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Information Behavior Of HBCU Students: A Case Study

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Alex Gorelik, Ph. D.

This study explored the information behavior of students at a large historically black college and university (HBCU) using Wilson's model of information behavior. The study found that students' information behavior was dominated by considerations of speed, clarity, accuracy, and convenience. Students placed high demands on the speed and straightforward presentation of information from sources. While students recognized the need to corroborate information, about half failed to detect manipulated search results, suggesting a prioritization of efficiency over critical evaluation. The study serves as a proof of concept for further exploration of gaps between self-reported and actual information literacy skills, especially in comparing HBCUs to other institutions.

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Information Behavior of HBCU College Students: An Exploratory Case Study Alex Gorelik, Anton Bezuglov Benedict College
Information Literacy Essential Personal Inadequate
Wilsons (1994) Model of information behavior
Study objectives: Explore the elements of the Wilsons model, focusing on o Needs o Information seeking behaviors o Demands on info systems / other sources Build an exploratory case study of information behavior (at a large HBCU)
Method: Scope: Benedict college students from HASS and STEM (n=43) Information search task o Search engine requests intercepted by a server, compiled specifically for the study Exit Interview Recorded observations
Tools Proxy server intercepts all traffic from the machine to the Web If (1) traffic goes to Google Search Engine and (2) it contains a keyword, the results of HTTP Get are modified; The first search result is changed: For instance Solipsism -> Solarism
Tools
Findings o Reasons for preferring a specific resource: o Speed of access (20%) o Reliability / Credibility (17%) o Authoritativeness (17%) o Convenience (15%) o Stem different from HASS, Seniors different from Sophomors / Juniors
Findings Major of respondent Mass Comm / English Comp Sci / Engineer. Total Count Col. N % Count Col. N % Count Col. N % Dictionary 11 44.0% 10 55.6% 21 48.8% EBSCO web 4 16.0% 1 5.6% 5 11.6% interface Derived ranks of Electronic sources 11 44.0% 9 50.0% 20 46.5% Dictionary Google search 15 60.0% 16 88.9% 31 72.1% Total 25 100.0% 18 100.0% 43 100.0%
Findings Classification - Collapsed Senior Junior/Soph. Total Count Col. N % Count Col. N % Count Col. N % Dictionary 10 55.6% 11 44.0% 21 48.8% EBSCO web 3 16.7% 2 8.0% 5 11.6% interface Derived ranks of Electronic sources 10 55.6% 10 40.0% 20 46.5% Dictionary Google search 12 66.7% 19 76.0% 31 72.1% Total 18 100.0% 25 100.0% 43 100.0%
Information behavior o Behavior dominated by considerations of o speed of access o clarity o accuracy o convenience / familiarity
Information behavior o Demands on sources: o speed o straightforward presentation of information
Information behavior o Success = ability to quickly match the answer to the question
Information behavior o About half of those presented with a modified answer failed to detect that o The necessity to critically evaluate and corroborate is trumped by the considerations of speed, clarity and convenience of access
Information behavior o Students recognize the need to corroborate the information o even if not all of them may decide to do so
Information behavior o This study is a proof of concept, whats next? o looking at the gap between the self- reported level of information literacy and the actual performance on test tasks o comparing the resulting among HBCUs and mainstream academic institutions
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Information Behavior Of HBCU Students: A Case Study

  • 1. Information Behavior of HBCU College Students: An Exploratory Case Study Alex Gorelik, Anton Bezuglov Benedict College
  • 2. Information Literacy Essential Personal Inadequate
  • 3. Wilsons (1994) Model of information behavior
  • 4. Study objectives: Explore the elements of the Wilsons model, focusing on o Needs o Information seeking behaviors o Demands on info systems / other sources Build an exploratory case study of information behavior (at a large HBCU)
  • 5. Method: Scope: Benedict college students from HASS and STEM (n=43) Information search task o Search engine requests intercepted by a server, compiled specifically for the study Exit Interview Recorded observations
  • 6. Tools Proxy server intercepts all traffic from the machine to the Web If (1) traffic goes to Google Search Engine and (2) it contains a keyword, the results of HTTP Get are modified; The first search result is changed: For instance Solipsism -> Solarism
  • 8. Findings o Reasons for preferring a specific resource: o Speed of access (20%) o Reliability / Credibility (17%) o Authoritativeness (17%) o Convenience (15%) o Stem different from HASS, Seniors different from Sophomors / Juniors
  • 9. Findings Major of respondent Mass Comm / English Comp Sci / Engineer. Total Count Col. N % Count Col. N % Count Col. N % Dictionary 11 44.0% 10 55.6% 21 48.8% EBSCO web 4 16.0% 1 5.6% 5 11.6% interface Derived ranks of Electronic sources 11 44.0% 9 50.0% 20 46.5% Dictionary Google search 15 60.0% 16 88.9% 31 72.1% Total 25 100.0% 18 100.0% 43 100.0%
  • 10. Findings Classification - Collapsed Senior Junior/Soph. Total Count Col. N % Count Col. N % Count Col. N % Dictionary 10 55.6% 11 44.0% 21 48.8% EBSCO web 3 16.7% 2 8.0% 5 11.6% interface Derived ranks of Electronic sources 10 55.6% 10 40.0% 20 46.5% Dictionary Google search 12 66.7% 19 76.0% 31 72.1% Total 18 100.0% 25 100.0% 43 100.0%
  • 11. Information behavior o Behavior dominated by considerations of o speed of access o clarity o accuracy o convenience / familiarity
  • 12. Information behavior o Demands on sources: o speed o straightforward presentation of information
  • 13. Information behavior o Success = ability to quickly match the answer to the question
  • 14. Information behavior o About half of those presented with a modified answer failed to detect that o The necessity to critically evaluate and corroborate is trumped by the considerations of speed, clarity and convenience of access
  • 15. Information behavior o Students recognize the need to corroborate the information o even if not all of them may decide to do so
  • 16. Information behavior o This study is a proof of concept, whats next? o looking at the gap between the self- reported level of information literacy and the actual performance on test tasks o comparing the resulting among HBCUs and mainstream academic institutions