Melissa Gross, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
mgross@ci.fsu.edu

FOCUS : My research specialty is in the area of information seeking behavior and concentrates on understanding user information seeking behavior as a basis for the design, evaluation, and improvement of information resources, programs, services, and systems.

I. Understanding information seeking behavior

• Research on the Imposed Query Model
  • Prevalence studies
  • Information seeking of children in the elementary school environment
  • Information seeking of children in the public library
  • Identification of imposers and agent users in information providing organizations
  • Relationship between question type and expression of satisfaction among adult reference desk users in the public library
    
• Implications of the imposed query for information services
  • Reference services skills
  • Determinations of relevance
  • Library anxiety
  • Information literacy
    
• Implications of the imposed query for information service evaluation

II. Evaluation of digital reference services

• Development of measures and quality standards to describe and evaluate the usefulness, efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of digital reference services

III. Research on children's use of technology

• Development of a logic model to guide the design, development, and evaluation of technology programs and services
• Investigation of children's in-library use of technology
• Investigation of children's attitudes towards, skill levels with, knowledge of, and desired outcomes for their use of technology in the public library
• Investigation of adult views of children and technology and their desired outcomes for children's use of technology in the public library

IV. Evaluation of resources for youth

• Provision of sensitive information to children
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Sexuality/sex education/sexual abuse
  • Adoption/foster care
  • Substance abuse
  • Illness and disease
  • Death and dying
    
• Use of developmental theory, taken mainly from the domain of psychology, to analyze the appeal of books for their intended audiences
  • Books as adult messages to children
  • Books as instruments of socialization
  • Childhood as a socially constructed phenomenon

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