Assessing the information needs of historians working with digitised primary sources in the UK : a sequential mixed methods study
The way that historians do research has changed as more and more digitised primary sources have become available online. Whilst desktop access to historical resources is becoming the norm in the digital age, many historians prefer working with original sources. This observation triggered an investigation into the information needs and behaviour of historians with a view to identifying ways in which information retrieval system (IRS) might be enhanced to meet their specific needs. During the investigation it became apparent that the information-seeking behaviour (ISB) of historians involves a great deal of creative thinking and that IRS aimed at historians would benefit from features specifically designed to stimulate their creativity. The research described here follows a âmixed methodsâ approach in which quantitative and qualitative research techniques have been applied sequentially. The first, quantitative, phase of the study concerned the question of which format of primary sources (original or digitised) historians prefer to work with and why. Results from an online questionnaire, distributed to historians in the UK, revealed the historiansâ preference for originals but with a very positive attitude
Hassan, Luna
D History (General) ; ZA Information resources
Assessing the information needs of historians working with digitised primary sources in the UK : a sequential mixed methods study. The way that historians do research has changed as more and more digitised primary sources have become available online. Whilst desktop access to historical resources is becoming the norm in the digital age, many historians prefer working with original sources. This observation triggered an investigation into the information needs and behaviour of historians with a view to identifying ways in which information retrieval system (IRS) might be enhanced to meet their specific needs. During the investigation it became apparent that the information-seeking behaviour (ISB) of historians involves a great deal of creative thinking and that IRS aimed at historians would benefit from features specifically designed to stimulate their creativity. The research described here follows a âmixed methodsâ approach in which quantitative and qualitative research techniques have been applied sequentially. The first, quantitative, phase of the study concerned the question of which format of primary sources (original or digitised) historians prefer to work with and why. Results from an online questionnaire, distributed to historians in the UK, revealed the historiansâ preference for originals but with a very positive attitude
assessing information need historians work digitise primary_source sequential mixed_method study way historian change primary_source become_available online whilst access historical resource become_norm digital age many historian prefer work original source observation trigger investigation information need behaviour historian_view identify way information retrieval system might enhance meet specific need investigation become_apparent information seeking behaviour historians involve great_deal creative thinking aim historian would benefit feature specifically_design stimulate creativity describe follow mixed_method quantitative_qualitative technique_apply sequentially first quantitative phase study concerned question format primary_source original digitise historian prefer work why online questionnaire distribute historian reveal historian preference original positive attitude