EDUCATING SCIENTIFIC END‐USERS: AN EXPERIMENT IN UNDERGRADUATE ON‐LINE RETRIEVAL TUTORIALS

Paisley College of Technology was originally founded in 1897 and in 1950 became a Scottish Central Institution; it currently has some 3000 students, all of whom are studying at undergraduate or postgraduate level for degrees validated by the Council for National Academic Awards. All the courses are vocationally‐oriented with a high level of practical work and with several departments running sandwich courses; the College has considerable links with industry, including some teaching companies based within the College. The College is organised initially into three Schools: of engineering; of science; and of social, planning and management sciences. There are also several specialist research and teaching units (Scottish School of Non‐Destructive Testing, Microelectronics Quality Assurance Laboratory, Materials and Components Development and Testing Association, etc.).