The use of electronic information services by students at Glasgow Caledonian University: background to the project and introductory focus groups

Abstract

This paper reports on the first stage of a study on the usage of electronic information services (EIS) by staff and students at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU). The study used by qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The questionnaires used at GCU were modeled on those developed at LMU. The project aimed to monitor off-campus usage of EIS, the use of passworded databases, and the freely available internet. The volume of electronic citations in students' course work and the possibility of developing routine performance indicators were also examined. Focus Groups were conducted with both staff and students between November 2001 and March 2002. These suggested, inter alia, that paramedics are the heaviest users of EIS and that paramedicine is the subject area where EIS are most integrated into the curriculum. Attitudes to the internet are extremely varied. Mode of attendance and workplace usage are important factors.