Panning for gold: understanding students information searching experiences

When was the last time you observed someone searching the Internet or library databases and wondered, "Why on earth did they do it that way?" Searchers are prepared to sit for long periods trying to find the elusive and even rare item they require, yet spend little time learning how to search more effectively. Reflections of this nature led to the research reported in this paper. Observing students over a period of a few years, all studying within one unit in the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), it became clear that efforts to understand what students were experiencing while web-based information searching would be valuable for both the students and ongoing curriculum design. This paper reports on research intended to discover both the student experiences and the likely ways to encourage students to pan for gold rather than junk when they search. The research was undertaken using a phenomenographic approach. The paper will outline the background to the study, explain the research method and objectives, and present findings. Both teaching and learning strategies and curriculum design have been strongly influenced by this projec