Information behaviour of Kuwaiti legal professionals
Year: 2003
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis reports results of a research study into the information behaviour of Kuwaiti\nlegal professionals. The main aims of the research were to investigate the information\nbehaviour and the information needs of Kuwaiti legal professionals, and examine\nwhether the existing legal information sources and services meet their needs.\nThe theoretical framework for this research was derived from the investigation of\ninformation behaviour in general, and studies of legal professionals in particular. Wilson's\n(1996) model of information behaviour was also used to develop the conceptual\nframework of this research. This model takes into account four types of information\nseeking behaviour: active search, passive search, passive attention and ongoing search.\nThis model helped in formulating research questions and hypotheses and the design of\ndata collections methods. It was used also as a tool for organising the interpretation and\ndiscussion of the research findings.\nThe research methods were designed from a user-centred perspective, including using\ndata collection methods that are supportive of user-centred research. Triangulation was\nused in data collection by the use of questionnaires, interviews and critical incidents\ntechnique. The participants of the research included legal academics, legal practitioners\nsuch as state lawyers, prosecutors and private lawyers, law librarians, legal publishers and\nlegal database producers in Kuwait.\nThe results showed that a personal collection is the source used most by Kuwaiti legal\nprofessionals. The majority did not use electronic sources such as databases and the\nInternet. A large percentage also did not use law libraries. The majority of academics\nsought information themselves, whereas the majority of practitioners relied on the\nassistance of others. The majority of respondents had no training on the use of\ninformation sources. The majority also relied on internal communication as a channel for\ninformation exchange more than external communication.\nThe majority of respondents scanned between one or two journals, although journals\nshould be among the major information sources for legal professionals. On the other\nhand, newspapers ranked first for serendipity for both academics and practitioners. New\nbooks were ranked as a first source by practitioners for updating information, whereas\njournals were ranked first for academics.\nThese results showed the information seeking problems of the legal professionals. This\nled to the development of the interface requirement for the design of a prototype\nKuwaiti Legal Information System (KLIS) interface. The aim of the system was to\nprovide relevant and up-to-date information, and links to other information sources and\nservices in order to improve communication channels at both national and international\nlevel. The system also sought to be cost-effective. Finally, a heuristic usability evaluation\nwas undertaken by consulting a number of experts on the system's usability and contents.\nConclusions are drawn and recommendations for further research and to stakeholders are\nmade.
Author: Sultan M. Al‐Daihani
Language: English
Subfield: Library and Information Sciences
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W250105126