THE EFFECTS OF ACADEMIC BACKGROUND ON STATEMENTS OF INFORMATION NEED

Two experiments were used to investigate how the academic backgrounds of users may influence their interaction with information systems. Sixty students with academic backgrounds in either philosophy or psychology read two articles on interdisciplinary topics and then answered questions in a simulated information retrieval task. Responses were analyzed to determine how academic background influenced the vocabulary used to describe the information need. Results showed that academic background can affect vocabulary selection, although other influences can intervene. The effect of academic background was visible in responses to open questions but not in responses to structural or bibliographic questions. © 1990 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.