Information seeking of scholars in the field of higher education

This study examines the information seeking of scholars in the field of Higher Education. I interviewed Higher Education scholars about their use of the web, library resources, and interpersonal networking for their research. I also spoke with them about how the faculty reward system shapes their information seeking habits. I drew on information behavior concepts to describe their behaviors. Because Higher Education is an interdisciplinary field, there is a broad swath of literature Higher Education scholars might draw from. This study examined how these scholars seek information in an information rich environment with limited time. The findings of this study describe how the career expectations for Higher Education scholars shapes their information seeking choices, how scholars change their information seeking over time, how emotional and interpersonal factors influence their choices, and how the tools available for information seeking influence their research. Many of the findings appear to apply to faculty engaged in research across disciplines, particularly other applied social sciences. Scholars publish work that advances their careers, but this doesn't include all the work that could enhance the body of knowledge about Higher Education. Events in society and changes in educational policy which have a great impact on Higher Education do not necessarily get addressed by scholarship in the field. Keeping up with the scholarly literature in Higher Education will not keep one abreast of all the developments in Higher Education. Scholars' professional confidence, passion, and relationships effect their ambition in searching for information, branching out to new topics, and sharing their expertise. Information seeking and sharing is influenced by the supportiveness of the community of scholars they work in. This includes senior scholars in the field, scholars outside the field, and librarians. An individual's disposition may determine how willing they are to seek information and help, which can determine how successful they will be as a scholar.The technologies for information seeking are constantly and rapidly changing. It's important to keep faculty up to date with new developments and changes to library resources so they do not develop a static view of tools that are constantly in flux. Scholars should be aware that tools change and they should be on alert for new developments.