Students use of search engines -Reply

[Kris Ecklund]

On Tue, 4 Jun 1996, Gail Wanner wrote:
> 
> Instead of trying to convince students (and others) that they need to
> learn the complexities of web searching, perhaps we should be trying to
> improve the searching so that people are successful in their searches
> without special training?  Most people find information in the phone book
> without needing to be trained & they expect the web (and library catalogs)
> to be basically the same.   
> 

Gail,

IMHO, most people want some one else to find the phone book info for 
them.  Several years ago many library instruction librarian types began 
using the phone directory as a paradigm for thesaurus search of a 
database, especially when we were conversing hopefully with K-12 
librarians and teachers.  Even phone books aren't what they used to seem 
to be, though.

It seems logical to assume, though, that a student who is instructed in
searching via two or more Boolean-use products (e.g., ERIC on FirstSearch
and ERIC on SilverPlatter CD-ROM or the "ehm" file in Lexis-Nexis's
Medline and America:  History and Life on CD-ROM) will have an idea of
*where to look for hints/instructions* in using a WWW search engine--if
(!) they are taught that consulting a guide/hints/help is important to the
success of their search and that they are responsible for locating it and
using it.


Kris Ecklund, Librarian
California State University, Northridge  91330-8327
818-885-2281
kristin.ecklund at csun.edu