ERIC Number: EJ1120489
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1361-4533
EISSN: N/A
How Do They Research? An Ethnographic Study of Final Year Undergraduate Research Behavior in an Irish University
Dunne, Siobhán
New Review of Academic Librarianship, v22 n4 p410-429 2016
The objectives of this study were to identify how, when, and where students research; the impact of learning environments on research productivity, and to recommend improved supports to facilitate research. An ethnographic approach that entailed following five students in the final six weeks of their program enabled deep level analysis. The study examined the practice of undergraduate research inside and outside the library walls and found that the research process can be influenced by a number of factors including age, experience, work commitments, family, peer, academic, and library support. Mobile research is continuing to grow among undergraduate students, particularly those juggling family and work commitments. The research suggests a correlation between intercultural issues such as ethnicity and language with library anxiety. Until they had immersed themselves in the research process, most of the students in this study believed that research was a linear process.
Descriptors: Ethnography, Student Research, Student Behavior, Student Attitudes, Educational Environment, Productivity, Interviews, Diaries, Time Management, Space Utilization, Social Support Groups, Social Media, Cognitive Style, Research Design, Research Methodology, Research Skills, Foreign Countries, Undergraduate Students, Mixed Methods Research, Case Studies, Participant Observation
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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: Ireland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A