The present study investigates the information gathering behaviour of the academic researchers at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. It endeavours to explore researchers' awareness and attitudes towards information sources and services. Research methods for this study were designed from the user-centred perspective with triangulation approach. Hence, data was collected by the use of semistructured interviews as the main instrument with journal study and observation as supplementary tools. The information was collected from the members of the research community in their capacity as users of information. The study investigates the information needs and information gathering habits of the research community and attempts to identify the problems experienced by researchers in accessing and using information. It also seeks to explore the national policy for planning and provision of information. Finally the study examines the performance of the various information services in the context of user needs and the status of the institution library information service provision. The research concludes that present information environment at Sultan Qaboos University is inadequate to meet the information needs of the research community. It was found that the major causes for the situation was the lack of clear information policies, inadequate funding, ineffective partnership between top management and academic researchers, lack of effective in house training and finally absence of a reliable information technology infrastructure.

M.Bibl. / Television producers form a unique user group that mainly requires information regarding audio-visual material in order to produce or to enhance a television programme Information services can contribute to the successful completion of a programme by making information available. The aim of this study is to determine whether information services can enhance information for producers by adding value. The question is also asked which value-added level of information is required. A literature study was done to -examine the term "value-added" in order to be able to apply it to the information needs of television producers; -study the work environment of television producers in order to determine their information needs. An empirical investigation was executed by means of a layered random sampling test. Structured interviews were conducted by means of a questionnaire with a random portion of the television producer corps of the SABC. Personal details were gathered, as well as the use of information sources and services within the SABC and to which value- added level of information they require for a production. Value-added levels were based on Taylor's value-added continuum which consists of information that is enhanced to level two, Information Knowledge, followed by level three, Productive Knowledge, which leads to level four, Action. A television production is completed in four phases, that is the planning and research phase, filming phase, editing phase and final mixing phase .. The results showed that during the planning and research phases television producers require access to all possible information sources and services within the SABC. The information specialist can add value to the first level of value adding. In certain cases the television producers require information during the editing phase, during which the information specialist can add value up to the third level. The results of the research were distilled into a matrix, structured to indicate the levels of added-value to the television producer. Recommendations were made in order to provide a better information service.

The primary aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of using a participatory research approach as a method for determining information needs. Participatory research is a qualitative research methodology that challenges the principles and practices of objective, detached, quantitative research approaches in the social sciences. Three main trends converged to contribute to the emergence of the practice of participatory research namely: dissatisfaction in the development arena with the planning of projects without the involvement of the people themselves; the work of adult educators from which evolved a methodology in which learners gained control over their own learning processes; and the disenchantment of social scientists with traditional positivist research methods that distance researchers from the realities and social environment of the subjects of their research. Dissatisfaction with the use of quantitative methods and techniques, similar to that in the social sciences, occurred in information needs research, which resulted in a call for the development of an alternative set of premises and assumptions. This effected a move away from a view of information use from a system-oriented perspective, towards the use of qualitative methods focusing on the users themselves in determining their information needs. Both Coloureds and women in South Africa have been exposed to hardship and discrimination over many years. A literature review indicated that the planned participatory research project with Coloured women from Eersterust would be feasible. It became apparent that no studies on the information needs of Coloureds in South Africa had been done, and very little research was done dealing with the information needs of women. The literature on participatory research furthermore clearly indicated that the concept had become familiar in a diversity of settings and disciplines outside that of development. For the purposes of this study with women, it was also of significant interest to note the many similarities between participatory research and feminist research. With the practical implementation of the project, the pre-requisites and underlying principles of participatory research were strictly adhered to. Information needs that were identified during the course of the project were compared to needs identified in other similar South African studies. The active involvement of the women in the research project resulted in the identification of reliable and relevant information needs. These results can serve as an example for the increasing use of qualitative techniques in determining information needs, and affirm that participatory research methods can be a valuable alternative in the area of information needs research. / Dissertation (MIS (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Information Science / unrestricted

The age range at diagnosis, complexity of the condition, and sensitive nature of the issues involved in a diagnosis of Turner syndrome (TS), present specific challenges for health professionals in sharing information. Little is known about the perceived information needs of girls with TS and their parents. A flexible qualitative design, guided by the principles of symbolic interactionism was employed in this exploratory study. This design enabled meanings girls and their parents attached to TS, how they interpreted, shared and valued information to be uncovered. A purposive sample of 15 families with daughters aged 9 to 16 years were recruited from a tertiary paediatric endocrinology clinic. Girls and parents participated in a total of 27 recorded semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using the framework approach and the constant comparative method. Analysis revealed how girls and their parents interpreted and used information within the context of their everyday experiences of living with TS. Three activities were described by families: gathering and receiving, making sense of, and using and sharing information. Throughout these activities, themes of uncertainty, normalising and identity were present. A series of tensions described by the girls and their parents illustrated diverse approaches to the management of information. Meanings assigned to TS by girls and their parents influenced when, what and how information was shared with others. Despite a wealth of information, the girls and their parents described unfulfilled information needs. The interviews were dominated by discussion of the social implications of the condition and more specifically to social functioning, puberty and infertility. Parents were the primary source of information. These findings provide a basis for developing evidence based approaches to information sharing.

This thesis deals with the information behaviour of employees of large companies. Its first objective is to provide the necessary theoretical basis for solving this problem, explaining concepts such as information, communication, information behaviour and information needs. The second objective is to subsequently capture the typical information behaviour of individuals in the organisation and of their surroundings using questionnaire survey. The result of this research is confirming or disproving the expressed hypotheses and recommendation for corrective actions if any typical problems in the field of information behaviour were identified. The research is aimed at all employees of large companies operating in information-intensive industries.

Museums and libraries are considered large repositories of human knowledge and human culture. They have similar missions and goals in distributing accumulated knowledge to society. Current digitization projects allow both, museums and libraries to reach a broader audience, share their resources with a variety of users. While studies of information seeking behavior, retrieval systems and metadata in library science have a long history; such research studies in museum environments are at their early experimental stage. There are few studies concerning information seeking behavior and needs of virtual museum visitors, especially with the use of images in the museums' collections available on the Web. The current study identifies preferences of a variety of user groups about the information specifics on current exhibits, museum collections metadata information, and the use of multimedia. The study of information seeking behavior of users groups of museum digital collections or cultural collections allows examination and analysis of users' information needs, and the organization of cultural information, including descriptive metadata and the quantity of information that may be required. In addition, the study delineates information needs that different categories of users may have in common: teachers in high schools, students in colleges and universities, museum professionals, art historians and researchers, and the general public. This research also compares informational and educational needs of real visitors with the needs of virtual visitors. Educational needs of real visitors are based on various studies conducted and summarized by Falk and Dierking (2000), and an evaluation of the art museum websites previously conducted to support the current study.

This thesis reports on a study conducted to investigate the business information needs, seeking patterns and information services for small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in Namibia. The survey methodology was used and questionnaires were distributed to 308 SMMEs and 60 business service providers in the Windhoek and Oshana districts of Namibia. An in-depth qualitative assessment of the business information services was also conducted in 15 business support organisations in the two districts. The data collected through questionnaires was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The study revealed that SMMEs have a range of business information needs and top among them are information on: finance, marketing, training and business information. The study also revealed that the information seeking patterns of SMMEs are largely informal with limited use of formal business information services provided by a range of business support services. There are several business support organisations in Namibia providing a range of services, including the provision of business information services. However, the study established that there is need for a coordinated approach towards the provision of business information services in the SMME sector in Namibia. The study showed that the utilisation of ICTs among SMMEs is very limited to basic computer operations like word processing, book-keeping packages, and spreadsheets. The use of Internet as a business tool and source of business information among SMMEs is also very limited. However, the study shows that the utilisation of ICTs among business support organisations is advanced and that this could be used as a platform to improve information delivery services to the SMMEs. The study proposes a strategic model that could be used in the deployment of business information services in the SMME sector. This strategy is based on a definition of business information services, components of business information services and the steps that must be followed in the development of the services. The proposed strategy also outlines the steps that should be taken in the impact assessment of business information services. The study concludes by making several recommendations concerning the improvement of business information delivery services to the SMME sector. Business support organisations and, in particular government and Chambers of Commerce and Industry need to consider various approaches in the design of sustainable business information services. / Thesis (DPhil (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Information Science / unrestricted

Within any ecosystem, information needs are shared to be fulfilled and to support the ecosystem in a way or another. They are vital for designing appropriate information systems that will provide those needs. In this thesis, the gravel road ecosystem is studied, where efficient information sharing is not enabled due to the lack of appropriate information systems. Thus,when focusing on the gravel roads ecosystem, information plays a crucial role regarding the maintenance acts upon these roads. Moreover, not enough literature investigates theinformation needs of gravel roads stakeholders with the aim to improve the maintenance ofthese roads. Therefore, this thesis intends to elicit information needs of gravel road stakeholders by performing an exploratory case study. The case study forms a part of an ongoing project with the goal to build a cloud-based information system for a sustainable gravel road maintenance. Data were collected through telephone- and online-based interviews with several key stakeholders in Sweden and were thereafter structured through template analysis. The major findings were a set of information needs and several needed sensors within the pre-mentioned information system. This thesis concluded that the future cloud-based information system in the ongoing project is a useful system for sharing vital information among future gravel roads stakeholders, considering the variety of needed information that affects the maintenance of the gravel roads. / Sustainable maintenance of gravel roads

The web information behaviors of users as they interacted with a metadata navigator, the Personal Information (PI) Agent, and reflected upon their interaction experiences were studied. The process included studying the complete iterative (repeated) cycle of information needs, information seeking, and information use of users interacting with an internet-based prototype metadata PI Agent tool. Detlor’s theory of web information behaviors of organizational users was utilized as a theoretical foundation for studying human-information interactions via the PI Agent tool. The qualitative research design allowed for the use of triangulation within the context of a one-group pretest-posttest design. Triangulation occurred in three phases: (a) observe, (b) collect, and (c) reflect. Observations were made as participants solved three problem situations. Participants’ computer log and print screen data were collected, and follow-up interviews were conducted once all posttest sessions ended to enable users to reflect on their experiences. The three triangulation phases ensured saturation of data and greater depth regarding the participants’ information behaviors. Content analysis occurred via exploratory pattern analysis using the posttest Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) log data and on the six interviewees’ follow-up interview data. Users engaged in iterative cycles of information needs, information seeking, and information use to resolve the presented problem situations. The participants utilized the PI Agent tool iteratively to eliminate their knowledge gaps regarding the presented problem situations. This study was the first to use PSR log data for capturing evidence of the iterative search process as defined by Detlor. The implications for best practices were inspired by participant feedback, and recommendations for further study are made.

This thesis investigates both the information needs of the identified communities of Damonsville and Onverwacht and the contents of the selected Afrikaans literacy ABET programmes in order to determine whether the contents addresses the identified information needs. Educators need to develop material that is relevant and appropriate, for example, content that addresses the information needs of the targeted learners. The results of this content analysis were aligned with the information needs assessments carried out in the communities of Onverwacht and Damonsville. These two communities were chosen because of their close proximity to Pretoria and the high level of illiteracy prevailing in these two mainly Afrikaans-speaking communities. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were used in the study. Two communities of Damonsville and Onverwacht were chosen as data collection sites so as to reveal their information needs through the use of questionnaires. The data collected was analysed by using descriptive and statistical tabulation for quantitative and content analysis methods and then compared. The main research question of the study is, “What are the information needs of the Afrikaans pre-literate adult learners of both Damonsville and Onverwacht communities and how can the content of adult literacy training material be tailored to match the information requirements of the identified communities?”. From the data derived from empirical study conducted, a list of activities which serve as information needs of both communities was compiled and could then be used when designing instructional tutorials so as that the content could match the specified needs of the identified communities. From the content analysis of the three literacy programmes, findings have indicated that there exist no correlation between the information needs of the identified communities and the contents of the literacy programmes. The researcher argues this shortcoming as a major implication to instructional design. Based on the findings of a comparison between the content of the Afrikaans literacy programmes and the information needs of the people in Onverwacht and Damonsville, a learning programme in the form of two lesson plans were compiled in which the identified information needs of the learners determined the content. Recommendations for the improvement of the content of literacy programmes that could be used in future were also made. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Afrikaans / unrestricted