Presented at
PKP Scholarly Publishing Conference
11-13 July, 2007
By: Mia Quint-Rapoport
OISE/UT, Higher Education, Theory and Policy Studies
Study research questions:
How do ‘non-target’ users use the OA index Pubmed?
Do Pubmed search tools facilitate use of lit. for these groups?
Which tools are most/least useful?
The Open Access question
The study:
- Interviews with 18
- Varying degrees of education.
- Recruited from 3 different sources.
- 1-1.5 hour lesson in use of Pubmed.
- Some face to face, some over the phone
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews.
Interviews were transcribed.
Transcriptions were coded for themes.
Codes were synthesized and analyzed.
Based on grounded theory research methods.
Results:
Favorite tools:
Limits: (e.g. by gender).
Related Articles - liked to browse.
Boolean (in combination with above).
Clipboard.
Conclusion:
Participants frustrated by lack of access.
Pubmed not for an exclusive user group - broader applications.
Search and retrieval tools facilitate engagement.
Scholarly and scientific information is ‘useful’ for this non-target group.
For further information:
Abstract: http://ocs.sfu.ca/pkp2007/viewabstract.php?id=62
Article: http://www.jmir.org/2007/2/e19
