Shifra Baruchson-Arbib

Information quality assessment of community generated content: A user study of Wikipedia

This study examines the ways in which information consumers evaluate the quality of content in a collaborative-writing environment, in this case Wikipedia. Sixty-four users were asked to assess the quality of five articles from the Hebrew Wikipedia, to indicate the highest- and lowest-quality article of the five and explain their choices. Participants viewed both the article page, and the article’s history page, so that their decision was based both on the article’s current content and on its development. The analysis shows that the attributes that most frequently assisted the users in deciding about the quality of the items were not unique to Wikipedia: attributes such as amount of information, satisfaction with content and external links were mentioned frequently, as with other information quality studies on the web. The findings also support the claim that quality is a subjective concept which depends on the user’s unique point of view. Attributes such as number of edits and number of unique editors received two contradictory meanings – both few edits/editors and many edits/editors were mentioned as attributes of high-quality articles.

A view to the future of the library and information science profession: A Delphi study

A Delphi study conducted in Israel during 1998-2000 examined the views of library and information science (LIS) experts on the future of the profession in light of the changes in information technology. The study focused on three areas: (a) the transition from the traditional to the virtual library; (b) the transition from the technical to user-centered approach, and( c) the skills and the roles of the LIS professionals. The study found that most experts believe that the traditional library will continue to operate along with the virtual library. Most of the experts agree that in the future, libraries will place larger emphasis on customer services. LIS professionals will be specialists in locating, filtering, and evaluating information, and will be primary instructors in the use of new information technologies. This studys conclusions closely match those of the Kaliper project (1998-2000), which examined the change in the curricula of LIS schools.

The application of cost–benefit and least effort theories in studies of information seeking behavior of humanities scholars: the case of Jewish studies scholars in Israel

The study investigated the process of information channel selection of Jewish studies scholars in Israel according to two theoretical frameworks, the cost—benefit ratio that focused on the quality of the information provided by the channel and the least effort principle that focused on the accessibility of the channel. The study sought to identify which of the two parameters, quality of information or accessibility of the channel, was the decisive one when selecting an information channel. In order to further understand the underlying principle behind scholars choice of information channels participants were asked about the obstacles they face when searching for information. Four obstacles were stipulated in the structured questionnaire: (1) cost; (2) distance, when the item can only be found at a distant location; (3) unfriendly interface; and (4) time that it takes to get hold of a copy of the desired item. Findings showed that, in general, participants information channel use was not affected by the obstacles encountered in the information seeking process and that the quality of the information was the decisive factor in choosing an information channel.

Popularity and findability through log analysis of search terms and queries: the case of a multilingual public service website

SHIL on the Web is the website of the Israeli Citizens Advice Bureau. It provides information about rights, social benefits, government and public services and civil obligations. Activity on the site approaches 10,000 pages visited per day. It has interfaces in four languages: Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and English. Logfile analysis of the SHIL website revealed to our surprise that about 60.7% of the requests reaching SHIL from external sites (excluding requests from robots) are from general search engines (e.g. Google and MSN), and users reach a specific page on the site linked from the search results page. This finding seems to indicate that the site is not known well enough to the public. On the other hand the site is very active, thus it seems to serve Israeli citizens well, even without being a well known brand. In this paper we analyzed the external requests coming from search engines. The analysis is based on the 266,295 queries from search engines that reached SHIL during March—October 2005. Studying queries submitted to search engines is a novel technique for analyzing the access patterns to the site and provides a better understanding of the user needs and intentions than analyzing the distribution of the visited pages only. We are not aware of any previous study that analyzed the relation between the query submitted to the search engine and the webpage the user clicked on the search results page. Since search engines provide snippets, when the user clicks on a specific page he already has some information on what is to be found on the page and the user makes a conscious decision to click on the specific result. Thus, this type of analysis provides additional information about the users actual information needs.

A study of Israeli library and information science students' perceptions of their profession

As the librarians traditional roles undergo significant changes reflecting the transition from the world of print to the digital world, we focus on Israeli LIS students responses to these changes. Our study examined the attitudes and perceptions of 180 Israeli students regarding the relationship between librarianship and information science as professions, the roles of librarians and information scientists, potential places of employment for librarians and information scientists, comparative status and prestige of librarians and information scientists and finally, students own individual career preferences. Although most students believed that both professions are related, they attributed higher status and prestige to information science. Information science was also perceived as more highly associated with computer technologies. In general, students aspired to be information scientists. As future representatives of their professions in both private and public work settings, their attitudes and preferences will undoubtedly affect the nature of the profession. The present study is significant in a period of transition as schools of librarianship and information science modify their curricula and cope with the technological innovations impacting the traditional nature of librarianship.

Curriculum for "Social Information Science"--Evaluation and Application.

Cet article evalue le succes dune nouvelle specialisation dans la bibliotheconomie, Sciences de linformation sociale qui a ete appliquee a lUniversite Bar-Ilan, en Israel. Cette discipline developpee par lauteur, vise le developpement du role social de la bibliotheque et la creation des bases de linformation sociale ainsi que dune profession nouvelle, dun professionnel de linformation sociale. Larticle analyse une enquete menee aupres des etudiants, qui a demontre que le sujet les interesse, 20-25% dentre eux ont choisi detudier linformation sociale. Mais dans la pratique seulement 15 % appliquent les nouveaux acquis dans le travail. Etant donne que la profession de linformation sociale nexiste pas en Israel, ces chiffres temoignent du debut de linteret pour ce sujet important.

An exploratory study of Israeli start-up entrepreneur usage of the internet

Internet usage and its evaluation as a source of information, compared to traditional information sources, were examined among 92 entrepreneurs of Israeli start-ups. Entrepreneurs independent versus mediated use in internet searches was also examined. Ninety percent of the entrepreneurs in this study described the internet as an important tool, while 71% believed that they were skilled in the use of the internet, despite the fact that they primarily used basic internet services including access of a repertoire of websites and search engines. Findings of the study indicate that the internet plays a significant role in entrepreneurs search activities, compared to traditional sources of information. Thus, the study findings reflect a change in entrepreneurial search practices and a shift toward a use of the internet. Entrepreneurs who perceived themselves as highly skilled in internet searches, tended to perform independent searches rather than rely on mediators. The convenience, accessibility and anonymity of the internet, as well as the wealth of available informative data at no cost, contributed to this pattern of findings. Additionally, the internet contains diverse information which meets the needs of entrepreneurs, especially in the venture conception phase. Entrepreneurs in this stage have minimal cash resources and, according to Kirzners theory of ‘alertness,’ tend to seek out all possible information rather than conduct more focused searches.

Community Information Needs of the Urban Population in Israel

The community information needs of the urban Israeli population were studied using a telephone survey of 304 residents of a medium-sized city in central Israel and interviews with community officials in the citys social system. The purpose of the study was to identify the information needs of the urban community and its preferences, in order to establish the first formal public librarys information centre in Israel. Approximately 60% of the problems cited by the subjects are concentrated in five categories: neighbourhood matters; studies; transportation; government matters; and entertainment, leisure and recreation. In most of the categories the percentage of local topics exceeds the percentage of general topics (i.e. topics not necessarily related to the community where the subjects live). Of all the problems (1,067) raised by the subjects, the percentage consulting dedicated information sources was 41.2%, and the percentage consulting general information sources was 29.6%. The findings of the survey show that the subjects clearly prefer information channels that offer personal contact (e.g. by telephone or face-to-face meeting with professionals). In contrast to the findings of many other studies, informal personal contacts (e.g. family members, friends) was ranked last place. In the interviews, community officials admitted that they receive numerous requests for information or assistance in solving problems on a wide range of topics that are not in their sphere of activity. The analysis of the data from both methods indicated a lack of sufficient and accessible information sources and underscored the importance of public libraries as major community information centres. Following the results of this study, the first official community information centre in Israel is currently being established by the librarians at the public library in the city where the data were collected.

Volunteers acting as information providers to citizens

Purpose – Citizens Advice Bureau (SHIL in Hebrew) is an information and referral service dedicated to serving the needs of citizens by providing easy access to information about citizenship rights and obligations. Many people turn to the offices of SHIL either for help or to volunteer as advisors. This study seeks to examine the information seeking behavior of SHIL volunteers supplying information services to citizens.Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical foundations of the study are based on two existing models of information searching related to everyday life problems, Fosters non‐linear model of information seeking behavior and Batess berry‐picking approach. This research employs a qualitative method. A total of 35 advisors in different SHIL branches were interviewed and the content of the interviews was analyzed, mapped and organized into categories by using concepts and terms revealed in the data.Findings – Findings show that volunteers at SHIL search information in a way that integrates th...

The contribution of “information science” to the social and ethical challenges of the information age

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce readers to the social and ethnical dimensions of information science.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a literature survey on the concept of information science and its history. It describes the different developments involved in the development of information science as a research field. It present various definitions and domains of the field that represent different stages of information science evolution.Findings – This paper presents an updated image of information science as a research field that takes into consideration a user centered approach and social and ethical issues that are involved in the information processes.Originality/value – The paper describes the contribution of information science to social and ethical aspects of the information age such as: individual empowerment, education toward information awareness, information needs, the problem of decision making, manipulation of search result on the web and the role of the i...