Are You Being Served? Historians and the Search for Primary Sources
Abstract
In recent years archives have spent increasing amounts of time and money developing on-line finding aids and other electronic retrieval tools. However, there have been relatively few studies of the effectiveness of such tools or of users' information-seeking behaviour on which to base these developments. This paper presents results from a survey of UK academic historians' information-seeking behaviour. It suggests that although historians have varied information retrieval methods, clear patterns and preferences are visible. Moreover, analysis suggests that the predominant factor to explain historians' information-retrieval behaviour is the type, or genre, of source concerned. Lastly, the implications of these results for the development of archival information systems are considered.
RÉSUMÉ
Durant les dernières années, de plus en plus de temps et d'argent ont été consacrés par les institutions d'archives au développement d'instruments de recherche en ligne et d'autres outils électroniques pour repérer l'information. Cependant, ces développements se sont basés sur peu d'études concernant l'efficacité de ces outils ou encore le comportement des utilisateurs dans la recherche d'information. Cet article présente les résultats d'un sondage auprès d'historiens universitaires du Royaume-Uni quant à leur comportement dans la recherche d'information. L'auteur suggère que, même si les historiens ont différentes méthodes pour retrouver l'information, des modèles et des préférences clairs apparaissent. De plus, il suggère que le facteur prédominant expliquant le comportement des historiens dans la recherche d'information est le type ou le genre de source recherché. Enfin, les répercussions de ces résultats sur le développement des systèmes d'information sont présentées.
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