Information Searching

Table 11.1 summarizes data on how faculty searched for information. The proportion of faculty using the search strategies did not differ significantly by institution or discipline, with the exception of three strategies. First, the proportion of Michigan economists who reported browsing library shelves (46%) was significantly less than the proportion of five-college historians who used this strategy (86%). Second, the proportion of Michigan economists who reported searching card catalogs (14%) was significantly less than the proportion of five-college historians who used this strategy (39%). And finally, the proportion of Michigan economists who reported browsing departmental collections (48%) was significantly greater than the proportion of five-college historians who used this strategy (4%).^[1]