This study examines the broad problem of the role of information in decisionmaking by
tertiary education administrators. The purpose of the study is to investigate the
information required by administrators for decisionmaking, to discover patterns of
use, the sources most commonly used, and the effect of environment and context on the
type and source of information. The method chosen to exemplify the research
problem, a case study of one particular tertiary institution, allows for examination, in
depth, of the flow of information and of information seeking behaviour in one unique
organisation. It also affords the opportunity to apply the findings directly to the object
of the study. At the time, the institution was experiencing a period of uncertainty and
change which culminated in its becoming part of a new networked or federated
university.
Three groups of models from the literature guide the study. These relate typologies of
information to decisionmaking; transpose information for decisionmaking into the
higher education context; and relate behavioural and environmental factors to
information. The basis of this case study is a series of semistructured interviews
following an agenda based on the models chosen. Data was analysed by patternmatching
and explanation-building.
Two significant contextual factors are apparent: the first, the high degree of perceptible
uncertainty in the institution's environment; and the second, the idiosyncrasies
of the individual administrator. The case study approach was found to be
appropriate for the unusual organisational circumstances existing at the time.
Strategies for improvement in the effectiveness of information seeking for
decisionmaking include recommendations for the institution and for its library.
Suggestions for further research are also made.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218699 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Ransome, Alison, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Library & Information Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Alison Ransome |
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