Information Seeking Behaviors, Attitudes, and Choices of Academic Mathematicians

Figures & data

Table 1. Success rate of mathematicians in keeping up to date with mathematics new and scholarly information benchmarked with position.

How successful are you in keeping up to date with mathematics/statistics news and scholarly information in your field?
	Percentage Survey Responses Teaching/Research/Other Staff	Percentage Survey Responses Postdoctoral Fellow	Percentage Survey Responses Faculty/Emeritus	Percentage Survey Responses Doctoral Students	Percentage Survey Responses Masters’ Students	Percentage of Total Participants
Not really successful, I could do better	50.0	16.7	20.0	45.5	41.7	28.6
Somewhat successful, I use a variety of resources	50.0	83.3	63.1	41.0	58.3	58.9
Successful, I believe I keep on top of new developments	0	0	16.9	13.6	0	12.5
Number of responses	6	6	65	22	12	111

Table 2. Success rate of mathematicians in keeping up to date with mathematics news and scholarly information benchmarked with years of experience.

How successful are you in keeping up to date with mathematics/statistics news and scholarly information in your field?
	Percentage Survey Responses 1–5 years	Percentage Survey Responses 6–10 years	Percentage Survey Responses 11–15 years	Percentage Survey Responses 16–20 years	Percentage Survey Responses 21+ years	Percentage of Total Participants
Not really successful, I could do better	43.2	21.4	38.0	13.3	16.7	28.6
Somewhat successful, I use a variety of resources	51.4	71.4	43.8	86.7	56.7	58.9
Successful, I believe I keep on top of new developments	5.4	7.1	18.8	0	28.7	12.5
Number of responses	37	14	16	15	30	112

Table 3. Success rate of mathematicians in keeping up to date with mathematics news and scholarly information benchmarked with resources consulted.

How successful are you in keeping up to date with mathematics/statistics news and scholarly information in your field?
	Percentage Survey Responses Converse with colleagues in person, by e-mail, phone, etc.	Percentage Survey Responses Attend conferences, present papers, give lectures, participate in seminars, workshops, etc.	Percentage Survey Responses Consult and search known web/Internet resources on a regular basis, etc.	Percentage Survey Responses Search scholarly databases e.g. MathSciNet by author, keywords, ideas, etc.	Percentage Survey Responses Browse through a well-defined number of journals, magazines, scholarly resources, etc.	Percentage Survey Responses Link to knows social media, forums, relevant e-mail listservs, open feeds, blogs, etc.	Percentage of Total Participants
Not really successful, I could do better	29.3	21.8	26.4	21.5	17.5	28.0	28.6
Somewhat successful, I use a variety of resources	61.0	66.7	58.3	63.1	72.5	68.0	58.9
Successful, I believe I keep on top of new developments	9.8	11.5	15.3	15.4	10.0	4.0	12.5
Number of responses	82	78	72	65	40	25	382
Percentage of participants	73.9	70.3	64.86	58.6	36.0	22.52	100

Table 4. Databases most often used when searching the mathematics/statistics scholarly literature benchmarked with years’ experience.

Which databases do you most often use when searching the mathematics/statistics scholarly literature?
	Percentage Survey Responses 1–5 years	Percentage Survey Responses 6–10 years	Percentage Survey Responses 11–15 years	Percentage Survey Responses 16–20 years	Percentage Survey Responses 21+ years	Percentage of Total Participants
arXiv.org	51.4	92.9	60.0	53.3	63.3	61.5
MathSciNet	25.7	42.9	26.7	60.0	53.3	40.4
Google Scholar	68.6	64.3	86.7	66.7	63.3	68.8
Web of Science	11.4	7.14	6.7	6.7	26.7	13.8
Other	8.6	7.14	20.0	0	13.3	10.1
Number of responses	37	14	16	15	30	112
Percentage of participants	33.0	12.5	14.3	13.4	26.8	100