encoded by Hilbert-curve scanning and run-length-encoding, followed by Huffman coding. We also present the performance of the proposed algorithm with the LANDSAT multispectral scanner data. The loss of information is evaluated by PSNR (peak signal to noise ratio) and classification capability.