Information Seeking Behaviors, Attitudes, and Choices of Academic Physicists

Figures & data

Figure 1. WordItOut word cloud.

Table 1. Success rate of physicists in keeping up to date benchmarked with position and with type.

How successful are you in keeping up to date with physics news and scholarly information in your field?
		Type of Physicist Percentage Survey Responses		Participant’s position Percentage Survey Responses
	All Participants Percentage of Survey Responses	Applied Physicists	Theoretical Physicists	Teaching/ Research/ Other Staff	Postdoctoral Fellow	Faculty/Emeritus	Doctoral Students	Masters’ Students
Not really successful, I could do better	28.6	28.9	28.2	20.0	12.5	18.2	36.1	40.5
Somewhat successful, I use a variety of resources	56.0	60.6	50.0	50.0	75.0	54.6	57.4	54.1
Successful, I believe I keep on top of new developments	15.4	10.6	21.8	30.0	12.5	27.3	6.6	5.4
Number of responses	182	104	78	10	8	66	61	37

Note: A total of 182 responses were received for the ‘how successful’ question, percentages rounded to the nearest tenth, 31 comments received, but not displayed.

Table 2. Success rate of physicists in keeping up to date benchmarked with resources consulted.

How do you keep up to date with new developments and scholarly information in your field?
	Percentage of Total Participants	Percentage Survey Participants Attend conferences, present papers, give lectures, participate in seminars, workshops, etc.	Percentage Survey Participants Consult and search known web/Internet resources on a regular basis, etc.	Percentage Survey Participants Search scholarly databases	Percentage Survey Participants Browse through a well-defined number of journals, magazines, scholarly resources, etc.	Percentage Survey Participants Link to known social media, forums, relevant e-mail listservs, open feeds, blogs, etc.	Percentage Survey Participants Converse with colleagues in person, by e-mail, phone, etc.	Percentage Survey Participants Other
Not really successful, I could do better	28.6	24.1	24.2	25.8	13.9	27.0	26.1	37.5
Somewhat successful, I use a variety of resources	56.0	59.1	57.9	59.7	63.3	63.5	55.8	25.0
Successful, I believe I keep on top of new developments	15.4	16.8	17.9	14.5	22.8	9.5	18.1	37.5
Percentage of participants who selected this option	100	75.3	52.2	68.1	43.4	34.6	75.8	8.8
Number times this response was selected	652	137	95	124	79	63	138	16

Note: A total of 652 responses were received by 182 participants, percentages rounded to the nearest tenth, 16 comments received, but not displayed.