In 2011, researchers at Bucknell University and Illinois Wesleyan University compared the search efficacy of Serial Solutions Summon, EBSCO Discovery Service, Google Scholar, and conventional library databases. Using a mixed-methods approach, qualitative and quantitative data were gathered on students' usage of these tools. Regardless of the…

Nutrition professionals within the Cooperative Extension system use the USDA's interactive online tool SuperTracker, which is designed to help individuals track diet and physical activity (PA) to apply healthy eating patterns and improve PA. An investigation of all 50 states' Extension websites and interviews of Extension educators…

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) provides international comparative data about students' reading achievement after four years of primary schooling, while also measuring trends over time, monitoring curricular implementation, and identifying promising instructional practices. Conducted on a regular 5-year cycle, PIRLS has…

The PIRLS 2011 international database includes data for all questionnaires administered as part of the PIRLS 2011 assessment. This supplement contains the international version of the PIRLS 2011 background questionnaires and curriculum questionnaires in the following 5 sections: (1) Student Questionnaire; (2) Home Questionnaire (Learning to Read…

Often, when an evaluation is needed, there is always a tendency to jump into data collection without first considering what might be already available. This paper demonstrates how an existing student database from a large school district could be used to provide some rigorous evidence regarding the impact of a supplementary teacher professional…

Reviews literature on environmental information since 1986, with special emphasis on machine-readable sources as reported in the published literature. Highlights include a new model for studying environmental issues; environmental communication studies, including user studies; and environmental information sources, including pollution media and…

Search procedures and techniques used by the Center staff are described; the computerized information systems and traditional resources used and types of search requests received are delineated. (Author/JB)

The Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) within the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) collects printed material on archives, manuscripts, and records management. ALIC compiles a database of these materials, sources of archival services and supplies, and information on significant archival projects. "ALIC Notes" is…

This discussion of the administrative uses of computers from the perspective of the school administrator is concerned with both the types and sources of information involved in school administration, and specific uses of this information. The paper focuses on those administrative tasks that can be effectively computerized in defining the role of…

Based on the premise that editorial page writers do not have what they consider sufficient time to adequately research their topics, a study surveyed newspaper librarians and writers to determine the extent of database system use by editorial page writers. Circulations of the participating newspapers were included as a variable to determine if…

Structured abstracts containing several subheadings (background, aim, method, results, and conclusions) have replaced traditional abstracts in most medical journals. The results of 2 studies, the first of 52 readers using an electronic database and the second of 56 readers using a printed database, suggest that it is easier for readers to search…

The situational and personal factors affecting the usage of a computer based information service by health care professionals are described. Of 166 health care professionals who were identified as potential users of MEDLINE at the University of Connecticut, 126 carried out one or more online searches. Pre-use and post-use questionnaires were…

In July 1973 the University of New Mexico's General Library, in cooperation with the Technology Application Center, introduced a computerized search service for faculty members on a one-year experimental basis. During the study two user evaluation meetings caused some improvements to be made, particularly in the area of working more closely with…

E-journal, printed journal, and database usage data from polls conducted during 1998-2000 at one research university show increased use of e-journals and decreased use of printed journals by faculty and graduate students as availability of e-journals. The majority of frequent users of all three resources were from departments in the sciences.…

A selective dissemination service (SRIM) of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) features semimonthly dissemination of microfiche copies of documents newly added to the NTIS collection, on the basis of interest profiles. The service was used to test a university subsystem wherein a number of individual profiles were combined and…