Information for decisionmaking: a case study of tertiary education administrators

Abstract

This study examines the broad problem of the role of information in decisionmaking by tertiary education administrators. The purpose of the study is to investigate the information required by administrators for decisionmaking, to discover patterns of use, the sources most commonly used, and the effect of environment and context on the type and source of information. The method chosen to exemplify the research problem, a case study of one particular tertiary institution, allows for examination, in depth, of the flow of information and of information seeking behaviour in one unique organisation. It also affords the opportunity to apply the findings directly to the object of the study. At the time, the institution was experiencing a period of uncertainty and change which culminated in its becoming part of a new networked or federated university.
Three groups of models from the literature guide the study. These relate typologies of information to decisionmaking; transpose information for decisionmaking into the higher education context; and relate behavioural and environmental factors to information. The basis of this case study is a series of semistructured interviews following an agenda based on the models chosen. Data was analysed by pattern-matching and explanation-building.
Two significant contextual factors are apparent: the first, the high degree of perceptible uncertainty in the institution's environment; and the second, the idiosyncrasies of the individual administrator. The case study approach was found to be appropriate for the unusual organisational circumstances existing at the time.
Strategies for improvement in the effectiveness of information seeking for decisionmaking include recommendations for the institution and for its library. Suggestions for further research are also made.

Date of Award	1990
Original language	English
Supervisor	Nancy Lane (Supervisor) & Maxine Rochester (Supervisor)