Information Gathering Behaviors Research Articles

Strategies for Developing Pre-Employment Adaptability from a High-Quality Employment Perspective: An Analysis of College Students' Job Preparation Behaviors

This study surveyed the job preparation behaviors of 210 college students and proposed strategies for job preparation behaviors that college students need to adapt to before entering the workplace. The results indicate that the overall level of students' job preparation behaviors is moderately average (M=3.07). Among the sub-factors of goal achievement behaviors, tool preparation behaviors, and information gathering behaviors, goal achievement behaviors scored the highest (M=3.14). Male students had higher scores in information gathering and tool preparation behaviors than female students; senior students outperformed junior students in information gathering; and students in science and engineering majors scored higher in information gathering and tool preparation behaviors than those in humanities and social sciences. The findings of this study have practical significance for optimizing and improving employment planning education in higher education and provide a foundational reference for research in high-quality employment, employment equality, and industry-education integration.

Informing Academia Through Understanding of the Technology Use, Information Gathering Behaviors, and Social Concerns of Gen Z

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine Gen Z students located in a representative region of the United States when it comes to technology use, news and information gathering behaviors, civic engagement, and social concerns and whether differences exist based on institutional type. The purpose is to report this information so that academics can better understand the behaviors, priorities, and interests of current American students. Background: This paper investigates the mindset of Generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. Through the lens of the Theory of Generations, Uses and Gratifications Theory, and Intersectional Theory, this study aims to examine the Gen Z group and compare findings across populations. Methodology: An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2022. The survey included a combination of multiple responses, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open-ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by content and methodological experts to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. The survey was pilot-tested in 2018 before implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly before widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors, all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Contribution: This paper provides insight into the mindset of Generation Z students living in the United States, which is helpful to members of academia who should be informed about the current generation of students in higher education. Studying Generation Z helps us understand the future and can provide insight into the shifting needs and expectations of society. Findings: According to the findings, Gen Z are heavy users of digital technologies who use social media as their primary source for gathering news about current events as well as information for schoolwork. The majority of respondents considered themselves to be social activists. When institutional type was considered, there were notable differences with the students at the Historically Black College or University (HBCU), noting the greatest concern with a number of pressing issues, including racial justice/Black Lives Matter, women’s rights, gun violence, immigration reform, and human trafficking. Less significance across groups was found when LGBTQIA+ rights and climate change were considered. Recommendation for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate in daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. In other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Future Research: Future research will explore the role that influencers have in opinion formation and the information-gathering habits of Gen Z.

Students' Information Gathering Behaviors and Teachers' Approaches

The purpose of this study is to reveal students’ information gathering behaviors and processes and teacher's approaches to improve their learning outcomes in middle school inquiry-based learning. We compare the dif erences in behaviors in information gathering process between learners with high and low understanding of the themes as their learning outcomes and teachers' approaches for both types of learners.Participants were seventeen ninth grade students and two teachers as their supervisors. During the Period for Integrated Studies, the students searched for information, reflected on their behaviors, and summarized the information they gathered on slides. The analysis targeted seven students who selected themes related to SDG 4 (four students) and SDG 8 (three students) and two teachers. As a result of the analysis, students with a high level of understanding of the themes showed behaviors of browsing and referring to materials corresponding to pillars of investigation (sub-subjects). For the behavior, teachers provided students with supplementary guidance on keyword searches and introductions to websites.

Something new and something blue: Responses to novelty in a rodent model of depression and epilepsy comorbidity

A bidirectional comorbidity exists between depression and epilepsy such that patients with epilepsy are at higher risk for developing depression, and vice versa. Each of these conditions individually can be complicated by behavioral effects that worsen quality of life, but less is known about these interactions within the comorbidity of depression and epilepsy. The SwLo rat has been selectively bred for depression-relevant behaviors and exhibits enhanced limbic seizure susceptibility. This study sought to characterize the effects of novelty and stress on the SwLo rodent model of this comorbidity. It was hypothesized that SwLo rats would exhibit altered responses to novelty, reflected in hyperactivity-, anxiety-, sensation seeking-, and/or compulsive behaviors, and that this would be exacerbated with stress.Compared to the SwHi rat (their depression- and epilepsy-resistant counterparts), SwLo rats showed increased entries in all areas of the Open Field Test and spent significantly more time in the light compartment of the Light-Dark Box. SwLo rats also had a significantly higher number of rearing behaviors in the inner squares of the Open Field Test, the closed arms of the Elevated Plus Maze, and both areas of the Light-Dark Box. They demonstrated increased Nestlet shredding but showed no difference in a marble burying task or in latency to consume food in a novelty suppressed feeding task. Interestingly, restraint stress showed little effect on these behaviors, despite increasing corticosterone levels.Combined, these results suggest an increase in exploratory sensation seeking and hypervigilant information-gathering behaviors in the SwLo rat that are not dependent on corticosterone levels. This shows the utility of this model for studying behavioral effects of comorbid depression and epilepsy and allows for their use in identifying underlying mechanisms or screening treatment strategies for this complex comorbidity.

The Influence of Visual Provenance Representations on Strategies in a Collaborative Hand-off Data Analysis Scenario.

Conducting data analysis tasks rarely occur in isolation. Especially in intelligence analysis scenarios where different experts contribute knowledge to a shared understanding, members must communicate how insights develop to establish common ground among collaborators. The use of provenance to communicate analytic sensemaking carries promise by describing the interactions and summarizing the steps taken to reach insights. Yet, no universal guidelines exist for communicating provenance in different settings. Our work focuses on the presentation of provenance information and the resulting conclusions reached and strategies used by new analysts. In an open-ended, 30-minute, textual exploration scenario, we qualitatively compare how adding different types of provenance information (specifically data coverage and interaction history) affects analysts' confidence in conclusions developed, propensity to repeat work, filtering of data, identification of relevant information, and typical investigation strategies. We see that data coverage (i.e., what was interacted with) provides provenance information without limiting individual investigation freedom. On the other hand, while interaction history (i.e., when something was interacted with) does not significantly encourage more mimicry, it does take more time to comfortably understand, as represented by less confident conclusions and less relevant information-gathering behaviors. Our results contribute empirical data towards understanding how provenance summarizations can influence analysis behaviors.

Studying Dynamics of Human Information Gathering Behaviors Using Social Robots.

A novel social interaction is a dynamic process, in which participants adapt to, react to and engage with their social partners. To facilitate such interactions, people gather information relating to the social context and structure of the situation. The current study aimed to deepen the understanding of the psychological determinants of behavior in a novel social interaction. Three social robots and the participant interacted non-verbally according to a pre-programmed “relationship matrix” that dictated who favored whom. Participants' gaze was tracked during the interaction and, using Bayesian inference models, resulted in a measure of participants' social information-gathering behaviors. Our results reveal the dynamics in a novel environment, wherein information-gathering behavior is initially predicted by psychological inflexibility and then, toward the end of the interaction, predicted by curiosity. These results highlight the utility of using social robots in behavioral experiments.

A Comparative Analysis of Information Gathering Meetings Conducted by Novice Design Teams Across Multiple Design Project Stages

Abstract Designers often gather information, for instance through stakeholder or domain expert meetings, to understand their design problems and develop effective solutions. However, few previous studies have provided in-depth descriptions of novice engineering designers’ approaches to conducting information gathering meetings. In this preliminary study, we analyzed data from six capstone mechanical engineering design teams to identify the types of individuals from whom teams gathered information, when these meetings occurred, and how teams solicited information during meetings. Teams in our study exhibited a range of information gathering behaviors that aligned with recommended practices, particularly in their early meetings. We also observed relatively few instances of teams exhibiting behaviors that were less similar to recommended practices during their meetings. However, our findings revealed two key trends across teams that represented specific opportunities for improvement and that may reflect characteristic novice approaches to conducting information gathering meetings. First, teams explored domain experts’ perspectives in depth during meetings and met with additional domain experts to inform their projects. Teams' meetings with project partners contained few instances of deep exploratory information gathering behaviors in comparison. In addition, teams seemed to finalize design decisions during early design meetings and were less likely to conduct information gathering meetings during later design phases. The comprehensive descriptions of novice mechanical engineering designers’ approaches provided in our preliminary study provide an entry point for further investigations that can inform engineering training, tools, and pedagogy for conducting effective meetings.

Functional neuroanatomy and neural oscillations during social eavesdropping in male golden hamsters

Social eavesdropping is a low-cost learning mechanism by which individuals extract relevant social information from social interactions between conspecifics, thereby gaining subsequent advantages in information gathering and usage. The aim of this study was to take advantage of a new hamster model of social eavesdropping to investigate behavioral consequences and neural activity in male hamsters during social eavesdropping. Bystander hamsters with a defeat experience were exposed to either a fighting interaction, a neutral encounter, or control conditions for 3 days of social eavesdropping. In Experiment 1, bystanders in the fight and neutral groups displayed more information gathering behaviors and less nonsocial behavior than control hamsters. The fight group displayed significant increases in c-Fos-positive neurons in the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) and the piriform cortex. A slight but not significant group difference was found in their serum cortisol levels. In vivo local field potential oscillation recordings in Experiment 2 revealed that bystanders in the fight group had more delta oscillations in the aMCC during information gathering across 3-day social eavesdropping than those in the other 2 groups. Experiment 3 confirmed that 20 min of social eavesdropping on Day 1 was sufficient to evoke differential behavioral outcomes, and the behavioral responses became more prominent after 3 days of social eavesdropping. Collectively, our study confirmed that male golden hamsters are capable of social eavesdropping and indicated the involvement of aMCC delta oscillations in social eavesdropping.

An in-depth investigation of student information gathering meetings with stakeholders and domain experts

Information gathering activities in engineering design projects play an important role in the identification and definition of stakeholder needs and requirements. However, few studies have explored how students gather information from stakeholders and domain experts in capstone design settings. In this study, we analyzed audio recordings from 19 information gathering meetings submitted by six capstone design teams to investigate how student designers gathered information during these meetings. Our findings include 22 information gathering behaviors that student design teams exhibited during their meetings, half of which were more similar to recommended best practices for information gathering and half of which were less similar. Our findings, including the list of behaviors and associated examples, may be used to guide student designers in employing effective information gathering approaches.

Sentiment analysis on IMDB using lexicon and neural networks

To find out what other people think has been an essential part of information-gathering behaviors. And in the case of movies, the movie reviews can provide an intricate insight into the movie and can help decide whether it is worth spending time on. However, with the growing amount of data in reviews, it is quite prudent to automate the process, saving on time. Sentiment analysis is an important field of study in machine learning that focuses on extracting information of subject from the textual reviews. The area of analysis of sentiments is related closely to natural language processing and text mining. It can successfully be used to determine the attitude of the reviewer in regard to various topics or the overall polarity of the review. In the case of movie reviews, along with giving a rating in numeric to a movie, they can enlighten us on the favorableness or the opposite of a movie quantitatively; a collection of those then gives us a comprehensive qualitative insight on different facets of the movie. Opinion mining from movie reviews can be challenging due to the fact that human language is rather complex, leading to situations where a positive word has a negative connotation and vice versa. In this study, the task of opinion mining from movie reviews has been achieved with the use of neural networks trained on the “Movie Review Database” issued by Stanford, in conjunction with two big lists of positive and negative words. The trained network managed to achieve a final accuracy of 91%.

Application of a process mining technique to identifying information navigation characteristics of human operators working in a digital main control room – feasibility study

It is well known that one of the major contributors to the significant events of socio-technical systems is a human error. Accordingly, various kinds of human reliability analysis techniques have been proposed for many decades, which allow us to properly estimate human error probabilities. However, one of the urgent challenges is to quantify human error probabilities when required tasks are conducted in a control room equipped with up-to-date digital equipment (e.g., digital main control room) because existing techniques are mainly focusing on an analog control room. In this regard, it is necessary to carefully understand how professional operators in the digital control room carry out the required tasks. Therefore, in this study, information navigation characteristics (i.e., information gathering behaviors observable from professional operators who need to conduct the required tasks by using given digital equipment) were analyzed based on process mining techniques. To this end, event logs were collected from the professional operators of domestic nuclear power plants who were exposed to simulated off-normal conditions in a digital main control room. As a result, it seems that process mining techniques are useful for extracting crucial information needed for the human reliability analysis in the digital main control room.

A Qualitative Exploration of Nurses' Information-Gathering Behaviors Prior to Decision Support Tool Design.

Large and readily-available clinical datasets combined with improved computational resources have permitted the exploration of many new research and clinical questions. Predictive analytics, especially for adverse events, has surfaced as one promising application of big data, and although statistical results can be highly accurate, little is known about how nurses perceive this new information and how they might act upon it. Within the context of recognizing patients at risk for cardiopulmonary arrest, this study explored the possibility of incorporating predictive analytics into clinical workflows by identifying nurses' current information gathering activities and perceptions of probability-related terms. We used a qualitative description approach for data collection and analysis in order to understand participants' information gathering behaviors and term perceptions in their own words. We conducted one-on-one interviews and a focus group with a total of 10 direct care bedside nurses and 8 charge nurses. Participants collected information from many sources that we categorized as: Patient, Other People, and Technology. The process by which they gathered information was conducted in an inconsistent order and differed by role. Major themes comprised: (a) attempts to find information from additional sources during uncertainty, (b) always being prepared for the worst-case scenario, and (c) the desire to review more detailed predictions. Use of the words probability, risk, and uncertainty were inconsistent. In an effort to successfully incorporate predictive analytics into clinical workflows, we have described nurses' perceived work practices for gathering information related to clinical deterioration and nurses' beliefs related to probability-based information. Findings from our study could guide design and implementation efforts of predictive analytics in the clinical arena.Jeffery AD, Kennedy B, Dietrich MS, Mion LC, Novak LL. A Qualitative Exploration of Nurses' Information-Gathering Behaviors Prior to Decision Support Tool Design. Appl Clin Inform 2017; 8: 763-778 https://doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2017-02-RA-0033.

User Satisfaction with Library Resources, Services and Facilities: A Study in SDM College Library, Ujire

The objective of present study is to examine the user’s satisfaction in library facilities, resources and services of the students of SDM College Library, Ujire. 300 questionnaires were distributed among students to collect relevant data. The findings of the study shows that 177(59.0%) of respondents have the habit to visit to the library daily, majority 260(86.7%) of respondents are highly satisfied with the collection of general books, majority 210(70.0%) are highly satisfied with collection of text books 160 (53.3%) respondents considered circulation services as excellent. The study suggested that college library should carry out user studies at regular intervals, in order to identify user’s information needs and their information gathering behaviors.

Quantifying the Information Habits of High School Students Engaged in Engineering Design

This study measured the information gathering behaviors of high school students who had taken engineering design courses as they solved a design problem. The authors investigated what types of information students accessed, its quality, when it was accessed during the students’ process, and if it impacted their thinking during the activity. Students overwhelmingly relied on internet searching to acquire information, rather than printed materials available to them. The sites they found were generally popular rather than technical, and persuasive (i.e., trying to sell something) rather than informative. The high school students understood the need for information, as they sought a large volume of information, which they did, generally, incorporate in their solution development process, but their skill in locating high-quality information was relatively poor.

The University of Manitoba Psychiatry Toolkit: Development and Evaluation.

The authors developed and measured the subsequent utilization of a web-based point-of-care information tool and meta-search filter, the University of Manitoba Psychiatry Toolkit, as well as conduct an evaluation of its impact on physicians' information seeking. Evaluation entailed analysis of toolkit web page utilization data from user visits to the web-based toolkit, as well as an online survey distributed to psychiatrists and resident trainees to assess information gathering behaviors and attitudes regarding various sources of medical information. Electronic resources and colleagues were the preferred sources for gathering health information, while inadequate time and search skills were ranked as important barriers. Age and physician cadre influenced toolkit use. Majority of respondents used the Psychiatry Toolkit to answer a clinical question, and urgency of the clinical problem influenced their decision to use it. The Psychiatry Toolkit assists psychiatrists and residents in finding answers to clinical questions arising at point-of-care, helping enhance the ongoing educational needs of physicians.

Detecting Perceiver Expectancies: The Role of Perceiver Distraction in Spontaneously Triggering Identity Negotiation

To examine whether social interaction processes can trigger naturally-occurring identity negotiation, the current research manipulated perceiver distraction and valence of perceivers' expectations about targets. Nondistracted perceivers corrected their behaviors and impressions for the influence of their expectancies. Distracted perceivers corrected their overt information-gathering behaviors, but appeared to exhibit their biases in subtle ways. Targets detected distracted perceivers' negative expectancies, and showed signs of engaging in identity negotiation processes by behaving contrary to their perceivers' expectancies. The results suggest that distraction may facilitate the emergence of subtle expectancy-biased perceiver behaviors, and may trigger targets to intuitively engage in identity negotiation processes.

Social networks and the cognitive motivation to realize network opportunities: a study of managers' information gathering behaviors

AbstractInformation gathering is central to a variety of organizational behavior theories, but researchers have suggested that our understanding of the actual information gathering behaviors of managers is underdeveloped. Social network characteristics are theorized to be a key determinant of information gathering behaviors, but social network research has been criticized for: (1) not measuring the intervening mechanisms by which network characteristics are theorized to have their effects and (2) not considering how actors' motivation affects what network benefits are realized. This article addresses these concerns through an empirical study of the actual information gathering behaviors of managers. It posits that individual differences in a personality variable called need for cognition capture differences in actors' cognitive motivation to realize the potential information benefits that exist in their social networks. Results show that network characteristics do affect information benefits, but these effects are stronger for managers motivated to take advantage of them. These findings both support social capital theory and suggest the important role that personality can play in augmenting social network analyses. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Libraries, Information, and Amateur Scientists

ABSTRACTAmateur scientists are those individuals who pursue scientific interests outside of their professions. Their information-gathering habits are unknown, and their needs may be unmet by public and academic libraries. A survey was designed to examine the information-gathering behaviors of amateur scientists. Notice of the Amateur Science Information Survey (AmSIS) was sent to 50 scientific listservs and organizations (e.g., groups of bird watchers, robotics enthusiasts, and shell collectors). Two hundred forty people responded; of these, 180 were defined as true amateurs. Results suggest that amateur scientists purchase print materials rather than borrowing them from libraries. In addition, amateur scientists appear to use books and Internet resources most frequently, relying less on scholarly journals and popular magazines.

A framework for capturing the interactions between laypersons’ understanding of disease, information gathering behaviors, and actions taken during an epidemic

This paper provides a description of a methodological framework designed to capture the inter-relationships between the lay publics’ understanding of health-related processes, information gathering behaviors, and actions taken during an outbreak. We developed and refined our methods during a study involving eight participants living in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-affected areas (Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Toronto). The framework is an adaptation of narrative analysis, a qualitative method that is used to investigate a phenomenon through interpretation of the stories people tell about their experiences. From our work, several hypotheses emerged that will contribute to future research. For example, our findings showed that many decisions in an epidemic are carefully considered and involve use of significant information gathering. Having a good model of lay actions based on information received and beliefs held will contribute to the development of more effective information support systems in the event of a future epidemic.

Diverse Information-Gathering Methods in the Postsecondary Decision-Making Process

This study examined the techniques high school students used to gather information about postsecondary education and institutions. The researchers designated students as “highly diversified” or “less diversified” searchers and identified background characteristics and information-gathering behaviors using factor analysis and discriminant analysis. High diversification was significantly related to, among other things, student certainty about proposed academic major and satisfaction with the student’s chosen postsecondary institution.