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The role of individual differences in Internet searching: An empirical study

This article reports the results of a study of the role of individual differences in Internet searching. The dimensions of individual differences forming the focus of the research consisted of: cognitive styles; levels of prior experience; Internet perceptions; study approaches; age; and gender. Six...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 2001-10, Vol.52 (12), p.1049-1066
Main Authors: Ford, Nigel, Miller, David, Moss, Nicola
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:This article reports the results of a study of the role of individual differences in Internet searching. The dimensions of individual differences forming the focus of the research consisted of: cognitive styles; levels of prior experience; Internet perceptions; study approaches; age; and gender. Sixty‐nine Masters students searched for information on a prescribed topic using the AltaVista search engine. Results were assessed using simple binary relevance judgements. Factor analysis and multiple regression revealed interesting differences, retrieval effectiveness being linked to: male gender; low cognitive complexity; an imager (as opposed to verbalizer) cognitive style; and a number of Internet perceptions and study approaches grouped here as indicating low self‐efficacy. The implications of these findings for system development and for future research are discussed.
ISSN:1532-2882
2330-1635
1532-2890
2330-1643
DOI:10.1002/asi.1165