The use of BIDS ISI in a research university: a case study of the University of Birmingham

Data showing BIDS ISI usage by members of the University of Birmingham are analysed for the period October 1991 to September 1997. it is shown that there has been a relatively consistent rise in the total usage of the service at Birmingham, correlating with national trends. The pattern of usage reflects the shape of the academic year. Usage of ISI is considerably higher than other BIDS services. Various factors are identified which help to explain the comparative 'success' of ISI. Analysis of usage by subject shows that greatest use of ISI is made by the Faculty of Science, followed by Engineering and Medicine. Usage by other faculties is considerably lower. Within most faculties, total usage by postgraduate students is highest but academic staff tend to make greater use of the database per user than other groups. Undergraduate usage tends to be low, indicating that ISI is used primarily for research rather than teaching. Possible explanations of these usage trends are proposed, including the perceptions of content of ISI, the relative importance of journal literature in different subject areas, varying levels of IT literacy and availability, different information seeking behaviours and the levels of information skills training.