Understanding and Assessing Information Needs

Programme Features

A practically-oriented one-day course, showing the importance of understanding information needs, and the ways in which they can be assessed

• What are information needs ?
• Importance of understanding information needs
• Information needs of individuals, groups, and organisations
• Ways of assessing information needs
• Information needs assessment as part of information management
  

Why you should attend:

Understanding the information needs of users - individuals and groups - is an absolute necessity of an information worker, or information service, is to be effective.

This course gives both a thorough understanding of the concepts, and practical skills for understanding and assessing information, from the immediate needs of a single user needing information (the 'reference interview') to the all-encompassing information needs of a whole organisation (part of an information management audit).

On completing the course, you will be able to:

• Understand what information needs are, and why they are important
• Have a framework for understanding and discussing information needs
• Be able to assess the immediate information needs of an individual
• Be able to plan an information needs analysis for a group, department or organisation
• Appreciate the place of information needs analysis within information management

Programme
09.45 : Registration
10.00 : Introduction to the course
10.15 : Session 1
Nature of information needs within information behaviour
Importance of understanding information needs
11.15 : Exercise 1
11.30 : Coffee break
11.45 : Session 2
Direct assessment of information needs
Methods and examples
12.45 : Exercise 2
13.00 : Lunch break
14.00 : Session 3
Indirect assessment of information needs
Methods and examples
14.45 : Exercise 3
15.00 : Tea break
15.15 : Session 4
Understanding information needs as part of information
management
16.00 : Exercise 4
16.15 : Summary, conclusions, Q&A
16.30 : Close