Humanities Scholar Information-Seeking Behavior: Quantitative Approach: IEREK Interdisciplinary Series for Sustainable Development

Full text

Humanities Scholar Information-Seeking
Behavior: Quantitative Approach
Mohammad Khaled Al Shboul , Othman A. Obeidat ,
and Natarajan Sundar
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the humanities scholars’
information needs and behavior in an ICT environment as
a case study at Yarmouk University, Jordan. Earlier
researches showed that humanities scholars have an
incompatible relationship with ICT use even despite their
significant use of library facilities compared to other
scholars. Not to mention, the lack of up-to-date studies,
which considers the significant acceleration in ICT
infrastructure and the emerging digital environment.
However, the main objectives are to (a) understand
humanities scholar’s behavior and their information need
in an ICT environment (b) identify the barriers they
encountered, the study employed survey questionnaire
method. 280 Academic staff from four faculties of
humanities were sampled and selected. Responses were
received from 161 academician’s staff members. The
finding indicated that the humanities scholars possessed
various level of awareness in the availability of sources
and services of information in their field of subject
interest. Besides, they showed different motivations in
in-formation-seeking which were influenced by the usage
of appropriate format and preference languages. It was
also discovered that barriers in information-seeking such
as limited of library resources, inconvenient of university
environment and personal incompetency had affect their
information-seeking satisfaction. They overcame the
barriers through personal experience and technological
literacy. Lastly, the findings can greatly assist the library
in facilitating the needed re-sources and services which
could ease the information-seeking behavior. It also can
increase the level of satisfaction among the library users
particularly the electronic resources and services.
Keywords
Information-Seeking behavior Information needs 
Humanities scholars ICT environment 
Jordan
1 Introduction
The history of research of information behavior dated back
in 1948 where the conference of Royal Society discussed a
research about the scientific information [1–3]. Over years of
studies, researchers have studied the information behavior
and needs, features and characteristics of scholars. The study
of similarities and differences of information behavior
among library users can provide the appropriate services to
the users’information needs.
The access and dissemination of information has been
changed in recent years due to the tremendous evolution of
the Internet and web-based technology. Thus, have influ-
enced in one way or another the humanities scholars seeking
behavior, and the way that academic libraries are handling
and managing their resources and delivering services [4,5].
Therefore, in 21st century researcher believed that a new
study on the information behavior of humanities scholars is
required. Besides, a study on the current scenario among
non-English speaker in the developing Arab country such as
Jordan is vital requirement. Previous studies shown a sig-
nificantly substantiation differences between the information
seeking behavior of scholars in the social science [6–9], and
science [10–14]. Furthermore, the humanities scholars
showed particular behavior during their information-seeking
process which were different than other scholars in other
disciplines [4,13–15].
In the ICT environment, humanities scholars encountered
an issue in selecting the proper and efficient searching
M. K. A. Shboul (&)N. Sundar
American University in the Emirates, Dubai, UAE
e-mail: alhareth8@gmail.com
N. Sundar
e-mail: gn.sundar5@gmail.com
O. A. Obeidat
Al-Balqa Applied University, Salt, Jordan
e-mail: dr.othmanobeidat@hotmail.com
©Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
A. Al-Masri and K. Curran (eds.), Smart Technologies and Innovation for a Sustainable Future,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01659-3_20
177

criteria. They are slow and left-behind in embracing the
modern technology [4,10,16]. Barrett [17] Reported that
they did not prefer the electronic information technology.
They were also reported that they feel pressure while dealing
and using the information technology [18]. This happen due
to their incompetence skill in ICT usage compared to other
disciplines [4]. Besides, [19] humanities scholars made little
use of online databases and many of them reported about the
trouble of the search language, and lack of availability of
desired primary resources [17]. Additionally, more printed
books and journals are still being referred compared to the
electronic format [15]. Talja and Maula [20] Called the
humanities scholars “low level users”, particularly in the
usage of e-journals and electronic databases.
2 Aim and Objectives
This study aims to investigate the information needs and
behaviour among humanities scholars in various depart-
ments at Yarmouk University Jordan. This is to contribute to
the context of Library and Information Science in the
developing country of Arab nation. This study explores the
information needs and behaviour of humanities scholars and
the undertaken information-seeking process they do to fulfil
their information needs. Moreover, this study investigates
the behaviour of humanities scholars in utilizing the needed
information, especially the digital resources and services in
an ICT-enriched environment for their academic tasks. This
study also explores the effectiveness of their information-
seeking process and the barriers of information-seeking
faced by them.
The detail objectives of this study are:
1. To investigate the humanities scholar’s information
behaviour and needs in an ICT environment at Yarmouk
University Jordan.
2. To identify the barriers that humanities scholars faced by
the while they seek for information and use it for their
academician tasks.
3 Literature Review
According to [21], information-seeking behaviour is moti-
vated by individual’s information needs. It is an individual’s
mental process where they identify the need to satisfy their
information needs to accomplish their task through what is
known as “information-seeking behaviour”.[22,23] asserted
that the information needs and information-seeking beha-
viour varies according to the demographic attributes.
The understanding of how demographic attributes
induced the information needs and affect how humanities
scholars behave in their information-seeking process is
important to be studied to help the library in providing
information services that suit and fulfil to all group of
demographic customers. This is supported by [24] where
they mentioned that (i) personal reasons in information-
seeking, (ii) types of information being searched, and
(iii) methods and sources of information being searched,
were the factors that influenced information-seeking of an
individual. Moreover, research on information needs and
information-seeking behaviour is crucial because it could
determine the first step and the sequence process of the user
behaviour [25].
3.1 Traditional and Emerging
Information-Seeking Behavior
Among humanities scholars, there is a different in terms of
the way or means the seek for information. The traditional
way such as going to and use library collections by browsing
and reading the printed books and journals were still pre-
ferred by humanities scholars [15,26–32]. As well they use
numerous sources of information like monographs, and
seldom discuss general bibliographic works, indexes, and
another secondary services [33].
Despite of the traditional way that humanities scholar’s
prefer towards the physical library and printed materials, few
of humanities scholars find it useful with the availability of
electronic journals from the Internet [34]. There are also
positive changes of information-seeking behavior among
some of them as found by [35,36]. This includes a more
pleasant, easy to access and up-to-date information on online
catalogue. In addition, the access to download the electronic
information and to be printed it is the main reason of pref-
erence to use the electronic journals among humanities
scholars. Other than the electronic journals, e-mail, websites,
and databases that can be easily searched and modified are
the preferred medium to seek for information among them.
Additionally, [36] stressed that there were some setbacks
on the use of electronic resources. First was the lack of
knowledge and training to use the electronic search engine
and the Internet. Second was the torrential search results that
were not fully correlated to their information need. Lastly is
the credibility of the sources of the information.
Locating the Information, Location of Information-
seeking, Format and Language of Information Sources,
Tools or Channels of Information, and Types of Infor-
mation Resources Used
There is a variation among humanities scholars in terms
of how they locate their information, location of where they
178 M. K. A. Shboul et al.

seek the information, format and language used, tools of
information, and types of information resources they used.
References [8,31,36–38] discovered that humanities
scholars still prefer the conventional practice to locate their
printed books and articles by going to the department or
university library. In terms of the location of where they
prefer to seek for information, majority of humanities
scholars prefer to seek information from their office and
home. This preference is for the electronic resources which
can conveniently access from the Internet at their office and
home [7,31,32,39–41]. Between printed and electronic
format of information sources, the printed format especially
books and journals were preferred than the electronic one by
the humanities scholars [7,31,36].
However, according to [8,42,43] there is an increment of
use for the electronic format among the humanities scholars.
It was also found that the junior humanities scholars pre-
ferred the electronic than the senior scholars. Meanwhile, the
language used when searching the information was deter-
mined by the native language of the scholars [37], and
country of graduation of the scholars [31]. For the tools or
channels of information, humanities scholars preferred to use
the bibliographic tools, consultations with colleagues and
experts, citations tracking from books and journals, and
library catalogues [37]. Interestingly, humanities scholars
also preferred to personally consult with the colleague and
field expert to keep update of their information [31,32]. For
the types of information resources used by humanities
scholars for teaching and research, the printed books and
journals are the main preference among them [44].
3.2 Barriers to Information-Seeking
There are several barriers and obstacles to
information-seeking that hinder the success and satisfaction
of information needs among humanities scholars. Lack of
access and availability is the main barrier to humanities
scholars, both printed and electronic format of information
resources [4,45–47].
Besides, difficulty to locate and obtain information
especially the electronic format were the barriers mentioned
by humanities scholars [46,48]. In addition, lack of
knowledge and awareness in terms of insufficient skill to
search also contribute to the barriers [48–52]. Other than
these, barriers also include difficulty of language—ambigu-
ous terminology [46], as well as personal constraint such as
lack of time and seniority of age to learn the modern tech-
nology in information-seeking [52].
In summary, the literature reviews above shown a specific
situation and preference among humanities scholars in
information-seeking. It is believed, among the humanities
scholars themselves, a specific preference will vary
according to different demographic attributes such as gender,
age, years of experience, country of graduation and others.
Knowing the variety of their preference can help the library
to provide information services and resources efficiently.
This is important to ensure their information need can be
fulfilled.
4 Methodology
To achieve the objectives of this study, a questionnaire
instrument was designed based on previous studies ques-
tionnaire surveys related to this study. This is identified as
funnelling approach according to [53,54]. A questionnaire
which includes of open-ended question and closed questions
along with Likert’sfive—point Scale was designed. More-
over, the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS)
18th edition was used. The data analysis of the responses
covers descriptive and inferential statistical methods.
The pre-testing of the questionnaire was reviewed by four
reviewers from Yarmouk University (UY), Jordan Univer-
sity (JU), and two senior librarians from Al-Husayniyyah
Library. A pilot test was conducted among twenty faculty
members of humanities scholars from different departments
in Yarmouk University. The population of the study consists
of 275 humanities scholars from four human sciences fac-
ulties: Faculty of Arts; Faculty of Shari’a and Islamic
Studies, Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, and
Faculty of Fine Arts. The questionnaires were personally
distributed, where the proportional random sampling tech-
nique was used. Out of 275 populations, the sample size
becomes 185 as recommended by [55] in their statistical
table, a total of 161 respondents responded to the ques-
tionnaire survey where all questionnaire surveys were found
usable.
5 Findings: Descriptive Statistics
5.1 Demographic Characteristics
The Yarmouk University humanities scholars sample is male
and represents 90.7% (n = 146), while only 9.3% (n = 15)
for female. Given the academic status of the population
qualifications are PhD holders 90.7% (n = 146), and the rest
of the completion are master degree completed only of 9.3%
(n = 15). This fact reflect the worst participation of Arab
women in the labor market of the share of Jordan among 133
countries as mentioned in the world economic competitive-
ness report [56].
As indicate the data in Table 1, that the distribution of
respondents according to the current level of their academic
appointment or rank, 31.1% (n = 50) is professor, were
Humanities Scholar Information-Seeking Behavior …179

currently working on the University’s academic staff, 23.6%
(n = 38) of the professors is over the age of 56. Meanwhile,
with their rank fairly evenly distributed between 22.9%
(n = 37) with the highest number (n = 13) as associate
professor in age range of 36–40. The most senior category,
29.9% (n = 48) is assistance professor with the highest age
range of 36–40 (n = 18), followed 41–45 (n = 12). Lastly,
16.1% (26) most junior category of ‘Other staff’lecturers
comprising only three age groups; 36–40 (n = 13), 30–35
(n = 30) and 41–45 (n = 2) was reported by considerably
lower numbers of respondents.
5.2 Information Needs and Use of Electronic
and Print Resources
An earlier study which reported that the majority of
humanities scholars’researches were using based on printed
books and scholarly journals [15]. In Table 2, the data indi-
cate the respondents have been using both services almost
equally are books with 92.5% (n = 149), the next important
source is journals (83.2%, n = 134), conference proceedings
(65.2%, n = 105), dissertations (52.7%, =85), in addition the
other type of source is Online Databases (49.6%, n = 80).
Meanwhile, audio-visual materials (44.7%, n = 72), then
government documents also important source (40.9%, n =
66) and the less popular source is newspaper (29.8%, n = 48).
In addition, Table 3, show that humanities scholars
somehow, prefer to use printed resources slightly more than
electronic resources. The differences are small in magnitude
with 52.8% (n = 85) preferred the printed format resources
compared with 47.2% (n = 76) who preferred the electronic
format resources.
Tables 2and 3significantly confirmed earlier literature,
humanities scholars who had comparatively better computer
literacy skills than the others have more chances to use
electronic resources for academic purposes. As it is clear in
Table 2higher using database among junior scholars
(assessment and lecturer). Generally, there is an increase of
using electronic resources among humanities scholars and
junior scholars particularly, who have more computer skills
and confidence compared with senior scholars comparing
earlier studies [4,15].
5.3 Identifying and Locating Relevant
Information
Respondents were requested to indicate how do humanities
scholars categorize and discover relevant information for
research and teaching process, Table 4, indicated that
entering a general query at a search engine firstly with 40.3%
(n = 65), followed by entering a specific query at a search
engine with 23.0% (n = 37) of the respondents. However,
there is a strong element of bilingualism in the teaching at an
academic institution in Jordan, for that 20.5% (n = 33) of the
respondents go to a topic-specific webpage and perform a
search there. Lastly, the data indicates that 16.1% (n = 26) of
the humanities scholars respondents go for searching aca-
demic database.
As noted, the searching process at academic databases
occupied the last option. This is because the scholars did not
Table 1 Respondents’demographic by gender, age and academic position
Age Gender
Academic position
Professor Total Associate
Professor
Total Assistant
Professor
Total Lecturer Total
MF MF MF MF
30–35 ––– ––– 3–3
1.9%
7411
6.8%
36–40 ––– 13 –13
8.1%
10 8 18
11.3%
13 –13
8.1%
41–45 ––– 8–8
5.0%
12 –12
7.4%
2–2
1.2%
46-50 4 –4
2.5%
2–2
1.2%
4–4
2.5%
–––
51–55 8 –8
5.0%
437
4.3%
11 –11
6.8%
–––
>56 38 –38
23.6%
7–7
4.3%
––– –––
Total 50 –50
31.1%
34 3 37
22.9%
40 8 48
29.9%
22 4 26
16.1%
180 M. K. A. Shboul et al.

have skills for searching in academic databases and
numerous of them did not know about availability types of
this academic databases. Furthermore, it is clear the library
don’t provide an adequate training program for the human-
ities scolders, especially for using electronic databases, and
there is a lack announcement about it is services and
resources providing.
5.4 Sources Used to Obtain Information
A study conducted in the United States by [57], which reported
that all academics surveyed were using the Internet to search
for information related to their research. A group of statements
was therefore compiled in order to investigate the attitude of
respondent in methods of use sources to find information. The
relevant data about this section were asked for respondent in
Table 5, These results reported that reading textbooks in the
field of specialization is the most often used method for
seeking information with mean score = (4.2), standard devi-
ation = (1), compares to a result of reading professional
journals in the field of specialization with mean score = (4.1),
standard deviation = (0.9) the next most frequently indicated
reasons for using the accessed service. Compared with results
in Australian academic environment, of respondent’s
researchers use the ‘e-journals databases’at Curtin University
study conducted by [58]. Followed by reading conference and
meeting papers with mean score= (3.7), with Standard Devi-
ation = (1). Also, the responses at Yarmouk University the
range of attending conferences and meeting, searching bibli-
ographic databases and talking to colleagues or experts in
one’s own department occupied the same rate with mean score
= (2.9), standard deviation = (1.1). While asking librarians or
information specialists and writing to a colleague or an expert
at another university being the least frequent method with both
having a mean score of (2.5).
Table 2 Types of information
most often need to access Types of information
most often need to
access
Professor
(50)
Associate
Professor
(37)
Assistant
Professor
(48)
Lecturer
(26)
Total Percentage
(%)
Books 50 35 42 22 149 92.5
Journals 44 32 38 20 134 83.2
Conference
proceedings
30 27 31 17 105 65.2
Dissertations 12 17 34 22 85 52.7
Databases 11 14 36 19 80 49.6
Audio-visual
materials
13 14 29 16 72 44.7
Government
documents
18 17 18 13 66 40.9
Newspapers 10 11 16 11 48 29.8
Total 50 37 48 26 161 100
Table 3 Respondents’Preferred
Information Resource Format Format Frequency Percentage (%)
Printed 85 52.8
Electronic 76 47.2
Total 161 100
Table 4 Search for Answers to a
Specific Question on the Internet Search for answers to a specific question on the internet Frequency Percentage (%)
Enter a general query at a search engine 65 40.3
Enter a specific query at a search engine 37 23.0
Go to a topic specific webpage and perform a search there 33 20.5
Searching academic databases 26 16.2
Total 161 100
Humanities Scholar Information-Seeking Behavior …181

5.5 Issues Faced Regarding
Information-Seeking Behavior
The results reported in Table 6, answered that “Yes”61.6%
(n = 99) out of the total respondents have enough time
to seek information and respondents chose “No”38.4%
(n = 62) do not have enough time to seek information by
themselves was the most commonly recorded barrier. So for
that, the rate is slightly high 72% (116) have asked assis-
tance while seeking information. The reason behind this
result is because most of the respondents are not all the time
in the best situation and allocate their time on lecturing.
Table 5 Methods Respondents Use for Seeking Information (n = 161)
Methods of seeking information Never Rarely Sometimes Frequently Always Total Mean SD
Reading textbooks in my field 26
16.1%
25
15.5%
30
18.6%
36
22.4%
44
27.4%
161
100%
4.2 1.0
Reading professional journals in my field 24
14.9%
26
16.1%
33
20.5%
36
22.4%
42
26.1%
161
100%
4.1 0.9
Reading conference and meeting papers 24
14.9%
28
17.4%
38
23.6%
35
21.7%
36
22.4%
161
100%
3.7 1.0
Using an Internet search engine 20
12.4%
20
12.4%
39
24.3%
43
26.7%
39
24.3%
161
100%
3.3 1.3
Searching bibliographic databases 28
17.4%
32
19.9%
46
28.6%
27
16.8%
28
17.4%
161
100%
2.9 1.0
Attending conferences and meeting 25
15.4%
37
23.1%
41
25.5%
32
19.9%
26
16.1%
161
100%
2.9 0.9
Talking to colleagues or experts in my own
department
25
15.4%
40
24.9%
41
25.5%
28
17.4%
27
16.8%
161
100%
2.9 0.9
Asking librarians or information specialists 30
18.6%
44
27.4%
30
18.6%
30
18.6%
27
16.8%
161
100%
2.5 1.1
Writing to a colleague or expert at another
university
28
17.4%
40
24.9%
41
25.5%
26
16.1%
26
16.1%
161
100%
2.5 0.9
Table 6 Difficulties Encountered while Seeking for Information
Item statement Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
Not having enough time to seek information by oneself Yes 99 61.5
No 62 38.5
Need assistance during seeking information Yes 116 72.0
No 45 28.0
Multitude assistance seeking Research assistance 42 36.2
Library assistance 35 30.2
Colleague 35 30.2
Other (family members) 4 3.4
Level of Internet searching skills Less than adequate 22 13.7
Adequate 7 4.3
Somewhat proficient 49 30.4
Proficient 53 33.0
Very proficient 30 18.6
Relevancy of searching result Very irrelevant 37 23.0
Irrelevant 10 6.2
Somewhat relevant 67 41.6
Relevant 37 23.0
Very relevant 10 6.2
182 M. K. A. Shboul et al.

But these results indicate that the majority are confident
that they can search adequately from the vast searched
information. It is clear that the lack of adequate and appro-
priate time is one of the most difficult obstacles faced by
professors and prevents the use of electronic resources,
which in the end will influence their seeking behavior.
Furthermore, who asked for assistance through
information-seeking process present 36.3% (n = 42) indi-
cated some level barriers of asked research assistance, while
30.2% (n = 35) indicated a level of both asked their col-
leagues and library assistance, and 3.5% (n = 4). It may have
been expected asked the other (family members).
In terms of the Internet searching skills 33.1% (n = 53)
they response to the latter question indicating a level of
proficient and somewhat proficient is 30.4% (n = 49). Also,
reported suffering adequate is 4.3% (n = 14) and Perhaps
contrary to expectations and was the least indicated barrier,
13.7% (n = 22) shows that their Internet searching skills are
less than adequate. With regard to the relevance of search
results, the respondent shows their research result is very
irrelevant with 23% (n = 74) compared with only 6.2%
(10) who reported that their search results are irrelevant. It is
possible, however, that this general response regarding
Internet searching skills.
6 Conclusion
6.1 Computer Use
The study shows that the junior scholars who have a com-
puter and more internet searching experience than the senior
scholars, will be more likely to use electronic resources and
internet for the academic purposes. A suitable condition and
good speed of Internet connection play significant role for
the preference of Internet surfing in the office. This study
discovers variation in the motives for information-seeking
among the scholars that could be determined using appro-
priate format and understandable language, where preparing
the class and completing the research is the most significant
reason for information-seeking. However, study reveals that
scholars depend heavily on printed materials as a primary
source of information for teaching purpose. Meanwhile,
senior scholars are still preferred to use printed monograph
and textbooks for teaching purpose, while printed journal for
research field. Meanwhile, the junior scholars prefer to use
both electronic and printed format of information resources.
It is also evident that there is an increase in using electronic
resources compared with the previous studies.
6.2 Identifying and Locating Relevant
Information
Regarding to identifying the relevant information, this study
found that humanities prefer to take a general idea of the
subject by entering a general query on a search engine and
then locate the search in a more specific way by entering a
specific query on the search engine. This study shows that
the humanities scholars prefer to locate information by
downloading the softcopy and save the copy in the hard
drive. This underpinned the findings from the earlier studies.
Furthermore, factors such as uneasiness reading from a
computer screen for a long time and lack of computer skills,
made the senior scholars prefer printed papers than the
electronic copy.
6.3 Sources Used to Obtain Information
For obtaining information, this study confirms that human-
ities scholars still have the uppermost number of users who
use the library resources. The senior scholars still prefer to
use the printed materials such as reference books to obtain
relative information. But, the electronic resources like elec-
tronic databases and journals are preferred by the junior
humanities scholars.
6.4 Issues Faced Regarding
Information-Seeking Behavior
This study discovers that lack of time and relevance of
research result, were considered as barriers or factors that
against senior scholars from using the electronic resources
and influenced their information-seeking behavior. Because
time issue is frequently the sign of deeper dilemma, there-
fore, senior professors are asking for assistance during
information-seeking process. As a result, they are willing to
have a training on information-seeking, but timidly; most of
them like to be trained individually.
In conclusion, the need to know and identify the
information-seeking behavior and see the behavioral pattern
among various demographic background of humanities
scholars can assist the library management. The assistance
could be specific for certain information needs based on the
identified categories. It will help for a smooth and efficient
information-seeking process and reduce the barriers they
might face which will satisfy the humanities scholar’s
information needs.
Humanities Scholar Information-Seeking Behavior …183

References
1. Urquhart, D.J.: The distribution and use of scientific and technical
information. In: The Royal Society Scientific Information Confer-
ence, pp. 408–419 (1948)
2. Bernal, J.D.: Scientific information and users. In: Aslib Proceed-
ings, vol. 12, Issue 12, pp. 423, 438 (1960)
3. Wilson, T.D.: Models in information behavior research. J. Docu-
mentation 55(3), 249–270 (1999)
4. Tahir, M., Mahmood, K., Shafique, F.: Use of electronic
information resources and facilities by humanities scholars. The
Electron. Libr. 28(1), 122–136. (2010). www.emeraldinsight.com/
0264-0473.htm. Last accessed 11 Oct 2012
5. Quan-Haase, A., Martin, K.: Digital humanities: the continuing
role of serendipity in historical research. In: Proceedings of the
2012 i-Conference, February 7–10, 2012, Toronto, ON, ACM,
New York, NY, pp. 456–458 (2012)
6. Al-Suqri, M.N.: Information Needs and Seeking Behavior of
Social Science Scholars at Sultan Qabous University in Oman:
Mixed-Method Approach. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).
Emporia State University, Kansas, United States of America
(2007)
7. Bhatti, R.: Information Needs and Information-Seeking Behavior
of Faculty Members at the Islamic University of Bahawalpur.
Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), Paper 314 (2010)
8. Kumar, A.: Assessing the information need and information
seeking behavior of research scholars of M.B.P.G. College: a case
study. Int. J. Digital Libr. Serv. 3(3), 1–12 (2013)
9. Msagati, N.: Awareness and use of scholarly electronic journals by
members of academic staff: a case study of Dar es Salaam
University College of Education (DUCE). Libr. Philos. Pract.
(e-journal), 1–25 (2014)
10. Rafiq, M., Ammeen, K.: Information seeking behavior and user
satisfaction of university instructors: a case study. Libr. Philos.
Pract. (e-journal) (2009)
11. Jamali, H., Asadi, S.: Google and the scholar: the role of google in
scientists’information-seeking behavior. Online Inf. Rev. 34(2),
282–294 (2009)
12. Norbert, G.L., Lwoga, E.T.: Information seeking behavior of
physicians in Tanzania. Inf. Dev. 29(2), 172–182 (2013)
13. Nor Liyana, M.S., Noorhidawati, A.: Ascertain the information
seeking behavior of computer science students. In: 3rd Interna-
tional Conference on Libraries, Information and Society, pp. 1–13
(ICoLIS) at the University of Malaya, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
(2014)
14. Sarkhel, J., Khan, Md: Information needs and information seeking
behavior of faculty members of a agricultural universities in
Bangladesh: a study. Int. J. Soc. Sci. 24(1), 23–36 (2014)
15. Baruchson-Arbib, S., Bronstein, J.: Humanists as information
users in the digital age: the case of Jewish studies scholars in
Israel. J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 58(14), 2269–2279 (2007)
16. Delgadillo, R., Lynch, B.P.: Future historians: their quest for
information. Coll. Res. Librar. 60(3), 245–259 (1999)
17. Barrett, A.: The information-seeking habits of graduate student
researchers in the humanities. J. Acad. Librarianship 31(4), 324–
331 (2005)
18. Massey-Burzio, V.: The rush to technology: a view from the
humanists. Libr. Trends 47(4), 620–639 (1999)
19. Bates, M.J.: The Getty end-user online searching project in the
humanities: Report No 6: overview and conclusions. Coll. Res.
Libraries 57(6) (1996)
20. Talja, S., Maula, H.: Reasons for the use and non-use of electronic
journals and databases: a domain analytic study in four scholarly
disciplines. J. Documentation 59(6), 673–691 (2003)
21. Ansari, M.N.: Information seeking behavior models: a review.
Pak. Libr. Inf. Sci. J. 39(4), 3–16 (2008)
22. Devadason, F.J., Lingman, P.P.: A methodology for the identifi-
cation of information needs of users. IFLA J. 23(1), 41–51 (1997)
23. Ucak, N.O., Kurbanoglu, S.S.: Information need and information
seeking behavior of scholars at a Turkish University. Proceedings
Paper. In the 64th IFLA General Conference, 16–21 Aug 1998,
Amsterdam. http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/ifla/IV/ifla64/041-112e.htm
24. Leckie, G.J., Pettigrew, K.E., Sylvain, C.: Modeling the informa-
tion seeking of professionals: a general model derived from
research on engineers, health care professionals, and lawyers. Libr.
Q. Inf. Community Policy 66(2), 161–193 (1996)
25. Hsieh-Yee, I.: Effects of search experience and subject knowledge
on the search tactics of novice and experienced searchers. J. Am.
Soc. Inf. Sci. 44(3), 161–174 (1993)
26. Wilson, T.D.: On user studies and information needs. J. Documen-
tation 37(1), 3–15 (1981)
27. Stone, S.: Humanities scholars: information needs and uses.
J. Documentation 38, 292–313 (1982)
28. Sievert, D., Sievert, M.E.: Humanists and technologists: the case of
philosophers. In: Borgman, C.L., Edward, Y.H. (eds.) Information
Technology, Planning for the Next Fifty Years. Proceedings of the
First Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information
Science, vol. 25, pp. 94–99. Medford, New Jersey (1988)
29. Wiberley, S.E., Jones, W.G.: Patterns of information seeking in the
humanities. Coll. Res. Libr. 50, 638–645 (1989)
30. Gould, C.C., Pearce, K.: Information Needs in the Sciences: An
Assessment. Research Libraries Group, Mountain View, CA
(1991)
31. Tahir, M., Mahmood, K., Shafique, F.: Information needs and
information-seeking behavior of arts and humanities teachers: a
survey of the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. In:
Library Philosophy and Practice, Paper 227 (2008)
32. Mostofa, S.M.: A study of information needs and seeking behavior
of faculty members of Darul Ihsan University in Bangladesh.
Libr. Philos. Pract. (e journal). http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/
libphilprac/983. Last accessed 05 Dec 2013 (2013)
33. Watson-Boone, R.: The information needs and habits of human-
ities scholars. RQ 34(2), 203–216 (1994)
34. Brockman, W.S., Neumann, L., Palmer, C.L., Tidline, T.J.:
Scholarly Work in the Humanities and the Evolving Information
Environment. Digital Library Federation and the Council on
Library and Information Resources. Washington, D.C. http://www.
clir.org/pubs/reports/pub104/pub104.pdf. Last accessed 12 Sept
2014
35. Ileperuma, S.: Information gathering behavior of arts scholars in
Sri Lankan universities: a critical evaluation. Collect. Build. 21(1),
22–31 (2002)
36. Ellis, D., Oldman, H.: The english literature researcher in the age
of the internet. J. Inf. Sci. 31(1), 29–36 (2004)
37. de Romanos de Tiratel, S.: Accessing information use by
humanists and social scientist: a study at the Universidad de
Buenos Aires, Argentina. J. Acad. Librarianship 26(5), 346–354
(2000)
38. Suriya, M., Sangeetha, G., Nambi, M.A.: Information-seeking
behavior of faculty members from Government Arts Colleges in
Cuddalore District. In: Kaul, H.K., Patil, S.K. (eds.) Library and
Information Networking (NACLIN 2004), pp. 285–292. New
Delhi (2004)
39. Patitungkho, K., Deshpande, N.J.: Information seeking behavior of
faculty members of Rajabhat Universities in Bangkok. Webology
2(4). http://www.webology.ir/2005/v2n4/a20.html (2005)
40. Wenderoth, C.: Research behaviors of theological educators and
students: the known and the unknown. In: American Theological
Library Association Summary of Proceedings 61, 180.200 (2007)
184 M. K. A. Shboul et al.

41. Sukovic, S.: Convergent flows: humanities scholars and their
interactions with electronic texts. Libr. Q. 78(3), 263–284 (2008)
42. Xuemei, G.: Information-seeking behavior in the digital age: a
multidisciplinary study of academic researchers. Coll. Res. Libr.
71(5), 435–455 (2010)
43. Nicholas, D., Williams, P., Rowlands, I., Jamali, H.R.: Research-
ers’-journal use and information seeking behavior. J. Inf. Sci. 36(4)
(2010)
44. Tibbo, H.R.: Primarily history in America: how U.S. historians
search for primary materials at the dawn of the digital age. Am.
Archivist 66(1), 9–50 (2003)
45. Meho, L.I., Haas, S.W.: Information-seeking behavior and use of
social science faculty studying stateless nations: a case study. Libr.
Inf. Sci. Res. 23(1), 5–25 (2001)
46. Buchanan, G., Cunningham, S.J., Blandford, A., Rimmer, J.,
Warwick, C.: Information seeking by humanities scholars. Lect.
Notes Comput. Sci. 3652, 218–229 (2005)
47. Adeniran, P.: User satisfaction with academic libraries services:
academic staff and student’s perspectives. Int. J. Libr. Inf. Sci. 3(10),
209–216 (2011)
48. Quigley, J., Peck, D.R., Rutter, S., Williams, E.: Making choices:
factors in the selection of information resources among science
faculty at the University of Michigan. In: Issues in Science and
Technology Librarianship. http://www.istl.org/02-spring/refereed.
html (2002)
49. Adams, J.A., Bonk, S.C.: Electronic information technologies and
resources: use by university faculty and faculty preferences for
related library services. Coll. Res. Libr. 56(2), 119–131 (1995)
50. Starkweather, W.M., Wallin, C.: Faculty response to library
technology: insights on attitudes. Libr. Trends 47(4), 640–812
(1999)
51. Ibrahim, A.E.: Use and user perception of electronic resources in
the Arab Emirates University (UAEU). Libri 54,18–29 (2004)
52. Xuemei, G.: Information-seeking behaviour in the digital age: a
multidisciplinary study of academic researchers. Coll. Res. Libr.
71(5), 435–455 (2010)
53. Frankfort-Nachmias, C., Nachmias, D.: Research Methods in the
Social Sciences, 5th edn. Edward Arnold, London (1996)
54. Oppenheim, A.N.: Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Atti-
tude Measurement. Biddles Ltd, Great Britain (2000)
55. Krejcie, R.V., Morgan, D.W.: Determining sample size for
research activities. Educ. Psychol. Meas. 30(3), 607–610 (1970)
56. World Economic forum. The global competiveness report 2010–
2011. Available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global
CompetitivenessReport2010-11.pdf (2010)
57. Heterick, B.: E-content: faculty attitudes toward electronic
resources. Educause Rev. 37(4), 10–11 (2002)
58. Genoni, P., Merrick, H., Willson, M.: Scholarly communities,
e-research literacy and the academic librarian. Electron. Libr.
24(6), 734–746 (2006)
Humanities Scholar Information-Seeking Behavior …185