Information Seeking Behavior in the Health Sciences: A Systematic Review

Academic libraries are increasingly using user experience assessment as a way to provide services to their users. A subset of user experience is information seeking behavior, in which researchers examine how populations search for information. Librarians can use this information to inform how to better approach a variety of library services, including instruction, reference interactions, and design and discovery of library collections. Although the health sciences are utilizing information seeking behavior and user experience less than other academic institutions, there is potential for growth in this research area. OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to understand the following questions: What is the status of information seeking behavior research in the health sciences? What gaps exist in information seeking behavior literature? How do health sciences personnel search for information? METHODS: A systematic review, utilizing both iterative searching and chaining methods to collect articles from the health sciences and library literature, is being conducted. Articles are reviewed and appraised with the Papers software. After narrowing the results by examining the titles and abstracts, the relevant studies are read and further narrowed for inclusion in the study. Utilizing a tabular data collection approach, each article is analyzed for specific inclusion criteria, including methods utilized, specific populations studied, search strategies, and applied theoretical frameworks.