Comprehensive secondary school students and their information search process : Information Searching: A survey of Carol C. Kuhlthaus model

The aim of this Masters thesis is to, through user studies, analyse whether Carol C. Kuhlthaus information search model is applicable in a Swedish school. Furthermore, the guidance that the students may receive from the teacher and/or school librarian is analysed. Answers are sought to the following questions: · How do the students perceive their information seeking? · How do the librarian and/or teacher support the students during their information seeking process? The study is based on a qualitative method of approach, through interviews with four informants: a librarian, a teacher and two pupils. The results showed that the model for information search as stated by Kuhlthau is by large applicable to the students in Sweden. A few discrepancies were found: The main one being that the students did not worry during the first part of the information seeking process, something that Kuhlthau expressed they would. Kuhlthau has also a model regarding mediation and one regarding education. These models represent the different roles the librarian can have during the information search. The thesis shows that the school librarian only had the first level of mediation as described by Kuhlthau, while the rest of the levels were instead held by the teacher. The librarian did have all of the five different levels of education.Uppsatsnivå: