Linguists as newspaper users: Perceptions and experiences

Abstract

To explore humanities scholars' perceptions and uses of newspapers as an information source, a study was conducted with Croatian researchers and academics in history and linguistic departments at universities and research institutes. This paper presents only a portion of the findings: those from respondents in the field of linguistics. The study began with the general assumption that newspapers are a relevant information source for scientific research in the humanities, but their potential is not fully exploited because of limited access to newspaper collections and search options. An additional assumption was that newspapers are especially important in linguistics research because they reflect the evolution of and changes in a language and provide information on the relations between a language and its socio-political context in a certain place and time. The results partially confirmed these assumptions, showing a clear divide between those who perceive newspapers as an important research source and those who do not. In addition, respondents expressed the need for better technological solutions, but they do not always use those already available to them. The results also show perceptions of the value of and actual use of newspapers; information behavior related to newspapers (e.g., type and format of newspapers used, type of information need in newspapers, motivation for newspaper use, employed search strategies, and approaches to managing information from newspapers); and the challenges researchers face in using newspapers. The results contribute to analyzing the information needs and behavior of a specific newspaper user group, and provide data which can aid in the development of innovative services based on newspaper collections.