15th Conference on Professional Information Resources

Autor: Karen McKeown, ProQuest, United Kingdom

Fulltext

Abstract:

For over 70 years of evolution in providing tools for researchers in multiple fields, ProQuest has committed to addressing its users’ needs by listening to them every step of the way. At ProQuest, during the early stages of product development, we use ‘user personas’ – fictitious characters created to represent the different user types within a demographic – to guide decisions such as features, interactions, and visual design. The purpose of this presentation is to examine evolving ‘user personas’, and other customer research including observation studies, in-depth interview and, quantitative surveys and describe how we have built our products to accommodate our users’ specific needs.ABI/INFORM has been called “the top of the list for the study of business conditions and industry specific topics world-wide” (1).  It is used in over 70% of top business schools in the world and has a reputation for addressing well the needs of a wide range of users.  For over 35 years, the product has evolved in response to the needs of business researchers worldwide. And, most recently in 2008, a new offering, ProQuest Entrepreneurship, has taken research capabilities into a whole new realm, addressing the needs of one of the highest growth areas of study today, with a wide array of new types of content (video, downloadable Word and Excel documents, books, blogs, and teaching material)  - coupled with the more traditional resources. Insider tips for discovery will be gained and attendees will gain ideas on how to make the most of their ABI/INFORM database and explore the new ProQuest Entrepreneurship product. (1) Library Journal, January 1, 2009

About author:

Karen McKeown is the Senior Product Manager of ABI/INFORM and business products for ProQuest, and is responsible for managing several databases used by business researchers in academic and corporate research settings worldwide. Karen is an active member of the Special Libraries Association, American Library Association, and the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Since joining ProQuest in 2006, Karen has concentrated on launching several new research databases, including ProQuest Entrepreneurship, a product which brings together disparate traditional and rich media content types to address the multidisciplinary needs of this high-growth field of study. Karen brings over 15 years of experience in corporate marketing, product management and sales management in technology companies and experience creating and growing start-up businesses. She has a BS in Multidisciplinary Science from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, and an MBA from Rutgers University, New Jersey.

Author: Vilém Sklenák, University of Economics, Czech Republic

Author: Martin Mrazek, Semanta, Czech Republic

Co-authors:

Author: Marydee Ojala, ONLINE: Exploring Technology & Resources for Information Professionals, USA

Author: József Áts, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary

Author: Petr Dudek, Unipetrol Services Ltd., Czech Republic

Author: Jan Mottl, AiP Safe s.r.o., Czech Republic

Author: Tomáš Oupický, ComAp s.r.o., Czech Republic