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Probing the process of information source selection using Palm Pilots: A pilot study

The paper describes a pilot study that used PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants or Palm Pilots) to collect data on the information seeking habits of eight undergraduate students. Each student carried a PDA and recorded their information tasks, reasons for those tasks, and an evaluation of the information sources they used. In addition to their own information seeking behaviors in natural settings, the students also performed a set of assigned information seeking tasks. Each information task was treated as a discrete incident. A total of 287 incidents were collected. The data shows that for the majority of the tasks, the students used Internet search engines quite heavily. The data also shows that most information searches do not extend beyond the use of the first information source chosen. This paper describes the methodologies used and discusses how PDAs can be utilized to gather the information seeking behaviors of users.