This exploratory study examined how young adults locate and retrieve information from the World Wide Web. The researchers focused on young adults because of their comfort and familiarity with networked environments (the Internet) as opposed to the more typical populations studied previously.

The researchers surveyed 21 young adults participating in a summer school program at a local high school. The preliminary questionnaire asked the young adults to answer questions pertaining to their comfort level and abilities in using networked environments to locate information, specifically the World Wide Web (WWW), and their knowledge of information literacy skills. Based on the level of experience demonstrated in the preliminary questionnaire, all students were eligible for participation. Twelve students agreed to continue participating in the study.

The twelve participants performed two scenarios with an information problem to solve so the researchers could determine the processes young adults use to locate information. Participants completed tasks of various levels of complexity to show the evolution of their seeking process. The tasks were set up on the basis of the type of information needed by the user to solve their problem. These tasks included locating facts, confirming data, finding out how to perform a duty, or seeking information for personal accomplishment. While participants performed their tasks, they verbally talked about the steps they were taking during the task session. The researcher recorded the data through audio and video. A short interview followed to give the opportunity to review any questions or comments the participants or researcher had regarding the session.

Researchers transcribed the data from the audio and video tapes and categorized the information according to the various processes performed by the participants. Through categorizing the information, the researchers created descriptions of the various seeking processes participants used to obtain the answer to their information need. The findings provided insight into young adult's information seeking behaviors. Implications for user training and curriculum development are discussed.