Searching Information and Evaluation of Internet: A Chinese Academic User Survey

Abstract

This study examines the use of Internet resources and the evaluation of their usefulness from the perspectives of Chinese students and academics. The questionnaires were distributed at Peking University, ISTIC, and at the Information Institute of Science and Technology of Zhe Jiang Province, where 706 valid samples were collected. The data was analyzed according to: The background of the Internet users; the standard of Internet resources; Internet information-seeking behaviour; users’ evaluations of Internet resources and their perceived expectations about future Internet services. The study found that users with higher educational degrees tend to spend more time on the Internet and find Internet resources more useful than less-educated users. Although Internet search engines are the preferred information retrieval tool, other traditional or informal retrieval methods are also used. Many respondents agree that the Internet is helpful for narrowing the knowledge gap between developed and developing countries. Besides its richness and high speed, accuracy and authority are the most important factors when users judge the quality of the Internet; but, more specialized information filtering and navigation services are required. Further studies should focus on the information-seeking behaviour of different target groups, and with specific comparisons of Chinese academic users from economically developed areas, versus users from China's comparatively undeveloped Northwest provinces.