Development of information search expertise: research students' knowledge of databases

Purpose – This paper sets out to report on a study of 12 postgraduate research students' development of information search expertise. It focuses on students' perceived importance and growth of knowledge of different databases as they progress through their studies.Design/methodology/approach – Taking an in‐depth longitudinal approach, this study makes use of surveys, direct observations of students' searching of various databases, students' verbalization of their thoughts while searching databases and interviews during a one‐year period. The paper focuses on analyzing the data from surveying and interviewing the students with regard to their use of databases.Findings – It was found that many students were initially unfamiliar with many of the databases important to them and that the familiarity developed during the year contributed importantly to their development of information search expertise. This suggests that much work has to be done to inform and instruct students about these “treasures”.Research l...

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