New Directions in Children’s and Adolescents’ Information Behavior Research: Volume 10

Through observing the use of iPhone and iPad by a child between the ages of two and four years and a half, this study presents accounts on the child’s use of and interaction with these devices, as well as her interaction with the physical environment.

Unstructured, naturalistic observation was employed in this study. The study is grounded in theories of user engagement with digital and physical objects.

A child’s interaction with touch-based devices does not deter the child from engaging effectively with the physical environment or from activities centered on creativity and interpersonal engagement. A child is able to move back and forth seamlessly between the physical and digital environments.

Findings from this study could help parents, educators, and system designers understand why and how toddlers and preschoolers use and engage with touch-based devices, as well as the kind of tasks they perform.

Studies of toddlers’ or preschoolers’ information behavior and interaction with touch-based devices are scarce. Children born toward the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century are growing up with a propensity to using touch-based devices. This study provides a framework for effective usage of such devices while ensuring all-round cognitive and physical development of the child.

The purpose of this chapter is to present a model (Beginning, Acting, Telling (BAT) model) developed for the elementary-school classroom that integrates features identified by research into information-seeking behavior and information literacy.

The chapter provides an overview of research in the areas of information-seeking behavior and information literacy and models in which they have intersected (namely, the Information Search Process (ISP) model) to provide a theoretical framework in which to situate the BAT model. Examples from previous empirical studies conducted by the author that informed the model are provided.

A preliminary iteration of the BAT model has successfully been piloted in two third-grade classrooms in Buffalo, New York. Plans are underway to introduce the model to a wider audience.

The BAT model with its use of image and mnemonic cues can be used to teach the research process to students, beginning in the earliest grades of elementary school.

This chapter is the first time the final iteration of the BAT model has been presented. It is the first model integrating features inherent in information-seeking behavior and information literacy that also makes use of imagery and mnemonic.

The study examines how late adolescents use the resources embedded in their social network to obtain the information and support they need to do their homework. A particular attention is paid to how social network sites (SNSs) are used and perceived by late adolescents for academic help seeking.

This qualitative study uses in-depth interviewing and critical incident technique. An egocentric approach to Social Network Analysis is also employed to examine the core social network of each participant.

Most adolescents had a solid personal social network but did not always fully take advantage of the resources embedded in it for schoolwork. Availability was the most important criteria for deciding who to approach. SNSs were often used to obtain the help they needed, although phone calls and in-person visits were considered more efficient in certain situations.

This study draws on a small purposive sample that may limit generalization. This research contributes to our understanding of the resources late adolescents have access to within their core social network, the way they take advantage (or not) of these resources for schoolwork, and the role SNSs play in the process. Findings have implications for services that educators and school librarians should provide to support the educational needs of late adolescents.

This study contributes more generally to our understanding of late adolescents’ use of people as primary sources of information to complete school-related homework.

To identify research work on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the context of young girls’ affective responses to access and use of ICT in developing countries.

A literature search covering the period from early 1990s to date in fields of information science, human–computer interaction, ICT, and educational technologies was performed using relevant databases and Google Scholar. Related literature in the context of specific theoretical frameworks was retrieved and analyzed.

Abundant research exists on ICT in developing countries. However, little empirical work was found on young girls’ affective responses to access and use of ICT. The gendered digital divide in relation to ICT showed differing perspectives on this issue. Generally, affective information behavior is much less observed in empirical research than the cognitive behavior, regardless of age, gender, or culture.

Young girls’ affective responses to access and use of ICT in these countries warrant additional research in this area of study. Findings from research on youth information behavior in Western countries may have little or no bearings on youth in developing countries. The study of young girls’ access and use of ICT in developing countries should account for cultural, socioeconomic, and institutional differences among countries and between societies or communities in a given developing country.

Minimal research exists on young girls’ affective responses to accessing and using ICT in developing countries. The literature review covered in this chapter is grounded in theoretical frameworks derived from varied disciplines, including the field of library and information science.

InfoMe is an innovative research program that explores and facilitates how ethnic minority youth help members of their social networks, especially elders, with everyday life situations through information and technology.

The project employs mixed methods, iteratively using Teen Design Days and a stratified random, classroom-based survey (n = 500) in six schools, with multiple community partners in King County, WA.

InfoMe inductively demonstrates how ethnic minority youth help others with situations of daily living through information and technology.

The findings are being used to develop InfoMe applications with the youth and InfoMe Train-the-Trainer workshops for professionals who work with youth.

The research is developing a model of how ethnic minority youth engage as information mediaries in different community settings, how individuals and communities benefit; and it is contributing to our general understanding of specific concepts related to the human information experience.

This chapter explores the perspectives of rural librarians about the information behaviors of children with special needs (CSN) and services available for the disenfranchised population in the Southern and Central Appalachian (SCA) region.

Qualitative feedback is collected from 31 SCA rural librarians via phone interviews and a web-based survey about: (1) The most important information needs/wants of the CSN in the SCA rural libraries; (2) The most important information resources and services that the CSN seek/use in the SCA rural libraries; (3) Extent of perceived need for effective library services for the CSN in rural areas; (4) Ways that the SCA rural libraries can improve to better serve the CSN in their local communities.

Content analysis of the data generated quantitative representation of response counts for specific themes that resulted in practical user-centered suggestions for positive change in delivering effective library services for the CSN in the SCA region.

Research significance lies in its first-time effort to understand the information needs and information uses of the CSN in the SCA rural library environments from the perspective of a rural librarian immersed in an American society that perceives a parochial regional work setting. This research presents data that challenges notions stereotyping and marginalizing of the “South” in its documentation of positive and meaningful efforts that rural librarians suggest should be made to improve the conditions experienced by the CSN in this region.

This chapter presents results of a study that investigated the social information grounds of 45 Māori students ages 16–18 when they are at school.

A mixed research method was used. The quantitative approach was based on a survey questionnaire that was distributed to the students to gather data about their social information behaviour in four schools. The qualitative approach used six focus groups of students to discuss the behaviour.

Māori students exchange, share and seek information within their social networks in six different places in their schools. These places are best described as social information grounds, as defined by Fisher, Naumer, Durrance, Stromski, and Christiansen (2005).

The research identifies the importance that Māori students place on information obtained through interpersonal transactions particularly within their social networks. These social networks play an integral role in assisting Māori students to understand the social and educational environment of which they are part.

This chapter focuses on information grounds and indigenous teenage youth, an understudied area of research. It uses the information grounds theory to explore the social networks of Māori secondary school students in New Zealand.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which academic researchers consider the relationship between broadband access and children’s information seeking in the United States. Because broadband has been cited as an essential element of contemporary learning, this study sought to identify gaps in the attention given to the role of broadband in the information seeking environment of youth.

The researchers conducted a mixed method synthesis of academic research published in peer-reviewed journals between 1991 and 2011 that reported the information seeking of children aged 5–18 years. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from leading databases, analyzed separately, and conclusions drawn from integrated results.

The results of this study indicated that broadband is rarely considered in the design of children’s information seeking published in peer-reviewed research journals. Only 15 studies showed any presence of broadband in study design or conclusions. Due to the small number of qualifying studies, the researchers could not conduct the synthesis; instead, the researchers conducted a quantitative relationship analysis and qualitative content analysis.

Given the focus of policymaking and public discussion on broadband, its absence as a study consideration suggests a crucial gap for scholarly researchers to address.

The data set included only studies of children in the United States, therefore, findings may not be universally applicable.

Despite national imperatives for ubiquitous broadband and a tradition of information seeking research in library and information science (LIS) and other disciplines, a lack of academic research about how broadband affects children’s information seeking persists.

This study investigated the design of three online public library catalogs in light of the cognitive ability and success of children ages five to eight.

A quasi-experimental approach was employed to examine the influence of system design on children’s searching strategies and search success. Interviews were used to explore children’s rationale for using icons and taxonomies in the catalogs. Fifty one children from one public library participated in this study. Inferential statistics were utilized to whether significant differences existed between use of the catalogs and the children’s success in finding information.

Use of images and text were helpful in searching the catalogs. Results of the ANOVA test indicated no significant difference among children’s searching success rates and the three catalogs. Additionally, the participants misidentified representations used in icons in all three catalogs and created valid search paths that did not produce results. There was a disconnect between the children’s cognitive abilities and the design representations of the three catalogs.

The study took place in one location, thus one should not overgeneralize the findings. Use of assigned tasks may have affected children’s success rates. Children’s searching using printed cards of display screens from the three catalogs instead of real-time interaction with them is also a limitation.

Because of the children’s reliance on images, the choice of visual representations is crucial to successful searching. Interface designers should involve young users in the design of today’s online catalogs. They should also consider new forms of representations such as auditory icons, verbal mouse overs, and zooms.

In addition to addressing the need for research on young children’s information seeking and use of online catalogs in public libraries, this research focuses on the need for an additional layer of visual representation and highlights flaws in currently used catalog designs.

The chapter describes a four-year research project, the objective of which was to design and develop an intervention tool to assist middle school students in their information seeking when engaged in an inquiry-based learning project.

Bonded design method was used to design a proof-of-concept (POC) low-tech Guide, and focus group and Informant Design methods were utilized to develop a Web Guide.

In creating an intervention tool, whether low-tech paper-based or high-tech websites, different methodologies that relied heavily on the participation of students in the design process were successfully utilized.

The research shows that participation of children and adolescents in designing the content of technology for educational use is imperative.

This is a long-term research project, which is unparalleled and unique in its scope, duration, breadth, and depth. Having access to the grade eight classes in a single school over a four-year period has proven to be a remarkable research opportunity, seldom reported in the literature.