Jannica Heinström

Fast surfing, broad scanning and deep diving: The influence of personality and study approach on students' information‐seeking behavior

Purpose – To explore information behavior from a psychological perspective by relating information seeking to personality traits and study approaches.Design/methodology/approach – The research design was quantitative and consisted of statistical analysis of three questionnaires, i.e. the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory measuring personality, the ASSIST test measuring approaches to studying, and a questionnaire regarding information behavior. A total of 305 university students who were in the process of writing a Masters thesis responded to the questionnaires.Findings – Three information‐seeking patterns – fast surfing, broad scanning and deep diving – emerged from the statistical analyses. Fast surfing could be related to a surface study approach and emotionality, as well as to low openness to experience and low conscientiousness. Broad scanning was linked to extraversion, openness, and competitiveness, whereas deep diving was a search pattern typical of analytical students with a deep and strategic study appr...

Monitoring or avoiding health information – the relation to inner inclination and health status

BACKGROUND The way a person responds to health information, for instance by actively seeking it out or avoiding it, is an important part of overall coping with health issues. This study starts from the assumption that there are individual differences in information behaviour in charged contexts such as when faced with the stress and anxiety of compromised health. OBJECTIVE To shed light on mechanisms through which personal characteristics (locus of control) and world views (sense of coherence) influence health information interest and health information seeking in relation to health status. METHOD The methods used in this study are quantitative. The material consists of data procured via a postal survey, which was posted to a representative sample group consisting of 2500 Finnish citizens aged 18-65 years. The statistical analysis consists of F-tests for means, frequency analyses and cross tab-analyses (chi-square and Goodman-Kruskal gamma). RESULTS Persons with perceived health problems are comparatively more characterised by external locus of control and by lower motivation to act on health issues. CONCLUSION More research is needed before these complex relationships are fully understood. However, the results of this study show that internal locus of control entails high interest in, and low avoidance of, health information.

The Teacher's Role as Facilitator of Collaborative Learning in Information Literacy Assignments

Group work assignments are commonly used in information literacy instruction in secondary schools in Finland. In this study, we analyze in detail how the design and implementation of group assignments affect students’ learning experiences. Data were collected in two upper secondary school classes where the students wrote a Wikipedia or wiki article in groups of three to five members. In the literature class, students reported stronger learning experiences, while in the history class, the students reported fewer and weaker learning experiences. The findings suggest that particular activities designed by the literature teacher brought students’ attention to relevant areas of learning. Her more active interventions to support the progress of student groups at different stages of the project also seemed to affect the learning experiences of students.

Spanning information behaviour across the stages of a learning task : Where do personality and approach to studying matter?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of personality (intellectual curiosity, conscientiousness and negative emotionality) and approach to studying (deep, strategic and surface) on students’ learning-related information behaviour in inquiry tasks. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 219 senior high school students with the use of three questionnaires. Findings – The findings showed that students’ individual traits influenced different aspects of their learning-related information behaviour from information need to information use. Research limitations/implications – The results were based on survey data. Reliability issues with the scales are discussed. In future research qualitative data would enrich the understanding of the phenomena. Practical implications – The results are informative for teachers and librarians who guide students in inquiry tasks. Originality/value – The study spanned learning-related information behaviour across the whole inquiry process: from...

Research perspectives on serendipity and information encountering

Serendipitous discovery has been a research topic for more than one hundred years, but only recently has it been the focus of attention in library and information science (LIS). In 1960, Bernier published the first article on serendipity in a LIS journal. The number of publications gradually grew until 1990s, after which the field experienced a significant interest by the LIS researchers. Currently, LIS researchers are studying serendipity and information encountering from different perspectives, ranging from analyzing various conceptual frameworks to conducting bibliometric studies and investigating factors that trigger and affect the phenomenon. The panel of experts will discuss the issues and challenges of conducting research in this new field of study in LIS.

Students' collaborative inquiry - Relation to approaches to studying and instructional intervention

In order to develop suitable pedagogical methods for inquiry based learning we need an increased understanding of factors that influence students’ work in inquiry assignments. The aim of this study was to investigate how high school students’ ways to work in a collaborative source-based writing assignment was influenced by their individual approach to studying and the teacher’s instructions and guidance in the class. The respondents were 53 high school students who filled out a questionnaire regarding their work on the source based assignment and the OPPI test of their approaches to studying. A factor analysis revealed three work patterns: a collaborative, a labour intense and a subject oriented. The results showed that the collaborative pattern was related to instructional differences, while a subject oriented work pattern was typical for students with a deep approach regardless of instruction. Instructional differences and study approaches also influenced degree of challenges in the project and, to a certain extent, learning experiences. The findings show a complex interplay between personal preferences and instructional interventions in forming students’ paths through source based writing assignments.

Information practices meet lifelogging technologies: towards a successful multimethod research framework

Information Practice research emphasises on contextual factors such as the situation, social roles, collaborators, or communications of information behaviour. This wider scope allows us to gain enriched, deeper, and complex understanding of how people interact with information in various contexts. However, this also poses researchers many challenges in data collection and analyses, since conventional methods such as observations, interviews, surveys might not either possible or complete. Meanwhile, a range of wearable devices have become commodity and collecting a large amount of personal lifelog data has become much easier than before. On the other hand, the researchers who are familiar with qualitative methods and computational methods do not often communicate, although they are likely to have common research agenda.

How Do Students’ Social Identities and Study Approaches Play Out in Collaborative Source-Based Writing Assignments?

This study investigated how students’ social identity and approach to studying influence their general attitude towards group work and their way of working in a particular collaborative source-based writing assignment. The respondents were 53 upper secondary school students who filled out a survey about their social identity, approach to studying, general group work attitude and ways to work on an assignment. The findings showed that students’ social identity (popular, lonely, leader, follower) and their approach to studying (deep, surface, strategic) played out both in their general group work attitude and their work in the collaborative source-based writing assignment, but not always in a matching way. The findings underline the importance of acknowledging students’ positioning towards both social and learning dynamics in collaborative work.

The Role of Sense of Coherence in Knowledge Sharing.

Knowledge sharing is a key competence in a work context. In this study we address knowledge sharing from an individual difference perspective, exploring whether an employee’s sense of coherence influences knowledge sharing. Additionally, we investigate whether dedication to diversified learning mediates the relationship between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and knowledge sharing. A survey was conducted in a multinational organization. We received 403 responses. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The results show that SOC significantly influences the respondents’ self-perceived knowledge sharing activities. However, the relationship is partially mediated by dedication to diversified learning. Results suggest that an employee’s knowledge sharing partly arise from personal characteristics. How much is shared in actuality, however, depends on motivation and contextual factors.

After access: an inquiry into ICT use factors for Indian women

Nations have made great strides in providing physical access to digital technologies and educational opportunities, yet barriers still exist that prevent those who have strong physical and intellectual access to information and communication technology from taking full advantage of the information and opportunities the technology offers. Women in particular are affected by social barriers which may be quite subtle and are easily excluded from taking an active role in the information society. This study explores how Indian women incorporate information and communication technology (ICT) into their daily lives and what aids or barriers they face in the process. This study contributes to an understanding of factors that lead to Indian womens current use of ICT, reasons why Indian women choose to use ICT, and barriers to this usage.