Collaborative information seeking in student group projects
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-12-2015-0190 |
| Published date | 19 September 2016 |
| Pages | 526-544 |
| Date | 19 September 2016 |
| Author | Chris Leeder,Chirag Shah |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management |
Collaborative information
seeking in student group projects
Chris Leeder and Chirag Shah
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the collaborative information
seeking (CIS) behaviors of students conducting authentic group work projects, and the features of a
collaborative search system that are most useful to these students.
Design/methodology/approach –An exploratory study was conducted with 41 participants in ten
groups working on an in class, for-credit group project assignment utilizing a collaborative search
system. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered on the everyday search practices of students
over the course of the group project, along with quality scores for the sources found.
Findings –Results showed that student behavior during their CIS related to the quality of their search
outcomes, as the effective and efficient searchers found better quality sources. Students’pre-task
attitudes and experiences toward group work also relate to the quality of their search outcomes.
Student feedback demonstrated the importance of making collaborative search tools convenient,
lightweight, and easy to use.
Practical implications –These findings may be useful to researchers designing and studying the
effectiveness of collaborative search tools, and to instructors planning to incorporate group projects
into their classes.
Originality/value –In this paper, the authors document the authentic behaviors and attitudes of
students conducting group projects in an classroom setting, and offer specific recommendations for
developers of collaborative search systems. These findings provide greater context for CIS research
into the collaborative search behaviors of students conducting group work projects.
Keywords Information seeking behaviour, User study, College students, Group work,
Collaborative search, Collaborative search systems
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Collaboration is an important aspect of hum an-centered information retrieval
(González-Ibáñez et al., 2013). Researchers in information science have explored how
users seek information during collaborative search (Paul and Morris, 2009; Shah and
Marchionini, 2010; Shah, 2014). A growing body of research suggests that users often
have a strong social inclination throughout the search process (Evans and Chi, 2010) and
that active collaboration on search tasks among users with shared information needs
is common (Morris, 2013). However, while collaborative group work is a common
requirement in educational settings, how students work together while conducting such
tasks is not well understood (Toze and Toms, 2010). There is little research on how
collaborative information seeking(CIS) behaviors relateto the quality of searchoutcomes.
Another important factor is students’pre-existing attitudes toward collaborative work,
which some research (Prichard et al., 2006) has shown to influence the quality of results.
The use of CIS environments has been understudied (Shah and Marchionini, 2010).
Greater understanding of specific aspects of CIS, such as communication, behaviors,and
Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 68 No. 5, 2016
pp. 526-544
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-12-2015-0190
Received 2 December 2015
Revised 16 June 2016
Accepted 1 August 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2050-3806.htm
This work was supported by the IMLS Early Career Development Grant No. RE-04-12-0105-12.
Thanks to Professor Nicholas J. Belkin and Associate Professor Nina Wacholder for their
assistance with the study.
526
AJIM
68,5
performance, is important for designingsystems that can better support collaboration in
searching, assessing, and making sense of information (González-Ibáñez et al. (2013).
Effective tools can structure and support student collaborative work and maximize the
benefits while reducing the challenges, however, research is needed on which specific
features of collaborative search systems are most useful to students.
Existing CIS tools have primarily been studied under laboratory conditions in which
study participants searched on assigned tasks. Such laboratory studies do not provide
information about how systems are used in real-life collaborative search practices over
the longer term (Kelly and Payne, 2014). Studying how students actually conduct their
collaborative research in an authentic setting is important since it helps researchers
understand student information seeking behaviors and to design collaborative search
systems that best support students’needs. In order to address these issues, an
exploratory study was conducted of students using a collaborative search system while
conducting real-life group project assignments. The research questions addressed by
the study were:
RQ1. How do student activities during CIS relate to the quality of their search
outcomes?
RQ2. How do students’pre-task attitudes and experiences toward group work relate
to the quality of their search outcomes?
RQ3. What features of a search system are most useful to students conducting
group information seeking?
Literature review
There are multiple definitions of CIS in the literature. For instance, Poltrock et al.
(2003) defined it as “theactivitiesthatagrouporteamofpeopleundertakesto
identify and resolve a shared information need”(p. 239). Foster (2006) described CIS
as “the study of the systems and practices that enable individuals to collaborate
during the seeking, searching, and retrieval of information”(p. 330). Shah (2008)
referred to CIS as a process of information seeking “that is defined explicitly among
the participants, interactive, and mutually beneficial”(p. 1). CIS research focusses on
“an information-seeking process that takes place in a collaborative project (possibly a
complex task) among a small group of participants (potentially with different set of
skills and/or roles), which is intentional, interactive, and mutually beneficial”
(Shah and Gonzalez-Ibanez, 2011, p. 219). While students engage in this type of work,
they engage in an array of “systems and practices that enable individuals to
collaborate during the seeking, searching, and retrieval of information”(Foster, 2006,
p. 330). The core processes of CIS have been defined as: awareness, division of labor,
and persistence (Morris and Horvitz, 2007); communication, discussion, and exchange
(Hyldegard, 2009); and information sharing, coordination, and awareness (Shah and
Marchionini, 2010). These core processes are fundamental to the information seeking
activities undertaken during collaborative work.
Researchers have identified a number of skills that students can develop through
collaborative work. Lazonder (2005) examined the influence of collaboration on student
web search behavior and search outcomes, and found that pairs scored higher than
individuals on search outcomes, found sources faster, and produced a greater number
of correct responses to the tasks. Morris (2008) found that effective collaborative Web
search can offer benefits such as increased coverage of relevant information, higher
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CIS in student
group projects
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