Human Information Interaction

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Background and Aim: The present study aims to explore the coverage and reflection of Knowledge and Information Science news in the Iranian press. Iran Newspaper which is one of the main public newspapers in the country has been selected as the case for this study.

Method: This study used content analysis as its research methodology and adopted an inductive approach in data analysis. All the pages of this newspaper during a year (from March 2011 to March 2012), were downloaded from the newspaper website and their contents were inductively analyzed to identify Knowledge and Information Science related news.

Results: Iran Newspaper, as one of the most well-known and public press in the country, has covered the Knowledge and Information Science news with a reasonable coverage and comprehensiveness. However, the reports are mainly descriptive with less analytic perspective and there is a gap for more analytical news. The collected data were categorized into seven categories and all the concepts and subcategories were presented in the tables. The main identified categories in this study include: Tehran International Book events, other book exhibitions and cultural events, meetings and book awards, reflection of the news related to book and publication industry, scientometrics, reading and its promotion and hinders.

Conclusion: There is a gap of the news from ILISA (Iranian Library and Information Science Association) and also popular notes written by Knowledge and Information Science scholars, librarians and Knowledge and Information Science students. As a result it seems ILISA could be more active in publishing its news and use popular press to introduce this area to the public and promotes its activities in the public domains. 

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Background and Aim: This study attempts to propose a suggestive model for theorising in the field of Inquiry-Based Information Behaviour (IBiB).
Method: To achieve the research aim, Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory, Dewey’s Constructivist Theory, as well as IBL Pedagogy were analysed. Taking into account the current information behaviour models and theories which are developed based on the so called theories, we employed deductive reasoning to propose our suggestive model. Methodologically, this interpretivist study is done based on library method and implemented qualitative content analysis technique.
Results: Admitting different cognitive competencies in different age-groups as well as the role of active experience in cognitive development, each child needs her own customized cognitive-appropriate experience to be able to engage with the learning process. The specific style and rate of cognitive development makes children unique learners.
Conclusion: The proposed preliminary conceptual model showed that active learning, open inquiry-based practices, and children’s personalized methods for responding to learning and cognitive needs, all have information ethos. And, children’s IBiB determines the extent to which they could succeed in the above processes. Testing this hypothesis, the IBiB theory which explains this phenomenon needs to be developed.
 

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Background and Aim: These days, Internet and online databases play a significant role in peoples’ information-seeking behavior, especially for postgraduate students. The kind of behavior seen on the part of those students who get help from online databases to write their theses might be completely different from those who search library sources to get the needed information. This study investigates the information-seeking behavior of postgraduate students of Kharazmi University who are writing their theses.

Method: This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Quantitative data were gathered using an information-seeking behavior questionnaire, which was then, analyzed using statistical analysis (T-Test and Friedman-Test). Content analysis and semi-structured interviews were used to analyze qualitative data. The participants were 100 students including 50 male and 50 female students.

Results: Results of analyzing the T-Test for male and female groups showed that there is not any significant difference of girls' and boys' information-seeking behavior. Results of analyzing the Friedman-Test however showed difference in average ratings of information-seeking behavior dimensions. With regard to results obtained from this analysis: pre-existing knowledge confirmation, relevancy judgments, bringing up new thoughts, time and effort for searching information contain maximum to minimum rates in a respective manner. Results of the qualitative data also showed that: most of the students’ problems lie in: seeking for and using the collaborative behavior and collaborative searching, difficulty in finding the related information, language limitations, diversity of goals, limitations the forms of the sources, unfamiliarity with the specific sources, lack of information literacy, and spending so much time to search.

Conclusion: Findings obtained in this study showed that postgraduate students do not have the skills and knowledge needed for using online data. This also indicates their deficiency and lack of information seeking and information literacy skills. So, recognizing the obstacles on the way of knowing and using these online databases and training students for purposeful searching seem to be essential.

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Background and Aim: The objective of this study is to find how the properties of process of developing the critical thinking are in the male students, ages 6-12, in Awareness of Violence and Social- Gender Stereotypes by Using P4C.

Method: the framework that emerged from these findings is defined by two thinking styles and six views of epistemology. The participants were 48 male pupils aged 6 to 12 years, from different preschools and schools in Dezfoul, who were randomly selected using random clustering sampling, out of From north and south and east and west of Dezfoul. Gaining the goals, we used the qualitative methodology of Grounded Theory. Observations, interviews, and providing a checklist are the tools for collecting data in this research. Two groups discussed on two aspects (awareness of violence and gender, social stereotypes) during 20-week sessions, each for 1 hour.

Results: In the model, critical thinking is defined as multimodal (logical, creative, responsible and metacognitive thinking)and The model the authors propose is developmental in that it illustrates a “progression in reflection” that is, an increasing sophistication in the manner in which the pupils’ representations and meanings are coconstructed during exchanges within a community of in quiry and In the model, the development of Critical Thinking is a “recursive” process in that it is not linear; it is revisited, revised, re-utilized during all grades of elementary school.

Conclusion: According to the analyses of the results, it may be said that developments the children’s critical thinking in Awareness of Violence and Social- Gender Stereotypes media  occur through processes including elimination, attributing, transferring or transiting in different ages in a special form.

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Background and Aim: The present study has been done in order to survey contextualized information retrieval behavior by the students of Kharazmi University.
Methods: This is descriptive applied research. Statistical population includes all the students currently studying at the Kharazmi University in the time of research. Sample of research includes 196 students selected by convenience sampling method. In order to collect information a researcher-designed questionnaire was used. The questionnaire’s reliability was 6.82 and its validity was confirmed some university professors. For analyzing data, One- sample T- test and independent samples T test were used.
Results: Results showed that the main efficient factor in information retrieval behavior of students was computer sites of the university. Students obtained their required scientific information through Internet resources via search engines. Their main aim in seeking scientific information was doing their assignments. Students primary aim of seeking scientific information was to collect educational information followed by research information.
Conclusion: The main impediment and problem on the way of information seeking at the university was low internet speed. Also, there was no significant differences between demographic factors (gender, marital status and resident’s status) and information retrieval behavior of students. Only in some research variables we found significant differences.
 
Keywords: Information retrieval behavior, Context, Students, Kharazmi University.

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Background and Aim: The purpose of this research is investigating the structure of research articles in the Iranian knowledge and information science journals (peer reviewed journals). In the next step, the writing guidelines in the scientific journals websites that designed to introduce desired structure of a scientific paper are studied.
Methods: The research was survey with analytical approach. The population of the research were articles published in the Persian scientific journals of knowledge and information science field in 2013-2015 and their writing guidelines. Stratified random sampling was used and, accordingly, 245 scientific articles were examined using a research checklist.
Results: Research findings showed that the structure of the research articles reviewed are in a good condition and only in three sub-structural components i.e "theoretical foundations", "research application" and "research limitations", consistent with the desired structure is weak. About the writing guidelines, the findings showed that they are in the unfavorable condition. Some structural components i.e "brief review of the scientific literature," "rationale to the study," "aim and motivation of the research", "advantages and importance of the research", "the research time", "space of the research", "credibility (reliability) of the research tools", "reliability of the study" did not appear in any writing guidelines. The first hypothesis showed a significant difference between research journals about their matching with the desired structure of the research article. However, the overall average ratings of the articles structure in this journals are in the good condition. Also in the second hypothesis was found a significant difference between the compliance rate of writing guides and articles published in the scientific journals with the desired research article structure.
Conclusion: Due to structural weakness in the writing guidelines of Persian peer-reviewed journals studied, can be such a conclude that authors of these articles shape the article structure based on what they have been trained and not attend to the writing guidelines of the journals. From the other side, one of the reasons of the structural weakness in the structure of the articles is disregarding editors and the other practitioners of journals to offering needed help contents. 

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Background and Aim: considering the significance of cognitive and psychological factors in human-information interaction, this study investigates the role of cognitive biases in academic information behavior of postgraduate students at Kharazmi University.
Methodology:  this qualitative research used classic grounded theory as the method. The research population included all postgraduate of Kharazmi University who were at the writing up stage. Twenty-five students were chosen through a purposive convenient sampling process. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed based on the classic grounded theory coding and qualitative content analysis. Eisenberg & Berkowitz information behavior model was used as the framework.
Findings: The results showed that cognitive biases influence people's information behavior and 28 of cognitive biases were identified. Cognitive biases interfere on different six steps of Eisenberg & Berkowitz information behavior model. Biases can play a role in identifying and explaining information needs, selecting information resources, selecting information centers, using information, organizing and sharing information and evaluating the information seeking process.
Conclusions: cognitive biases can affect or be affected by other factors involved in information behavior. Failure in information access and information retrieval, information avoidance and also failure in resolving information needs are some of cognitive biases’ consequences. Cognitive biases should be studied in different contexts so that other aspects can be more thoroughly understood.

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Background/aim. Considering the underlying role played by knowledge management in project-based organizations; and, the fact that knowledge audit is the most important step in supplying, maintaining and updating the content of knowledge management systems; this research effort is aimed at designing an appropriate knowledge audit model based on the requirements and factors of knowledge audit in project-based organizations.
Methodology.This research is an applied research with a mixed-methods approach (both quantitative and qualitative). To be more exact, several methods such as documentary study method, exploratory study method, the survey method, factor analysis and thematic analysis were employed to establish a weighted knowledge audit model based on the requirements, associated with project- based organizations.The statistical population of this study for collecting qualitative data were 13 experts of knowledge management and the statistical population of collecting quantitative data were 220 project managers, project control experts and knowledge managers from 4 project-based organizations (ICT Research Institute, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, Niroo Research Institute; and, Iranian Space Research Center).
Findings. The findings of this analysis demonstrate that all five factors of knowledge audit in project- based organizations constitute the final structural model for knowledge audit, and the appropriate knowledge audit model for project-based organizations includes five factors: (1) knowledge need analysis; (2) knowledge inventory analysis; (3) knowledge valuation, (4) knowledge flow analysis; and, (5) knowledge application analysis. Among these factors, knowledge valuation with its factor loading of 0.9 is the most important factor.
Conclusion. 5 factors and 54 subfactors of Knowledge audit have highly-desired factor loading values and exert impact within the knowledge audit model for project-based organizations. Moreover, the final model displays a fair goodness-of-fit.