Assignment: Find out how scientist search
Elsevier science offers researchers various products and services to find scientific information (e.g. ScienceDirect, Scirus and Scopus). Elsevier wanted to find out more about the daily search activities of their users. What kind of information are they exactly looking for, which products do they use and what kind of problems do they encounter today? The answers to questions like these would enable Elsevier to identify opportunities to improve existing products and to establish if there is need for new products or services.
Method used: User research - Diary study
To gather insights in the ways users search for scientific information, a User research project was started. Forty users from different parts of the world were asked to detail their search related activities for a period of four weeks. The participants consisted from (senior) researchers, PhD students and librarians.
Participants were asked to make an entry in an online diary every time they searched for scientific information. In the diary they described in detail which activities they had conducted. Among other things they described the type of information they were looking for, which triggers caused them to start a search and whether the required information was found successfully.
After four weeks, almost 500 diary entries were collected. These entries were then analyzed for patterns in use and for differences between user groups (researchers, students and librarians). After a first analysis, all users were contacted again for a short telephone interview. In this interview they could elaborate on the entries made. They were also asked some questions based on the outcome of the initial analysis.
Results: New insights into search behavior
Based on an extensive analysis of all entries and the interviews, many new insights were collected regarding the search activities of scientists. In some cases existing assumptions about the user group were validated, in other cases assumptions needed to be adjusted. With the help of User research a complete picture emerged of the search process, from the initial informational need to the end result.
Using the collected data, conclusions were drawn on how to improve products aimed at the scientific market. A few findings could even directly be translated into new features for existing products.
