Perceptions of the information search process in libraries: a study of changes from high school through college

摘要

A longitudinal study of students' perceptions of the information search process in libraries over a four-year period from high school through college is described. The cognitive theory on which the study was based is that perceptions lead to expectations which direct action. A model of the search process developed in an earlier study was further verified. Perceptions of six areas of library use were examined by a comparison of the responses of students to a questionnaire when they were in high school and again four years later when they were in college. A significant difference was found in three areas: research assignments, focus formulation, and procedures for gathering information. The college students' perceptions more closely matched the model of the search process.