ERIC Number: EJ1082041
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Oct
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1368-1613
EISSN: N/A
Talking about the Problem: A Content Analysis of Pre-Search Interviews
Wilson, T. D.
Information Research: An International Electronic Journal, v10 n1 Oct 2004
The pilot study reported here applies content analysis techniques to twenty interviews carried out in preparation for mediated searches as part of the "Uncertainty in Information Seeking" project. The tools used in the analysis (Atlas.ti and TEXTStat) are described and their contribution assessed. TEXTStat, a free program, was used to produce frequency counts of the words used in the interview and to examine the context of those words. Atlas.ti was used to assign codes to the interview transcripts and to model the relationships among these codes. The mode of analysis of the cases is qualitative and interpretative and the results reveal the complexity of the information problems, the variety of motivations for undertaking a mediated search, the difficulties of expressing the search concepts, and the relationship between the need for a search and previous information seeking behaviour.
Descriptors: Interviews, Content Analysis, Information Seeking, Statistical Analysis, Problems, Motivation, Reference Services, Researchers, Foreign Countries, Universities
Thomas D. Wilson. 9 Broomfield Road, Broomhill, Sheffield, S10 2SE, UK. Web site: http://informationr.net/ir
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Sheffield)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A