HUMAN INFORMATION INTERACTION
Year:2015 | Volume:2 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:7

Background and Aim: These days, Internet and online databases play a significant role in peoples’ information-seeking behavior, especially for postgraduate students. The kind of behavior seen on the part of those students who get help from online databases to write their theses might be completely different from those who search library sources to get the needed information. This study investigates the information-seeking behavior of postgraduate students of Kharazmi University who are writing their theses.Method: This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Quantitative data were gathered using an information-seeking behavior questionnaire, which was then, analyzed using statistical analysis (T-Test and Friedman-Test). Content analysis and semi-structured interviews were used to analyze qualitative data. The participants were 100 students including 50 male and 50 female students.Results: Results of analyzing the T-Test for male and female groups showed that there is not any significant difference of girls' and boys' information-seeking behavior. Results of analyzing the Friedman-Test however showed difference in average ratings of information-seeking behavior dimensions. With regard to results obtained from this analysis: pre-existing knowledge confirmation, relevancy judgments, bringing up new thoughts, time and effort for searching information contain maximum to minimum rates in a respective manner. Results of the qualitative data also showed that: most of the students’ problems lie in: seeking for and using the collaborative behavior and collaborative searching, difficulty in finding the related information, language limitations, diversity of goals, limitations the forms of the sources, unfamiliarity with the specific sources, lack of information literacy, and spending so much time to search.Conclusion: Findings obtained in this study showed that postgraduate students do not have the skills and knowledge needed for using online data. This also indicates their deficiency and lack of information seeking and information literacy skills. So, recognizing the obstacles on the way of knowing and using these online databases and training students for purposeful searching seem to be essential.

Background and Aim: Personal Information Management (PIM) process consists of four activities; acquisition, organization, maintenance and retrieval. Obviously this process is due to human limitations and expanding scope of personal space of information which has become an exhausting and difficult process. Use of technology and tools related to PIM could facilitate this procedure. This survey study aims to investigate PIM behavior and its four activities among graduate students in the University of Birjand and was performed on the basis of digital environment.Method: Population of this study was all graduate students at the University of Birjand in the 2013-2014 academic year. Self-assessment questionnaire was used to collect information.Results and Conclusion: The results show that the overall PIM and all four activities among graduate students at the University of Birjand were less than estimated desired rate and there were significant differences between PIM in various course studies, also among master's and doctoral students. Computer and laptop was most used tools for storage of personal collection, the most widely used method for organizing based on content and finally the most common method for retrieval of information was based on the explanatory notes.Originality: personal information management filed is a relatively new area of research and yet little research was performed in PIM area in Iran. Meanwhile the studies perform, have less focused on the behavioral aspects of PIM and have been more observing PIM tools and affecting factors.

Background and Aim: This study aimed to identify and Analyzing the structural and outward features and expected activities of a service-extension agricultural website, based on the views of experts in the field of agriculture and related sciences and webmasters and blogs in Iran.Method: The methodological approach was a descriptive and survey study. The statistical population of the study consisted experts in the field of agriculture and related sciences and webmasters and blogs in this area, that 310 of them were selected by stratified random sampling method. Information was gathered through a questionnaire and its face validity was confirmed by expert viewes. Its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α=0/88). Data were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: The factor analysis results showed that views of experts in the field of structural features and outward of a service-extension website led to extraction six factors including user-friendly and interactive, availability and transparency of content, the ability to change according to the needs of the audience, update and authenticity of the content, unique content and comprehensiveness of content. Views of experts in the field of expected activities of a service-extension website led to extraction six factors including Banking facilities and interactive services, providing comprehensive and professional services (content and services), the online marketing and the introduction of rural farmers and provide extension services and information, social networking and provide successful models and dealing with farmers.Conclusion: Use of ICT is one of the effective phenomena in the implementation of roles and extension services which has been led to the emergence of virtual extension. The application of this technology in agricultural extension in addition can meet the increasing demands of stakeholders and has created potentials and new opportunities for enhancing the capacities of outreaches and provide development of agricultural extension in new space.

Background and Aim: This research aims to explore relation between health literacy and information literacy of post- graduate students in Ferdowsi university of Mashhad.Method: This research is descriptive-correlational survey research. Population included postgraduate students of Ferdowsi university of Mashhad that 368 of them were selected via stratified sampling. Two Questionnaires were used for data collection. First one was Health Literacy for Iranian Adults (HELIA) that was a reliable and valid instrument for measuring health literacy in Iran and include the following constructs: ability to read, ability and skills to access, understand, and appraise health information, make decisions, and practice in order to maintain or improve health. The second one was designed by the researchers in order to measure information literacy skills including four dimensions: identifying information needs, locating, organizing, and evaluating information.Results: Finding showed that 25% of students have inadequate health literacy, 38.31% of them have moderate literacy and others have normal high-quality health literacy. Also, their information literacy level is higher than average. Also the results show significant and positive correlation between information literacy and health literacy. Level of health literacy in female students is higher than males and level of this variable in Ph. D. Students is more than Master students. Findings showed that post graduate students search the internet and communicate with friends in order to acquire health information.Conclusion: Since, Impact of Information literacy on information skills from the access to evaluation and use of information. So, Enhancement of information literacy skills in students could improve their health literacy. Accordingly, libraries can increase level of students’health literacy by learning information literacy skills. Some libraries’ programs are noticed in order to enhance level of students’ health literacy and information literacy.

Background and Aim: This study attempted to investigate the information-seeking process of Shahid Chamran University postgraduate students, and how they use various information sources. The research also investigated he role of demographic characteristics in students' information-seeking process, as well as the problems and barriers they encounter in the process.Method: The population of the study consisted of 5000 postgraduate students among whom 298 students were randomly selected through classified ratio sampling method. A researcher-made questionnaire was developed and after measuring its validity and reliability, distributed among the sample in person. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics including Friedman Rank Test and MANOVA were applied.Results: The results show that students were statistically different in some variables. On average, students use the Internet 25.11 hours per week. They also prefer to use electronic, print, and human information sources, respectively, both to meet their information needs and to update their information. Students believe that information and communication technologies have reduced their visits to libraries. Students seek help from librarians primarily to locate books and other documents and to search for information. Students encounter a range of problems and barriers in their information-seeking process; the most important being the scattered information. Females face more problems than males. While students refer to specialists to meet their information needs at the first stage, they refer to their classmates and friends at the first stage to update their information.Conclusion: Despite the effects of new technologies on students’ presence in academic libraries, all types of information resources are still consulted by them. Various purposes for information-seeking determine the information resource being consulted, and students consider their information needs as well as the context in which they seek information, when decide to choose the information resources.

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the article reading behavior of faculty members working for state-run universities.Method: This survey study used an online questionnaire for data collection. The research population consisted of all the faculty members in the fields of Electronic Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physic, Chemistry and Mathematics, Management, Psychology and Social Science. Email addresses of respondents were obtained from their universities’ websites and the invitation emails were sent to them with the link of the online questionnaire.Results: The results showed that respondents used international electronic journals the most and print copy of Persian journals the least. They tried to keep up-to-date with the latest developments of their field. The last article read by 80% of them belonged to 2014 or 1393. In terms of the number of articles read, there was no significant difference between different subjects. There was correlation between the number of article published and the number of articles read by faculty members. Majority of respondents used web searching to find out about the articles.Conclusion: Faculty members were happy with the transition of journals to electronic format. They try to increase their visibility internationally. There are disciplinary differences in reading behavior.

Background and Aim: This paper aims at the analysis of the definitions and categorizations of the realm of “Information Ethics” to criticize assumptions and clarify points of departure for introducing a new definition and categorization.Method: I used documentary research method and conceptual analysis approach. This method and approach is the best fits with the goal of pursuit roots of social concepts and their pre-assumptions. After collecting all literature of the domain of “Information Ethics”, I tried to extract core definitions and categorizations and analyze their assumptions and points of departure. Then, I used the concepts extracted from all definitions and some aspects of the “General theory of Practice” (Pierre Bourdieu) and “Deconstruction” (Jacques Derrida) to introduce new definition and categorization of the domain of “Information Ethics”.Results: Results shows that 20 original definitions have been offered and two main stream point of departure have been adopted, however, some other views such as legal, societal, Islamic, Marxian, Habermasian approaches have been introduced too. I adopted “access” and “position” as original points for categorization and used Derrida’s and Bourdieu’s viewpoints to offer a new sociological definition. I categorized social groups by their valuation on information production and consumption on the basis of Fuches’ viewpoints. Four social groups distinguished as “information consumer”, “prosumer (information producerconsumer)” “information producer” and “information governor”. Freedom of expression, censorship and content conrol and filtering is questions of the individuals that put in to the “position” of “information consumer”. Information security and information piracy is the core questions of information producers and information governors. Eventually, privacy, intellectual property and plagiarism is the questions of information procumers & information producers.Originality/Value: originality of this paper is about its new approach in the definition of “Information Ethics”. By this categorization we can argue about the “access problem” in terms of the “position” of individuals or groups in the production, consumption or governance of information.