Methods of Assessing Information Needs:

As mentioned above there are two sets of methods: One used in user studies for analysing verbal behaviour and the other in use studies for analysing actual behaviour. The most common methods for assessing information needs and evaluating adequacy of library support services to users are as follows: 

•  Survey through (a) questionnaire and (b) interview  

•  Observation 

•  Secondary analysis. 

A brief explanation of how these methods are used is worth mentioning here. A survey is conducted through a questionnaire or interview. Both these involve questioning techniques inviting users' responses for eliciting information on their expectations of or satisfaction from, library and information services. In other words, questionnaires and interviews offer the users an opportunity to express their opinions on the library support. Analysing and interpreting these responses amounts to investigating into their verbal or expressed behaviour. In user studies we employ a variety of questioning techniques both in the questionnaire and the interview methods.