The purpose of this thesis is to show students’ information behaviour in everyday life and towards the Student Union of Borås. Methods of active information seeking and more random information encountering as well as information ignorance are of interest. The study focused on three issues; the first was to examine what information behaviour the students presented while acquiring information in their everyday life. The second was to find out what information behaviour the students had to acquire information from the Student Union of Borås. The third was what barriers prevented information from the Student Union of Borås from reaching the students and how the students would prefer to get information. The theoretical framework was a combination of Tom Wilson’s theories of Information Behaviour, Carol C. Kuhlthau’s model of the Information Search Process, Sanda Erdelez’s concept Information Encountering, Donald O. Case’s study of the concept information avoidance, ignorance and filtering and Michael Buckland’s list of information barriers. With a combination of methods, a questionnaire and qualitative interviews with 8 respondents the study was carried through. The analysis of the empirical material was conducted by comparing the respondents’ statements with the combined theoretical framework. The result of the study shows that the students combined methods of active information seeking, random information encountering and information ignorance in their everyday life as well as towards the Student Union of Borås. The study also shows that the most important part in removing information barriers between the Student Union and the students were to make the Student Union an interesting source of information, and that the students wanted the information in the easiest way possible, on their terms. A well functioning and updated webpage was one of the top priorities identified in this study.

The purpose of this Master’s Thesis is to examine the information use and information behavior of the scientists at the company ”Forskningsbolaget”. For this purpose an Information Audit was carried out using both interviews with six managers and a questionnaire, which was sent out to the entire population of 213 scientists. After finding out what information the scientists use and how they obtain it the aim was to answer the question of to what extent the company’s Information Centre can meet these needs. The theoretical framework consists of Information management with focus on Choo’s Information management cycle. The result of this study shows that the information use to some extent differ in each division of the company. Printed scientific journals are the number one source of information used by the scientists and it’s also the most obtained source from the Information centre. Many of the scientists would like to have access to a wider range of e-journals as lack of time is an issue. In search for new information the scientists turn to the Internet as their first choice and Google is widely used. The study revealed information gaps which combined with the low use of the library indicate that the Information Centre needs to make itself and its products more visible in the organization. Another issue to consider is the impact that the fee-based system has on the use of the library. The organization also needs to communicate its view on information throughout the company, for instance by formulating an information policy. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The purpose of this master’s thesis is to study an electronic reference service from a user perspective. By qualitative interviews with eight students the thesis examines their information behaviour, why and when they use the service, the user’s experiences of the service and the communication with the librarian. The users have all used the Swedish electronic reference service Fråga biblioteket – Forskningsbibliotek. We analyse the material by extracting conceptions of literature and earlier research concerning the questions our study is based on. Our theoretical framework is based on Brenda Dervin’s theory on sense-making and Carol Kuhlthau’s model of the information seeking process. The results of the interviews show that students want quick answers and a service that is convenient and easy to use, which they consider this service to be. They also want useful information but that does not mean that they actually use the information they receive, sometimes they change it to suit their situation.Despite being experienced users of the library, this new service can generate feelings of uncertainty but information on how to use the service and the reception by the librarian can alter this. Questions students have do not cause any thoughts on issues of integrity or anonymity and they seem to have a solid trust in libraries and librarians in general. The conclusion of this study is that users do not really know what demands they can have on the service, but that can change by clearer information about the service and by user education. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The main purpose of this work was to examine the information behavior of nonfiction publishing Company editors. Three problem areas were presented and expressed in the following questions:- What is the information need of the editor in every day work?- Which sources of information do the editors use when they are looking for information and how do they make use of them?- Are there any factors that have an influence on the information behavior of the editors and in what way do the factors effect the information behavior of the editors in their everyday work? And finally, do the editors experience any factors as barriers to information behavior?Six editors, all with academical background, all employed in different publishing companies were interviewed. The result of this study have been analysed within a theoretical framework influenced by the work of Tom Wilson, Lars Höglund and Olle Persson and Block and Lagberg. The result shows that the editors had various regular needs of information in their every day work. They needed new information to get a grip on the market and competitors. Furthermore they needed inspiration and feed-back. They also needed information to confirm and explain tasks in manuscripts. It was important for the editors to have quick access to reliable information sources. Therefore the use of oral information from colleagues both face-to-face through interpersonal communication and through the Internet was frequently used. Internet was a very important tool for their information seeking and collection of information. The private collection of books of the editors was important. I found that non-word oriented sources such as pictures and the daily use of books influenced their information behavior. The editors often browsed information haphazardly, which generated finding information by serendipity, information to use in their work. Factors influencing the information behaviour of editors were the organisation, work tasks, geographical environment and personal interests and preferences. Barriers to information were also found.

Affärssystem används idag inom de flesta verksamheter. Syftet med ettaffärssystem är att det ska stödja verksamhetens handlingar och på så sättbidra till en effektivisering. I dagsläget utnyttjas endast en bråkdel av defunktioner som finns i affärssystemet och användarantalet ligger på en lågnivå. Företag måste därför bli bättre på att använda och utnyttja sittaffärssystem. I denna studie söker vi svar på hur ett affärssystem kanunderlätta användares olika handlingar, detta genom att basera uppsatsen påteoretiska och empiriska studier. Vi redogör för teorin kring handlingsbarhetoch informationsbeteende som visats ha en betydande roll för hur effektivtett affärssystem är. Det argumenteras även för det inflytande socialarelationer har på ett företags handlingar och betydelsen avanvändarutbildning. Genom att studera tillverkningsföretaget Industri-TextilJob ABs handlingar och användning av affärssystemet Garp, bidrar dennastudie till att skapa förståelse för varför vissa funktioner inte används i ettaffärssystem samt hur systemet kan användas mer effektivt. Med stöd frånden teoretiska studien resulterade den empiriska studien i ett antal förslag tilleffektiviseringsåtgärder. Till viss del går förslagen att generalisera, vilketmöjliggör en applicering på flera olika typer av företag, en del förslag ärdock specifika för tillverkningsföretag. Vi kom fram till att ett effektivtaffärssystem kräver kunskap hos de anställda, anpassningsbara funktionersom tillmötesgår användarens behov samt att informationen finns tillgängligför berörda parter. Samtidigt är det viktigt med en fullständig kartläggningav verksamheten för att se hur handlingar kan påverka varandra. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Föreliggande studie behandlar hur textens utformning påverkar läsupplevelsen vid läsning på skärm, med avseende på variabler så som typsnitt och svårighet. Läsning vid skärm är en mycket vanligt förekommande uppgift, varför optimering kring denna upplevelse är nödvändig. Använda mått är läshastighet i ord per minut (wpm) och läsförståelse (mätt med hjälp av ett frågeformulär innehållande ett antal slutna frågor). Studien tar sin ursprungspunkt kring teorier om informationsbeteende, läsning och läsbarhet samt ögats funktionalitet. Dessa teorier fungerar som ett teoretiskt fundament i vilken studien baseras på. Studien avser därefter att studera måtten i relation till två olika typsnitt, ett med seriffer: Times, och ett utan seriffer: Arial. Studien genomförs med 20 personer som läser fyra texter, där två kategoriseras som medelsvåra och två kategoriseras som svåra, enligt måttet Läxbarhetsindex (LIX). En statistisk prövning baserad på hypoteser genomfördes, vilken visade signifikanta samband mellan läshastighet och typsnitt. Inga signifikanta samband mellan läsförståelse och typsnitt erhölls. Dock förelåg signifikanta samband mellan läshastighet och textsvårighet, men ej mellan subjektiv upplevelse av text och typsnitt. Det fanns dock samband mellan subjektiv upplevelse av text och läshastighet, där texter som tog längre tid att läsa och uppfattades som svårare, dock fanns inga samband mellan subjektiv upplevelse och textsvårighet, inte heller mellan läsförståelse och textsvårighet. Samband mellan läshastighet och läsförståelse erhölls dock. Ytterligare avsågs att studera hur teori kring informationsbeteende kan förklara de resultat som uppkom. Det visade sig att vissa komponenter, så som exempelvis stress också förekom och påverkade respondenternas resultat. Vidare kunde vissa av de resultat som framkom knytas an till både teori och tidigare forskning, men dock inte alla. Studien är en i ett led av forskningsrapporter som avser att klargöra hur läsning vis skärm optimeras, mycket återstår fortfarande att utredas.

This thesis aims to investigate the information habits of peoplewith a serious interest in music. What information needs do theyexperience, what information sources do they seek out to fulfillthese needs and what part does the public libraries play in theirinformation habits?To answer these questions a qualitative approach was used. Fourrespondents with a serious interest in music were interviewed.The theoretic framework was based on Robert A. Stebbins theoryon serious leisure and Karen E. Pettigrew’s concept ofinformation grounds.The results of the study showed that the primary informationneeds consisted of: finding new music to listen to, findinginformation about artists and bands, finding information aboutopportunities to play live and finding information about musictechnology. The main information sources used were: friends andacquaintances and the internet. Additional sources like books andmagazines were also used to some extent. The findings show thatpublic libraries were used very moderately. When they on occasionwere used it was mainly to locate materials that could be hard tofind through other sources, for example sheet music. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The aim of this thesis is to examine information behavioursamongst a group of social anthropologists. The thesis alsohas a special focus on issues concerning information andinformation behaviour during periods of ethnographicfieldwork. As a empirical foundation for this studyinterviews where made between may – september in 2011with seven social anthropologists active at a swedishuniversity. The results from the conducted interviews areanalysed with the theoretical framework of the informationbehaviour theory as presented by T.D Wilson. Furthermorethe concept of “information worlds” by Paul T. Jeager andGary Burnett is another theoretical viewpoint in this thesis.Results in this study shows that the social anthropologistsduring periods of ethnographic fieldwork, in addition to theempirical data gathering process by participant observationand similar methods, actively search for relevant informationin other information sources. These types of informationseeking amongst the social anthropologists in this studyshows strong connections to the intervening variablespresented in T.D Wilson´s models of information behaviour.Overall the study shows that it´s possible to observe anotable change in the information behaviour amongst thesocial anthropologists during ethnographic fieldwork. Theempirical data collection presents by natural reasons a bigtime consuming part of the fieldwork. But the study alsoreveals different perceptions and views amongst the socialanthropologists on issues concerning searching and usingdifferent types of information sources, and especially issuesconcerning theoretical literature and likewise duringfieldwork. / Program: Bibliotekarie

<p>The aim of this master thesis was to examine the European Commission's information resources from a user perspective in order to clarify the needs and circumstances of the search of EU-information among students at Örebro University. 41 students participated in a survey, and four of them was interviewed. On the basis of Pendelton- and Chatmans theories of information behaviour in small worlds, it were assumed that the students' education and citizenship in the European Union affected their needs and the search of EU information.</p><p>The study showed that the students needs for EU-related information has increased, with the current education, but also been linked to earlier educations. The students Citizens need were mainly associated with elections such as the EMU-election, but also in some cases to a need of the general knowledge.</p><p>A review of the European Commission's information resources were made with an emphasis on European Documentation Centre, EDC. The survey showed that most students used the EDC and the EU-databases that was made available by the European Commission through the EDC and the university library but were not aware that they used EDC.</p><p>The survey also showed that students made use of familiar sources and resources when they searched the EU-information, such as the library's regular database list, the library catalogue and search engine on the internet are not requested of other resources. In line with Pendelton and Chatmans's theory the students did not seek information if it was not consider necessary.</p>

The aim of this master thesis was to examine the European Commission's information resources from a user perspective in order to clarify the needs and circumstances of the search of EU-information among students at Örebro University. 41 students participated in a survey, and four of them was interviewed. On the basis of Pendelton- and Chatmans theories of information behaviour in small worlds, it were assumed that the students' education and citizenship in the European Union affected their needs and the search of EU information. The study showed that the students needs for EU-related information has increased, with the current education, but also been linked to earlier educations. The students Citizens need were mainly associated with elections such as the EMU-election, but also in some cases to a need of the general knowledge. A review of the European Commission's information resources were made with an emphasis on European Documentation Centre, EDC. The survey showed that most students used the EDC and the EU-databases that was made available by the European Commission through the EDC and the university library but were not aware that they used EDC. The survey also showed that students made use of familiar sources and resources when they searched the EU-information, such as the library's regular database list, the library catalogue and search engine on the internet are not requested of other resources. In line with Pendelton and Chatmans's theory the students did not seek information if it was not consider necessary.