You are invited to the Master’s Defence of Ms Margaretha Alice Nel (Department of Information Science).
Title: Information needs, information seeking behaviour and information use behaviour of researchers at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria and how these needs are being met by the information support delivered by the Jotello F Soga Library
Candidate: Ms Margaretha Alice Nel
Supervisor: Prof Ina Fourie
Date: Wednesday, 29 July 2015
Time: 14:00
Venue: IT Building 4-64 (Tswelopele)
Summary:
This study explored the information needs, information seeking behaviour and information use behaviour of veterinary researchers and how these needs are being met by the library.
Researchers and information specialists at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, were used as a case study. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected by means of questionnaires, focus group interviews and a citation analysis. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data.
The study found that the information needs of researchers are influenced by the research environment. Although many of the information needs are addressed by current library services, a number of potential areas of improvement were identified. These include technical support with accessing online collections, support with systematic literature reviews and publishing, improved collection building practices and dedicated library spaces for researchers.
Findings revealed a considerable gap between researchers’ expectations from information specialists and their own perceptions of roles to fulfil. As researchers are often not aware of the information organising skills and expertise of information specialists, it is recommended that information specialists need to raise awareness of this. The study contributes to the limited literature on the information behaviour of veterinary researchers and libraries supporting their needs.
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