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Improve the Efficiency of Subject Searching

Improve the Efficiency of Subject Searching. Jinchi Guo East China Normal University Library, China Jie Huang University of Oklahoma Libraries, U.S.A. Improve the Efficiency of Subject Searching. Introduction Methodology Results and analysis Discussion Conclusion and suggestion.

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Improve the Efficiency of Subject Searching

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  1. Improve the Efficiency of Subject Searching Jinchi Guo East China Normal University Library, China Jie Huang University of Oklahoma Libraries, U.S.A. SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  2. Improve the Efficiency of Subject Searching • Introduction • Methodology • Results and analysis • Discussion • Conclusion and suggestion SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  3. Introduction • OPAC vs. Google / Baidu • Users’ searching behavior  subject search in OPAC • Study on users’ subject searching behavior • Investigation at East China Normal University (ECNU) compare with the study at the University of Oklahoma (OU) SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  4. Introduction SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  5. Methodology • Questionnaire and interviews • Social sciences, arts and humanities majors • Mainly from music (12.8%), education (25.5%), economics and finance (21.3%) • Each student was required to choose 3 topics for search, with each topic they could make 5 search attempts, the actual number of search attempts was 1,205 SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  6. Results and analysis • Relatively low frequency in OPAC use • OPAC subject search as the least chosen search method • OPAC or the library abandoned if search results were unsatisfactory • Comparison between subject and keyword searches • How to adjust search terms when search results are zero? SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  7. relatively low frequency in OPAC use • no one used OPAC on a daily basis • only 50.0% used it 2-5 times a week • 27.7% used it 2-6 times a month • 18.1% used it once a month • 4.2% never used it SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  8. subject search asthe least chosen • Frequency of each search type (ECNU)Frequency of each search type (OU) SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  9. OPAC or the library abandoned • Next step after unsuccessful (ECNU) Next step after unsuccessful (OU) SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  10. subject search & keyword search SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  11. how to adjust search terms • How to adjust search terms (ECNU) How to adjust search terms (OU) SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  12. Discussion • Very general subject terms for OPAC subject search • “international trade” • “real estate” • Natural language for OPAC subject search • “parents’ affection and healthy children” • Very specific search terms for OPAC subject search • “ink divided into five colors” • “biology AND course evaluation AND (US OR UK OR Hong Kong OR Taiwan OR Australia OR New Zealand)” SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  13. Discussion • Without knowledge about basic search rules • “Mozart sonata” • “Mozart idyllic sonata” • Newly created terms may be too new to serve as search terms • “low-carbon economy” SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  14. Conclusion and suggestion • Subject terms need to be standardized and assigned to records carefully. • Add subject access points to the old print materials. • To make subject search easier for ordinary users who don’t have any knowledge about the controlled vocabulary, incorporating the natural language into authorized subject search terms through cross-reference. • Libraries should use new technologies and features available to them, such as Web2.0, tagging, word cloud, to make OPAC search user-friendly. SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  15. Conclusion and suggestion • Reference librarians need to find more efficient ways to train users. • Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education(ACRL) • The Index System for Information Search Capability for the Universities in Beijing • Reference librarians can offer training to teach freshmen how to use the library • Librarians should provide more education cultivating students’ information search capability according to their levels • Cataloging librarians and reference librarians need to corporate and work together to make the subject terms easy to use and to teach users how to master this method better. SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

  16. Thank You！ Jinchi Guo jcguo@library.ecnu.edu.cn Jie Huang lilyh@ou.edu. SILF 2010 – Shanghai / Hangzhou

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