Online Article Searching on Publisher Platforms by STM French Scholars: Findings and Analysis / La recherche d'articles sur les plateformes d'éditeurs par les chercheurs français dans les domaines STM : analyse et résultats

Abstract

This article seeks to understand the e-journal search patterns of STM (science, technology, and medicine) researchers from the French academic network by studying how researchers seek, read, and use articles on the ScienceDirect platform. The methodology combines two approaches. The first approach is quantitative and is based on statistical data concerning search activities on ScienceDirect between January 2008 and April 2009. The second approach is qualitative and is based on semi-directed interviews of researchers authorized to access ScienceDirect. The researchers' information-seeking activities on ScienceDirect follow two complementary usage logics. On the one hand, they follow search and discovery itineraries, and, on the other hand, they implement continuous and recurrent access mechanisms. In both cases, the researchers' searching behaviours on ScienceDirect are similar to their behaviours on the Web. This study concerns a previously unpublished large-scale analysis of STM searching behaviours. Furthermore, the mixed methodology used allows the results to be compared and, thus, the clearest and most objective interpretation to be obtained