| The purpose of this exploratory case study was to develop a model of the adolescent innovation-decision process within the information retrieval practices of high school students in the context of assigned research papers. With his permission, the stages of Rogers (1983) innovation-decision model were used and elements added that were pertinent to an adolescents decision. At each of the four sites studied, students had a choice of either using traditional print materials (i.e., card catalog, Readers Guide to Periodical Literature) or computer technology for the retrieval of books, magazines, and newspaper; The research methodology used was multiple case study with an embedded design. Cases were four high school media centers, and the unit of analysis for the innovation-decision process was the individual student. Data gathering techniques included researcher observation, surveys to students, interviews with library media specialists, and review of student paper bibliographies. The analysis technique was pattern matching as revealed through the histograms of twenty-one elements.; Patterns were found to support the model generally, but demonstrated that as compared with other elements, differences relating to gender were very low. In contrast, three elements "previous computer experience," judging the computer "easier to use than print sources" and "not confusing" were notable for the high differences in their distributions.; The remaining elements in order by differences in histogram patterns after gender, were peer influence, initial choice of channel, channel use by format, most useful channel "percentage of computer sources used in paper," "channel use by format," complexity attributes, followed by most of the relative advantage attributes. Students, especially those who were experienced, had very positive views of computer attributes. The computer attribute with the least support was "finding words was difficult using the technology," but for these students it was not a deterrent to their use of the technology. |
