College and Research Libraries A Longitudinal Survey of the Information Seeking and Use Habits of Some Engineers Maurita Peterson Holland and Christina Kelleher Powell From 1978 to 1990 the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan offered "Technical Communications 490: Information Resources for Engineers" to seniors working on research projects. A follow-up study was conducted in 1993 to assess the impact of this course. Questionnaires were sent to 60 students who had taken the class and 60 students with similar characteristics who had not; the return rate for both groups was 50 percent. Although both groups of former students were very similar in their use of information resources on the job, those who had taken the Technical Communications course identified more specific resources available to them. They also rated formal sources of informa- tion, such as college and public libraries, more highly than did the respondents who had not taken the class, and spent an average of ten hours more per month searching for information and reading information. These data lead us to conclude that there is a relationship between the former students' use of information resources and their having taken Technical Communications 490. This study also revealed that many engineers have access to the tools needed for electronic information retrieval, and that while few receive formal instruction in their use, there is widespread interest in learning more . • he question of educating stu- dents in the use of informa- tion resources is no longer debated by most academic li- brarians. Well-established programs that run the gamut from orientation tours to discipline-integrated instruc- tion, and from HyperCard help stacks to Mosaic homepages, are available on many college campuses. Literature abounds on every aspect of instruction within reference service. However, very little work has been done to investigate the impact of information instruction on the information-seeking habits of gradu- ates after they have left the campus and have moved into the labor force. 1 Such a longitudinal study is reported here. BACKGROUND During the period 1978-90 students in the College of Engineering at the Univer- sity of Michigan were offered Technical Communication 490: Information Re- sources for Engineers. Approximately 250 students completed the 1 to 3 credi.t Maurita Peterson Holland is a Lecturer in the School of Infonnation and Library Studies and the College of Engineering and Ch_ristina Kelleher Powell is a second-year master's student in the School of Information and Library Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. The authors wish to thank the University of Michigan College of Engineering Technical Communication Department and the School of Information and Library Studies for support in carrying out this study. 7 8 College & Research Libraries course during the 12-year period. The senior-level course, available only to stu- dents who had a specific information research need such as a term paper or faculty-directed project, covered prob- lem analysis, development of the infor- mation research plan, use of manual and online systems and services, evaluation of information, nature of the engineering literature, and organization of personal files and databases. In order to learn what impact the course may have had on the students who took it, a survey was designed and tested on 30 graduates who were 8-12 years past graduation. After this pretest, the survey was administered to the re- maining group of students who had taken the course during this period. We also sent the survey to a set of former students who had not taken the course, but who had similar characteristics. The matching points were gender, grade point average, departmental major, and national origin. Sixty surveys were sent out in each group; 31 course takers and 29 noncourse takers returned the survey. SURVEY DATA Career The descriptions that the graduates gave of their current job titles could be divided into three broad categories: practicing engineers, managers of tech- nical processes, and "other" (see ta- ble 1). For course takers, "other" included 2 CEOs/ company presidents,2 sales/marketing specialists, a research specialist, a commbdities trader, and an attorney. Noncourse takers reported "other" to include 2 company presi- dents, a sales/marketing specialist, an investment banker, a Naval aviator, an assistant professor, and a financial ana- lyst. A number of respondents in both categories also reported degrees beyond the bachelor of science in engineering degree (see table 2). Overall, the course takers and noncourse takers showed very similar characteristics in their ca- reer choices, progress, and attitudes. The respondents were also asked to rank a number of factors that might con- tribute to building a successful career, January 1995 TABLEt CURRENT JOB TITLE Course Noncourse Takers Takers N=31 N=29 Working engineers 13 13 Managers 11 9 Other 7 7 TABLE2 DEGREES EARNED BEYOND BSE Course Noncourse Takers Takers N=9 N= 13 MBA 5 4 MS 3 9 JD 1 TABLE3 FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO CAREER SUCCESS Course Noncourse Takers Takers N=31 N=29 Hard work 14 17 People skills 11 9 Knowing the right technical infor- mation 5 7 Keeping up-to-date about engineering 2 3 Knowing how to use the latest equipment 1 1 (Numbers do not add to 31 and 29 respectively be- cause some responded with tied rankings.) with choices provided in three catego- ries: people skills (knowing the right people, relating well to people, ability to work with all types and personalities), data knowledge (knowing the right tech- nical information, keeping up-to-date about engineering, knowing how to use the newest equipment/hardware/re- sources), and work ethic (meeting dead- lines or successfully completing assigned projects, doing more and better work than others, accomplishing job objectives). Ta- ble 3 shows which factors were given high- est ranking. Lowest ranked by members of both groups was knowing how to use the newest equipment, hardware, and re- sources. In both groups, the responses of those who described themselves as engi- neers mirrored the responses of the group as a whole. Electronic Access Since the engineering curriculum at Michigan is heavily workstation-based and since the Technical Communica- tions course emphasized online infor- mation access, our survey focused on the graduates' use of computers and infor- mation technology. The respondents provided data on their use of computer applications on the job (see table 4). Only one member of each group reported that he did not use a computer on the job, a person in sales/marketing and an engi- neer respectively. Access to online information systems on the job was also examined. Respon- dents were asked whether their com- pany provided access to such systems, which systems were available, and whether they used online information themselves (see table 5). Respondents who had taken the course showed awareness of a wide range of systems available to them at work. They cited company databases (maintenance sys- TABLE4 COMPUTER APPLICATIONS USED AT WORK Course Noncourse Takers Takers N=30 N=28 VVordprocessblg 29 27 Data processblg 26 24 E-mail 14 15 CAD/CAM 10 5 TABLES ACCESS TO ONLINE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AT WORK Course Noncourse Takers Takers N=30 N=29 Yes No Yes No Company access 17 13 11 15* Use personally 9 22 10 19 (*Two made no reply and one was unsure.) A Longitudinal Survey 9 tern, job cost reporting, technical mem- ory), Compuserve, NASA Recon, DTIC DROLS, NASA COSMIC, University of California library system (MELVYL), the Internet, CAS, PIRA and several other technical and business databases, Access EPA, Dialog, STN, TelTech, Lexis/Nexis, and Prodigy. Noncourse takers were less aware of systems availability at their companies and listed fewer files; their lists included bulletin boards, Com- puserve, General Motors MATSPEC, Prodigy, Dialog, and the Internet. The ability to access online informa- tion systems at work and the number of services available that were named by the members of each group were ana- lyzed for statistical significance.2 Al- though there was no significant difference in company access to online services (p = .199), the difference in the number of systems that the former students identi- fied as available at their workplace, as compared with those listed by the group who had not taken the class, was much more pronounced. While not significant at the .05 level (p = .063), the marked differ- ence between two groups who have the same level of access suggests that the for- mer students are better informed about the resources available to them. The us- age of these systems, however, did not differ much from group to group. In addition, respondents were asked about the formats in which they receive information at work (paper, electronic, or graphic/image) and the formats in which they would prefer to receive infor- mation. Two-thirds of the respondents in both categories now receive information in electronic form; two-thirds of the re- spondents also indicated that they would prefer to receive less paper in the future. Infonnation Sources How the respondents access and re- ceive information was also surveyed; their use of print and electronic re- sources, their interaction with human in- formation providers, and the time spent on such activities are reported here.The engineering graduates were asked whether or not they maintained a personal library 10 College & Research Libraries January 1995 TABLE6 INFORMATION SOURCES USED AT WORK Personal professional library or file on the job High Own library 16 Word of mouth 21 Bulletin boards 4 Info utilities 2 E-mail 6 Fax 6 Near by college library 9 Public library 8 Course Takers N = 31 26 Med. Low 10 5 1 1 8 1 10 2 8 12 5 9 4 9 4 at work and to rank various information sources they used on the job. While both groups demonstrated the preference for their own personal libraries and word of mouth (which has been documented in other works on engineers and informa- tion transfer), those who had taken the Technical Communications course rated formal information sources such as col- lege and public libraries much more highly than those who had not taken the class (see table 6).3 These differences were analyzed and found to be statistically sig- nificant; for the ranking of the usefulness of college libraries, p = .029, and for public libraries, p = .009. · The publications that the respondents reported they read to gain background information for their work were also ex- a.n\ined. While no statistically significant difference was noted, the data did show that the majority of members of both groups read professional literature and technical material (see table 7). The course takers cited more specific titles and a somewhat wider range of sources. The rankings given by the respon- dents to people in various groups, inside and outside their company, as sources they used to gain information that is di- rectly related to the performance of their current jobs are shown in table 8. Once again, there was no statistical difference Noncourse Takers N = 29 23 No No Response High Me d. Low Response 4 4 17 17 14 6 8 9 14 7 2 14 5 2 2 6 11 4 2 11 8 7 9 8 7 5 4 6 10 1 8 12 TABLE7 PUBLICATIONS READ TO GAIN INFORMATION RELATED TO CAREER 6 8 10 12 9 9 9 8 Course Takers N=25 Noncourse Takers N=25 Professional society publications Business publica- tions Computing maga- zines Engineering/ auto- motive/de- fense I federal publications 16 4 3 18 12 8 4 13 between those who had taken the course and those who had not. Personal knowl- · edge and members of the immediate working group were most highly re- garded as sources of information by all respondents. Those who had not taken the Technical Communications course rated company librarians, consultants, or sales representatives less highly than did those who had, but not at a signifi- cant level. Other outsiders, such as com- petitors and other informal contacts (from professional societies or old school friends), were ranked the same by both groups. A Longitudinal Survey 11 TABLES RANKING OF PEOPLE AS INFORMATION SOURCES Course Takers N=25 No Noncourse Takers N=25 No High Me d. Low Response High Med. Low Response Personal knowl- edge Immediate work- ing group Personal experi- mentation Others in depart- ment Others in com- pany outside department Competitors Informal profes- sional contacts outside com- pany Paid consultants to company Vendors and sales representatives Company librar- ian/information managers 30 23 8 10 13 7 10 11 13 8 1 7 14 17 7 12 15 6 9 7 TABLE9 ACQUAINTANCE WITH SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE Inside firm Outside firm Course Takers N=31 Yes 20 15 No 11 16 Noncourse Takers N=29 Y~s 22 10 No 7 19 5 2 4 8 3 9 6 9 Respondents were asked whether they know specific individuals, inside and outside their firms, who are knowl- edgeable about information resources · (see table 9). The frequency of their com- munications with others in their field, but outside their firm, is shown in table 10. Although more course takers re- ported that they know individuals out- side their firms whom they regard as knowledgeable sources of information, the difference between the groups was negligible. The frequency of contact with 1 3 2 7 4 3 5 3 7 28 23 10 11 10 9 9 3 7 4 4 10 16 10 10 10 11 10 9 6 1 7 5 6 13 10 11 1 2 3 1 2 5 4 2 2 5 TABLE 10 FREQUENCYOFCO~CATION WITH PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF FIRM Regularly Occasionally Seldom Never Course Takers N=31 23 4 4 0 Noncourse Takers N=29 15 7 6 2 outsiders, however, was far greater for those in the group of former Technical Communications students. While the difference was not statistically signifi- cant at .05 (p = .069), it does seem to be worthy of note, especially as most other differences between the groups were far less significant (p > .15). The average number of hours per month the graduates reported they spent looking for information, reading information, and giving information to others is shown in table 11. Among those 12 College & Research Libraries who had taken the Technical Communi- cations course, estimates for hours spent seeking information ranged between 5 hours and 80 hours per month, with a mean of 22.1 hours. Among those who had not, estimates ranged between 0 and 40 hours per month, with a mean of 12 hours per month spent seeking informa- tion. The difference between the two groups' time spent searching for infor- mation was significant, with p = .014. There was also a marked difference in the hours spent reading information. For the course takers, estimates again ranged between 5 hours and 80 hours per month, with a mean of 32.7 hours per month spent reading information, while the noncourse takers' estimates ranged be- tween 1 hour and 96 hours per month, with a mean of 22.9 hours. This difference was also significant, with p = .026. The members of the two groups varied little, however, in the amount of time they spent giving information to others. Course tak- ers' estimates ranged between 0 hours and 80 hours per month, with a mean of 21.9 hours per month spent giving informa- tion to others. For noncourse takers, es- timates ranged between 1 hour and 100 hours per month, with a mean of 18.1 hours per month. The difference be- tween the groups was not statistically significant in this instance. Respondents were asked about the number and type of information re- sources (databases, books, inhouse tech- nical reports, etc.) that they had created during the past three years. Although inhouse tech reports and other inhouse reports, economic and business data files, computer programs and standards were mentioned as types of material cre- ated, in fact only about 50 percent of the respondents in either group reported creating products of any type. Additional Data Supporting Future Information Access Respondents were asked about their use of computers beyond the workplace and also about their interest in learning more about information access. Their re- sponses would indicate that they have both an interest in knowing more about January 1995 TABLE 11 TIME SPENT WITH INFORMATION RESOURCES Hours/Month Searching for infor- mation Reading Giving information to others Course Takers N=31 22.1 32.7 21.9 TABLE 12 Noncourse Takers N=29 12 22.9 18.1 USE OF COMMUNICATION SOFTWARE AT HOME Course Noncourse Takers Takers N=lO N=14 Prodigy /Compuserve 6 7 Bulletin boards 6 5 Dial-in to company mainframe 3 10 Dialog 2 1 Freenet/OPACs 1 Unspecified 5 a wide range of sources and that they have technology in place at home for such access. They also gave considerable support to any plan which would pro- vide formal instruction in information resource use for engineering students and practitioners. Two-thirds of both groups used per- sonal computers at home. Table 12 shows the number of those who also used communications software from home and the type of services with which they connected. While there was no statistical significance in their use of communications software for informa- tion access, the course takers used a more diverse group of information re- sources than the noncourse takers. Respondents were asked what infor- mation they most wanted to learn about: access to information via personal com- puters or workstations, specific engi- neering information that would help on the job, or business or other nonengi- TABLE 13 INFORMATION TOPICS OF INTEREST Access to informa- tion via com- puter Engineering infor- mation Businessinforma- tion Course Takers N=29 19 yes 21 yes 18 yes Noncourse Takers N=27 16 yes 20 yes 12 yes neering information (see table 13). While the difference in responses is not statisti- cally significant, the responses from both groups show considerable interest in learning new skills which would expand their information access capacity. Finally, the engineering graduates were asked whether they had received any formal training in information re- trieval, and to describe it if they had. In addition to the formal instruction re- ceived as undergraduates, 2 course tak- ers noted other training, 1 from vendors (Dialog, TelTech, Chemical Abstracts) and 1 from a public library. Only 2 non- course takers had received any formal instruction, 1 at General Motors and the other from Dialog. Approximately 75 percent of the re- spondents in both categories were sup- portive of information access being integrated into engineering classes, or taught either as a part of continuing ed u- cation or of orientation/ on-the-job train- ing. About half of the respondents also supported a separate undergraduate class in information access. KEY RESULTS More than ten years after graduation, half of all the engineers in our survey find themselves working in positions no longer classified as 11 engineer"; they have become managers or moved into other careers in business, law, or academia. They are, however, unified in their belief that hard work in completing projects on time is of primary importance in moving their career forward. 4 Almost all of them A Longitudinal Survey 13 use computers, most of them for word and data processing, and two-thirds of them have computers at home where about half of them use communications software to access bulletin board and electronic information services. The engineers who took the informa- tion resources course show similar infor- mation gathering preferences to those who did not-and to engineers gener- ally. That is, they prefer word of mouth and their own library of information when they seek information. However, course takers showed more interest in using nearby college and public librar- ies. They also demonstrated a knowl- edge of a broader range of electronically available sources and services, and they read a wider range of both profes- sional society-produced and engineering- related technical literature. While we find little evidence to sup- port course takers being more likely to approach a company librarian or infor- mation manager than others, we do see that they are more likely to rely on sources of information outside their companies such as paid consultants, vendors, and colleagues. Furthermore, course takers spent 50 percent more time than their noncourse-taking colleagues finding and using information. Finally, both groups were almost u- nanimous in wanting to learn about ac- cessing information both related and unrelated to their jobs. In fact, since only 2 in each respondent group had received any information access-related training during their professional careers, it is obvious that if there is no formal training in college, it is unlikely to occur later. And, they were united in thinking that such instruction should be incorporated into courses taught in college and should also be part of continuing education or on-the-job training. COMMENTS FROM THE RESPONDENTS Some of the students who had taken the class appended comments to the sur- vey. One noted that 11 online research is the [way the] real world does things. It's the only way to [do] research" and an- 14 College & Research Libraries other noted, "[I] believe you cannot em- phasize the importance of acquiring in- formation access skills enough all throughout school, even after school and into every workday situations. It really does give you an edge in personal and professional lives." One of the noncourse takers stated: "While I earned two degrees at U-M, I did not use the facilities and resources available to me. My twelve years of work have shown me that I made a mistake and should have." Two others offered suggestions to make information more accessible and useful to engineers: I believe that 95 percent of all engi- neers do not use technical information because it is not easily available. It would do no good if it sat in a library in Ann Arbor. It needs to be easily accessible through a PC at one's desk. In today' s competitive market, one does not have time to visit a library. The type of information I need var- ies considerably from one assignment to the next. I do not know ahead of time what information I require. Therefore, access to a general informa- tion source is critical. Ease and timeli- ness of retrieval are also important. CONCLUSION This work provides perspective on what impact instruction in information access · and use had on a group of engi- neers. It also gives insight in how vari- ous individuals and organizations might most effectively reach and educate engi- neers both while they are in college and throughout their careers. It may well also provide both the framework for lon- gitudinal study of information use in other disciplines and the indication of widespread need for training in infor- mation use throughout professional ca- reers. We believe that there may be applications of the information pre- sented in this work for information pro- fessionals in a variety of settings. Academic information professionals should consider that engineering stu- dents need instruction and electronic ac- cess to information resources. Along with playing the role of educator, aca- January 1995 demic librarians must also build unified interfaces which promote ease of access so that all students will be able to use a diverse set of data and information re- sources in a simple and straightforward way. Information management faculty should note that engineers use comput- ers for electronic access both at home and at work. The engineers want proac- tive instruction in the use of information access across a broad range of resources. Engineering colleges can play an im- portant role in promoting the use of technical information. Engineers are generally able to receive information re- source access training only while they are in school. Those surveyed have given a strong mandate for information access and resource use being integrated into existing engineering courses. Corporate librarians and information managers should realize that engineers may be very interested in learning about elec- tronic access to information and expect that some instruction should be avail- able. While they show little enthusiasm for approaching a librarian for informa- tion, their strong desire to solve prob- lems for themselves carries over to their interest in learning electronic information access. Engineers tend to gravitate toward careers in business and management as they mature, and they read business news- papers and magazines. Interestingly, while they say they would like to learn more about computers, few reported reading computer-related magazines. Professional societies are positioned to play a major role in the delivery of techni- cal and career development training. En- gineers read and trust these publications most to solve their technical information needs and to keep them up-to-date. Finally, academic librarians and cor- porate counterparts should consider col- laborating to develop a continuum of service for newly graduated profession- als in all fields. By providing electronic systems and training which encourages and extends the information seeking and use patterns established in college, this powerful collaboration should result in creating active, lifelong information seekers and users. A Longitudinal Survey 15 REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. The only example found is Naomi R. Ikeda and Diane G .. Schwartz, "Impact of End-User Search Training on Pharmacy Students: A Four-Year Follow-Up Study," Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 80 (Apr. 1992): 124-30 which reports data collected from practicing pharmacists up to four years after graduation. We would note that searching for longitudinal information is frustrated by very general indexing terms. For example, the terms assigned to this article are so broad (bibliographic instruction, end-user searching) as to be useless in locating similar articles. 2. Statistical analysis was performed with SYSTAT software for the Macintosh, using Mann- Whitney and chi-square statistical tests. 3. See Maurita Peterson Holland and others, "Engineers as Information Processors: A Survey of US Aerospace Engineering Faculty and Students," European Journal of Engineering Education 16, no. 4 (1991): 317-36, which reports data from 275 faculty and 640 students on their use of information sources and technology and the influence of instruction on their use. For a historic overview of the area, see Thomas E. Pinelli, "The Information-Seeking Habits and Practices of Engineers," Science & Technology Libraries 11 (Spring 1991): 5-25, which documents forty years of information-seeking behavior among engineers. 4. Strong work-orientation, self-sufficiency, and dedication to task are some of the primary attributes mentioned in an overview of the engineers' personal and professional charac- teristics as reported by Richard Schott, "The Professions and Government: Engineering as a Case in Point," Public Administration Review (Mar./ Apr. 1978): 126-32. The "cluster of values" Schott describes were confirmed in the homogenous pattern of responses in this survey. Use INTERNET to U C n over ... UnCover UnCover UnCover UnCover SOS 6 million articles from Reveal Complete Order articles by fax, 20,000 multidisciplinary Electronic TOC Pre-1989 journals phone, e-mail or post periodicals delivered by service with can be ordered from UnCover's Single fax in 24 hours or less user profiling online Order Source service E-mail: uncover@carl.org The UnCover Company 380 I East Florida Avenue, Suite 200 0 Denver, CO 8021 0, USA Phone: 1-800-787-7979 o Fax: 303-758-5946 Readmore, Inc. . .. 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