Browsing by Subject "Information storage and retrieval systems - Medicine"

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    An evaluation of the requirements of users of biomedical informational services as provided by the South African Medical Research Council
    (1984) Milligan, George Allan; Smith, Janet Gretchen
    The Institute for Medical Literature (IML) provides an online bibliographic service to the biomedical community in South Africa. The requirements of the users of the services of IML were evaluated in respect of needs and satisfaction of these needs. A non-user population was also identified and evaluated. The research study was undertaken by (a) conducting a review of the literature; and (b) conducting an empirical study of users and non-users of IML to construct both a "personal" and "information behaviour" profile of both the user and non-user groups. The literature was studied to provide (i) a conceptual framework for the field of research, (ii) a compilation of findings in studies related to this study and (iii) a basis for the selection of the methodology employed in the study. The "personal" profile comprised details of age, rank and work activity type and the "information behaviour" profile comprised details of use of information channels. The needs of the users, as measured by various criteria for satisfaction of these needs, were also measured. The reasons for the non-use of the service were also investigated. The principal conclusions reached were: (a) The expressed information need of the users of IML were satisfied; (b) the majority of non-users had not heard of IML; (c) there was a difference between the information seeking behaviour of users and non-users of IML; and (d) age, rank and work activity type influenced the use or non-use of IML.