A Study on Information Behavior of Philosophy Scholars in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Li-Ting Chien, 簡莉婷
• Other Authors: Ching Chen Mao
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/35675480838228631053

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 圖書資訊學系 === 97 === This is a study on the information behavior of scholars in the subject field of philosophy. Eighteen scholars were invited to discuss their information demand、 information seeking、information application, as well as the types and classifications of information needed for their researches、the information finding paths and sources of the most frequently sought for、the frequently encountered barriers & obstacles in the seeking progress、and the approaches to utilize and apply the information acquired. By such endeavor, this study was expected to somehow conclude on the philosophy scholars’ pattern of information behavior in doing their researches. The conclusion was actually designated to be of some help to the library and information service organizations and entities in their planning and implementation for the information services with philosophy scholars as the target audience. In order to acquire first hand information and the credibility、depth、 & width of the information, this study adopted utilized a qualitative method. The interview used the half-structured approach for in-depth discussions. The dictated interview record was has arranged and coded by means of the subject matter analysis, so as to look into such recurring issues in the researches of the philosophy scholars as needs for information、channels for information sources、procedures for information searching、and relevant knowledge & skills & problems for information application & utilization. From the standpoint of information seekers, the results of this study revealed that the impact factors of the information behaviors of these scholars include: the degree of the information sought with the seekers’ previous researches、monographs、invitation to compose and/or publish、status promotion and teaching related requirements、and the patterns of information seeking in response to the different types of work patterns. In terms of the types or classifications of information, the original of the classics、scholastic monographs、periodicals、illustrated books o r photo albums、and bibliographic tools, which were frequently used. The more frequently used information sources were; data bases、professional or specialized websites、bookstores、personal book collections、 interpersonal communications、 libraries、 and visits to the local areas of the authors and/or publishers Considering the nature of the materials sought for, all philosophy scholars showed their great interest in the professional、accurate、scholastic、and accessible information. As a whole, the information processing procedure of philosophy scholars includes searching、comparing、interpreting、inspiring、analyzing、criticizing、integrating、and innovating. The problems they might have to face included language proficiencies、depth & difficulty of the issues、and such situations as getting into the bottle neck with contemplations and discussions、wondering about the exact locations for the information sources、pondering on the time issues of the information、worrying about the information seeking related budgeting and financing problems、as well as the difficulty in finding possible and probable audience for discussions on the related issues arguments. According to the finding of this particular study, when they encountered problems in their information seeking procedure, the philosophy scholars tried to deal with them in such ways as: (1) make judgment with their own research experience, (2) turn to their own collections of relevant materials (3) look around to see if any sources for the needed information nearby, (4) ask for the advice of specialties in the relevant knowledge and skills, (5) apply for financial support for the practicing of information behavior, (6) postpone the rate of progress in their researches. Usually, the philosophy scholars got in touch of the online information by way of utilizing the online search engines、visiting relevant academic and scholastic websites、or subscribing to electronic data bases & online electronic newspapers, etc. When it came to the use of libraries, those scholars agreed on that user advisory service、relevant information notification & alert、and the services provided via library cooperation, were of significant assistance to their researches.