ThepurposeofthisBachelor’sthesiswastoexaminetheinternalinformationmanagementatBoråsBoråsTMEABviaacasestudy.InordertoachievethispurposeanInformationAuditwasconducted.ThetheoreticalframeworkormodelfortheauditwasthatofBuchananandGibb.Dataforthestudywascollectedusingfocusgroupinterviewsandpolicydocuments.Theinterviewswereanalyzedwiththehelpofqualitativecontentanalysis.ThetheoreticalmodelofChoo’sInformationmanagementcyclewasusedtofurtherdescribetheorganizationsinternalinformationmanagement.Theresultsshowalackofpredeterminedroutinesandpoliciesregardinginformationmanagementandtheuseofinformationresources.Furthermore,theunitK:,FacebookandtheweeklyThursdaystaffmeetingwereidentifiedasthethreemostimportantresourcesforinternalinformationmanagement.Inaccordancewiththeinformationauditanorganizationdescriptionwascompletedusingpolicydocuments.Theauthoralsopresentsfoursuggestionsforactionplanswiththehelpoftheresultsofthecontentanalysis.Thestudyrevealedthattheinternalinformationmanagementwasrathergood.Thiswasduetotherathersmallsizeoftheorganizationandthatthestaffhadawellfunctioningcooperation.Thiscooperationisdescribedassomewhatproblematicasfrictionbetweensomedepartmentswasidentified. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The outcome of the Brexit referendum sparked a discussion in the media about ill-informed voters. There are few studies that investigate the information behaviour of voters, and even fewer of referendum voters. This thesis explores a small population of students at Scottish universities to gain insight in how they sought, received, and communicated information before the Brexit referendum. The aim is to investigate the students' information behaviour before they voted. Twenty-two students were interviewed, using a survey interviewing technique that also included open questions. The findings show that students were active, and interested, information seekers, but that they experienced a lack of quality information. Instead of trusting media sources, they turned to friends and family for information, although few changed their mind from their original conviction. The conclusions show that political awareness affected the information behaviour of the students, which is supported by Zaller’s Receive-Accept-Sample model, and that there was a high level of political awareness among the participants, in part because of the previous Scottish independence referendum. Wilson’s model of information behaviour was applied, and the analysis shows that intervening variables such as environment, role relations, and source characteristics affected information seeking, as well as other intervening variables like the lack of information and distrust of information sources.

Homebrewing of beer is a worldwide growing hobby, and using Stebbins’ theories on leisure, brewing can be classified as a serious leisure. Using a qualitative approach, the aim of this explorative bachelor’s thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of a group of serious leisure homebrewers through the use of semi-structured interviews. The research questions are: Which information resources are used by home brewers? Which information activities do homebrewers perform? To what extent do homebrewers share information with other home brewers? The transcribed interviews were analysed using Lloyd’s concept on information landscapes, Talja and Hansen’s concept on information behaviour and previous studies on the information behavior of hobbyists.The homebrewers use a variety of text-based, social and physical information resources for their hobby. Beer is the most important information resource, as interaction with different categories of beer create the brewers own taste. Taste act as a catalyst for consequent information activities. The brewers own experiences of brewing is also a valued resource since it creates know-how about the processes involved. The main information activities associated with brewing revolve around the making of recipes: brewers search for recipes that they compare, alter or combine to suit their own preferences. Information sharing is prevalent among the brewers in the study as it is expected by the homebrewing community at large. Sharing is seen as a method of transferring information from brewer to brewer in their quest for the ultimate brew.

This is a qualitative research based onsemistructured interviews, with a thematic analysis.The focus of the paper is historians and theirapproach to digital reproductions. The selection ofsource material, the risk of manipulation, therelevance of original sources and credibility ofdigital resources were examined. Historians interestsand needs and perceived problems associated withdigital source material were also examined. Theconclusion shows that historians are positive tomake use of digital reproductions due to availability.Digitization has simplified and transformed researchin several aspects. Digital and analog sources areoften combined and several historians have alsocompleted research that has been entirely based ondigital material. The original source have differentimportance for the interviewed historians, as well asthe personal interaction with a physical source. Thecredibility is in most cases high and the risk ofmanipulation is low. It´s however important toremember that digital material means a limitation interms of selection. The result also shows that the useof digital resources often depends on the situationand implementation. The digital source material thathistorians have worked with have not alwayssatisfied them. The lack of context and the fact thatmaterials are not always searchable is perceived asan availability issue and was expressed as criticism.It also appeared that digital material exhibits varyingquality. All interviewed historians had experiencedpoor quality in different ways.

Introduction. I report an investigation designed to identify the contemporary role of digital resources for information retrieval, such as Alex Author-dictionary. This study proposes that it is essential to see digital resources and their specific place within contemporary structures for information retrieval, that digital resources relate to a broader context. My focus is facts beyond giving patrons access to a specific type of information about authors. Method. This case study uses integration of qualitative content analysis from interviewees with data analysis. A pre-search interview and data-analysis along with follow-up interviews established some interesting perspectives on Alex Author-dictionary as well as aspects on digital resources for information retrieval. Transcripts of the interviews formed the data for analysis. Analysis. Qualitative analyses were carried out from two preparatory email-interviews, one with the editor and one with a person who writes for Alex. Another pre-search interview and two following interview sessions, one with a school librarian and another with a public librarian, were conducted. Results. It proved possible to demonstrate that Alex Author-dictionary as such has its benefits compared to sources from the internet. The results derive from and agree with some previous studies, especially that there is a where, when and how to use different resources. The web for example could advantageously give patrons access to other formats such as video interviews etc. that the library doesn’t hold. Conclusion. I identify a need to enlarge the scope of how patrons teach users. Users of all ages would be benefited from knowing when to use Google and when benefited using other digital resources of information retrieval. This sound awareness is directly related to users need to develop skills, and then interpret their own actual information literacy. This could take place either in sessions of user education at the library, or from teachers in a school environment.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the information seeking behaviour of graduate students at Uppsala University, Sweden. Using a qualitative method I gain deeper knowledge of the students’ information behaviour. Method – I interview four master students concerning their information seeking. Two of the students are from the social sciences and two from the medical sciences. Findings – The findings show that students primarily use electronic information resources. The students prefer to access scientific articles electronically, and they rarely use printed books in their studies. The students prefer to use library databases over Google Scholar. The reason for this is not only the access to material, but also that they prefer the more advanced search options provided by the library. Further results show that the students tend to avoid interaction with librarians. Paper type – Two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to examine the information needs of reporters at a Swedish daily newspaper, and see if they are met by the information resources provided by the newspaper. It examines if there are resources which are not used and why. The examination is based on Henczel’s model for information auditing. The method used is five qualitative interviews with reporters and 25 inquiries are sent out as well. Two interviews with people working with information management on the newspaper are also conducted. The theoretical framework consists of Taylor’s theories about information use environments, Byström’s research on task complexity and how it affects information use, and a discussion about information, knowledge and knowledge management. The result shows that reporters’ information needs are vast and vary a lot depending on what kind of issues they write about. Most of the information needs are met without the information resources provided by the newspaper, although certain resources are considered very important by some of the reporters. There are also unused resources. Reasons for this are that they do not contain the kind of information needed by the reporters, that reporters do not know they exist, or that they are not updated. / Uppsatsnivå: D

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

<p>Uppsatsen undersöker hur informationsanvändningen och informationsbehoven ser ut i designstudenters arbete med olika projekt, i syfte att ta fram kvalitetskriterier för informationssystem och informationsresurser. Underlaget för uppsatsen bygger på utforskande ostrukturerade djupintervjuer med 5 master-studenter i industriell design vid Umeå Designhögskola. Informanterna fick i detalj beskriva arbetsprocessen i minst ett projekt de deltagit i och frågor ställdes sedan kring vilken information som användes i denna process, och vad denna information bidrog med. Analysen av detta material gav 6 stycken kategorier av information. Dessa kopplades samman med olika användningsområden:</p><p>Informationen inom kategorin textuell information (artiklar, böcker, projektbeskrivningar, etc.) kan delas in i två huvudsakliga användningsområden: A) den används för att få specifika faktauppgifter om ett område; och/eller B) den används för att mer allmänt göra sig en bild av hur relationerna i projektets kontext ser ut. Informationen inom kategorin visuell information (bilder, foton, skisser, etc.) kan delas in i fyra huvudsakliga användningsområden: A) den används som visuell inspiration; B) den används för att mer direkt guida vid skissning, modellering och liknande konstnärliga praktiker; C) den används för att illustrera någonting i själva projektpresentationen; och/eller D) den används för att mer allmänt förstå projektets kontext. Informationen inom kategorin audio-visuell information (videor från hemsidor främst Youtube) kan delas in i fyra huvudsakliga användningsområden A) den används för visuell inspiration; B) den används för attmer direkt guida vid utformnings- och konstruktionsprocessen; C) den används för att illustrera någonting i själva projektpresentationen; och/eller D) den används för att mer allmänt förstå projektets kontext. Informationen inom kategorin taktil/skapande information (beröra och uppleva,att skissa och skissen, att modellera och modellen, etc.) kan delas in i fem huvudsakliga användningsområden: A) den används för att nå en personlig förståelse av en form, yta ellerliknande hos den egna designen; B) den används för att mer direkt guida vid vidare skissning, modellering och liknande konstnärliga praktiker; C) den används för att illustrera någonting i själva projektpresentationen; D) den används för att testa designens genomförbarhet; och/eller E) den används för att nå och förstå en användargrupps reaktioner. Informationen inom kategorin interpersonell information (intervjuer, observationer, handledning, etc.) kan delas in i fyra huvudsakliga användningsområden: A) den används för att designern bättre skall kunna identifiera sig med sina tänkta användare; B) den används för att finna ut vilka problemområden som finns kring ett projekt; C) den används för att nå och förstå en användargrupps reaktioner; och/eller D) den används för att få andra perspektiv på designen. Personell information (tidigare erfarenheter) används, i de olika projektbeskrivningarna, som inspiration för designlösningar att forska vidare kring. Allt som allt handlar det om 14 olika användningsområden där ett fåtal överlappar flera olika av informationskategorierna. Hur dessa överlappningar sker syns tydligare i Illustration 2 (sida 29).</p><p>En kronologisk modell över vilka faser ett projekt vanligtvis gick igenom konstruerades utifrån projektbeskrivningarna (faserna illustreras i Illustration 1, sida 28, och i Illustration 2 åskådliggörs vilka av de nämnda användningsområdena och informationskategorierna som är tydligast knutna till varje fas). De huvudsakliga frågeställningar som i varje projektfas krävde svar fick beteckna fasernas olika informationsbehov:</p><p>Forskningsfasens informationsbehov: Vilka är de tänkta användarna? Hur agerar dessa? Vilken är den tänkta tekniken? Hur interagerar de tänkta användarna med den tänkta tekniken? Skissningsfasens informationsbehov: Vilka är problemområdena? Hur kan de olika problemområdena lösas designmässigt? Utvärderingsfasens informationsbehov: Är de tänkta designlösningarna realistiska? Hur reagerar användare och/eller kollegor på designlösningarna? Vilka lösningar förtjänar att fokuseras på för vidare arbete? Designfasens informationsbehov: Hur kan den valda designlösningen vidareutvecklas? Hur kan designlösningen utformas grafiskt? Vilken grafisk lösning fungerar bäst? Polereringsfasens informationsbehov: Hur skall designprojektet presenteras? Vilket material skall användas för att bäst åskådliggöra designprocessen?</p><p>Slutsatserna av analysen angiven ovan är att informationssystem och informationsresurser riktade mot projektarbetande designstudenter både måste se till att de olika informationsformerna finns representerade i informationsrepertoaren samt att denna information klarar att tillfredställa projektfasernas informationsbehov. I denna process är samverkan och god kommunikation mellande parter som ingår i det övergripande informationssystemet av hög vikt. Informationen tillhandahållen genom informationssystem och informationsresurser måste även vara kontinuerligt uppdaterad och lättillgänglig. En diskussion kring hur biblioteken kan spela en roll för designstudenter avslutar uppsatsen och här läggs fokus på biblioteket som förmedlare av främst textuell, visuell och personell information. Biblioteken har traditionellt varit en plats för främst texter och i viss mån bilder, men kan även spela en viktig roll som en plats för inspiration och nya möten.</p>

<p>Nine out of ten larger companies have an intranet today which is supposed to improve the communication withinthe company and save money. A great part of these intranets were established in the beginning of the 1990’swithout giving any thought to the users and their needs. How does the communication inside the corporationslook like when the intranets that are supposed to be the source for every information request, aren’t usable? Whatother sources do the users use and how much?The aim of this master thesis is to examine information source selection at a specific company. In addition,the aim is to study the companies intranet usability from the users’ perspective. Interviews with five employeesat Viking Line were carried out to analyze these questions. The empiric material also consists of a survey carriedout among 78 employees of the company. The principle of least effort and the cost/benefit model is introduced astwo possible theories that can explain the information source selection at the chosen company.The results show that the information source selection at the company cannot be explained by only onetheory or one model, in contrast to a great part of prior research. The selection of information source do dependon factors like perceived accessibility and perceived quality of the information but other factors are shown toaffect information seeking decisions as well. Therefore, the empiric material shows that time pressure affectsusers’ choice of source selection to more accessible information sources. Another factor that can have an effecton the user is how one employee treats another. When the employee has been negatively treated at the momenthe is seeking information, the employee is more likely to use impersonal sources.Furthermore, the intranet at Viking Line is the most used as well as the most reliable source according tothe users, even though the intranet does not satisfy all needs of the employees. The users are also highly accustomedwith the intranet which increases its perceived accessibility.The conclusion of this study is that the principle of least effort and the cost/benefit model do indeed explainthe users’ choice of information source, but only partly. The study was conducted at a specific company but theconclusions drawn could be applied to other similar companies where intranets are a great part of the employeesinformation seeking. Finally, I believe, that the effectiveness of the employee is directly connected to the effectivenessof the information sources available at the company. Moreover, if companies improved their intranetsthe companies would become more effective.This paper is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.</p>