The purpose of this study is to identify novice users’ help-seeking behaviors while
they get started with digital libraries and how their learning styles lead to these behaviors.
While a novice user is engaged in the process of interacting with an IR system, he/she may easily encounter problematic situations and require some kind of help in the search
process. Novice users need to learn how to use a new IR environment by interacting with
help features to fulfill their searching needs. However, many research studies have
demonstrated that the existing help systems in IR systems cannot fully satisfy users’
needs. In addition to the system side problems, users’ characteristics, such as preference
in using help, also play major roles in the decision of using system help. When viewing
help-seeking as a learning activity, learning style is an influential factor that would lead
to different help-seeking behaviors. Learning style deeply influences how students
process information in learning activities, including learning performance, learning
strategy, and learning preferences. Existing research does not seem to consider learning
style and help-seeking together; therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the effects of
learning styles on help-seeking interactions in the information seeking and searching
environment