An Empirical Study On User Information Anxiety In Academic Search

Currently,with the multiple developments of network resources,the access to information is no longer limited to a single channel.As a consequence,flooded information causes users to consume extra time and energy in the process of searching for information,which has resulted in various physical and mental stress to users.In academic search,as more academic resources are developing towards digitalization and electronization,the speed of update and dissemination is accelerating.Under this circumstance,it is difficult for scholars to get all valuable academic resources when searching documents in different databases and electronic journals for scientific research,thereby generating a series of negative emotions such as anxiety and irritability.It will further affect their retrieval behavior and performance.Therefore,this study focuses on the situation of user information anxiety in the context of academic search,aiming to provide references for optimizing academic search system and reducing the information anxiety of users in academic search.To meet the expected results,first of all,this study will review the current research status to clarify the significance of information anxiety in the academic search.Secondly,by summarizing the existing information anxiety scale,the interview outline and questionnaire will be designed,the information anxiety scale suitable for academic search situation will be revised,and the questionnaire on information anxiety in academic search will be compiled by combining the ISP theory and the behavioral process model of online academic information query.By taking academic users as the research object,this study not only analyzes the existence of information anxiety in the process of academic search through quantitative data,but also explores the changing pattern and distribution of information anxiety in the process of academic search,thus probing into the causes of information anxiety in academic search.The main contributions of this study are as follows:(1)An information anxiety scale suitable for academic search situations could be developed to verify the six types of academic search information anxiety(information quality anxiety,information quantity anxiety,information retrieval tool anxiety,information literacy anxiety,information access anxiety,and information processing anxiety).(2)According to the ISP theory and the online academic information query behavior process model,the behavior process and the behavioral framework of each stage of academic search is divided and constructed respectively to refine information anxiety to each stage.It would be useful to discuss the dynamic change process of information anxiety in academic search.(3)After understanding the overall situation,the changing pattern and distribution of academic search information anxiety,as well as the causes of academic search information anxiety will be discussed from the two aspects of typical behaviors at various search stages and characteristics of various academic search information anxiety.It could provide suggestions for improving academic retrieval systems and optimizing user experience.The main conclusions of this study are that,firstly,the phenomenon of information anxiety is common in academic search,which could be mainly divided into 6 types.Meanwhile,the main corresponding information anxiety types vary a lot in each search stage in academic search.Secondly,the types and degrees of information anxiety produced by user groups with different demographic characteristics are obviously different.Thirdly,the changing pattern of academic search information anxiety would follow the model of increasing first and decreasing then.To be specific,information anxiety will be generated from the initial stage,and reach the peak value at the collection stage,and then slow down when the search is completed.