Information seeking behavior
Encyclopedia
Information seeking behaviour refers to the way people search for and utilize information.
In 2000, Wilson
described information seeking behaviour as the totality of human behaviour in relation to sources and channels of information, including both active and passive information-seeking, and information use. He described purposive seeking of information as a consequence of a need to satisfy some goal. Information Seeking behaviour is the micro-level of behaviour employed by the searcher in interacting with information systems of all kinds, be it between the seeker and the system, or the pure method of creating and following up on a search.
A variety of theories of information behaviour - e.g. Zipf
's Principle of Least Effort, Brenda Dervin
's Sense Making, Elfreda Chatman
's Life in the Round - seek to understand the processes that surround information seeking.
.
A holistic framework based initially on research into high school students, but extended over time to include a diverse range of people, including those in the workplace. It examined the role of emotions, specifically uncertainty, in the information seeking process, concluding that many searches are abandoned due to an overwhelmingly high level of uncertainty.
ISP is a 6 stage process, with each stage each encompassing 4 aspects;
approach, with a focus on describing the activities rather than a process.
These initial investigations produced six key activities within the information seeking process:
Later studies by Ellis (focusing on academic researchers in other disciplines) resulted in the addition of two more activities;
.
The episodic model is based largely on intuition and insight and concentrates on interactions with information. There are 4 dimensions which characterise search behaviour. These dimensions can be combined in 16 different ways.
.
An anomalous state of knowledge is one in which the searcher recognises a gap in the state of knowledge. This, his further hypothesis, is influential in studying why people start to search.
Information Seeking behaviour is the act of actively seeking information in order to answer a specific query.
Information Searching behaviour is the behaviour which stems from the searcher interacting with the system in question. This system could be a technological one, such as the searcher interacting with a search engine, or a manual one, such as the searcher selecting which book is most pertinent to their query.
Information Use behaviour pertains to the searcher adopting the knowledge they sought.
, Ed H. Chi and Peter Pirolli
.
This model is derived from anthropological theories and is comparable to foraging for food. Information seekers use clues (or information scents) such as links, summaries and images to estimate how close they are to target information. A scent must be obvious as users often browse aimlessly or look for specific information. Information foraging is descriptive of why and not how people search in particular ways.
.
She defines life in the round as a world of tolerated approximation. It acknowledges reality at its most routine, predictable enough that unless an initial problem should arise, there is no point in seeking information.
Chatman examined this principle within a small world: a world which imposes on its participants similar concerns and awareness of who is important; which ideas are relevant and whom to trust. Partcipants in this world are considered insiders.
Chatman focused her study on women at a maximum security prison. She learned that over time, prisoner's private views were assimilated to a communal acceptance of life in the round: a small world perceived in accordance with agreed upon standards and communal perspective. Members who live in the round will not cross the boundaries of their world to seek information unless it is critical; there is a collecive expectation expectation that information is relevant; or life lived in the round no longer functions. The world outside prison has secondary importance to inmates who are absent from this reality which is changing with time.
.
Brenda Dervin described sensemaking as a method through which people make sense of their worlds in their own language.
For more, please reference
as an interplay of thoughts, feelings and actions (Kuhlthau, 2006
).
Information seeking has been found to be linked to a variety of interpersonal communication behaviors beyond question-asking, to include strategies such as candidate answers.
A search for information may be linked to decision making
. The decision involved may vary from a trivial personal matter to a decision which affects billions or may have cumulative economic or political effects as individual buying or voting decisions may.
JISC's study of the Google Generation detailed six different characteristics of online information seeking behaviour;
Horizontal information seeking is the method sometimes referred to as "skimming". An information seeker who skims views a couple of pages, then subsequently follows other links without necessarily returning to the initial sites. Navigators, as might be expected, spend their time finding their way around. Wilson found that users of e-book or e-journal sites were most likely spend, on average, a mere four to eight minutes viewing said sites. Squirreling behaviour relates to users who download lots of documents but might not necessarily end up reading them. Checking information seekers assess the host in order to ascertain trustworthiness. The bracket of users named diverse information seekers are users whose behaviour differs from the above sectors.
In 2000, Wilson
Thomas D. Wilson
Dr. Thomas D. Wilson has been an active contributor to the world of information science since 1961, when he received his Fellowship from the British Library Association. His research has focused on information management and information seeking behaviour....
described information seeking behaviour as the totality of human behaviour in relation to sources and channels of information, including both active and passive information-seeking, and information use. He described purposive seeking of information as a consequence of a need to satisfy some goal. Information Seeking behaviour is the micro-level of behaviour employed by the searcher in interacting with information systems of all kinds, be it between the seeker and the system, or the pure method of creating and following up on a search.
A variety of theories of information behaviour - e.g. Zipf
Zipf
Zipf is surname of:* Andy Zipf, singer/songwriter from Indianapolis, Indiana , German tennis player and -coach* George Kingsley Zipf , American linguist and philologist* Zipf's law* Zipf–Mandelbrot law- See also :Place name:...
's Principle of Least Effort, Brenda Dervin
Brenda Dervin
Brenda Dervin, currently a professor of communication at Ohio State University, is a researcher in the communication and library and information science fields. Her research about information seeking and information use led to the development of the Sense-Making approach...
's Sense Making, Elfreda Chatman
Elfreda Chatman
Dr. Elfreda A. Chatman was well-known for her ethnographic approaches in researching information seeking behaviors among understudied or minority groups .- Contributions :Dr...
's Life in the Round - seek to understand the processes that surround information seeking.
Information Search Process (ISP)
ISP was proposed and developed by Carol KuhlthauCarol Kuhlthau
Carol Collier Kuhlthau is a noted educator, researcher, and international speaker on learning in school libraries, information literacy, and information seeking behavior. Her model of the Information Search Process describes feelings, thoughts and actions in six stages of information seeking...
.
A holistic framework based initially on research into high school students, but extended over time to include a diverse range of people, including those in the workplace. It examined the role of emotions, specifically uncertainty, in the information seeking process, concluding that many searches are abandoned due to an overwhelmingly high level of uncertainty.
ISP is a 6 stage process, with each stage each encompassing 4 aspects;
- Cognitive (thoughts) - what is to be accomplished
- Affective (feelings) - what the searcher was feeling
- Actions (physical) - what the searcher did
- Strategies (physical) - what the searcher was trying to achieve
| Stage | Task | Thoughts | Feelings | Actions | Strategies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Task initiation | Contemplating assignment, comprehending task, relating prior experience and knowledge, considering possible topics | Apprehension of work ahead, uncertainty | Talking with others, browsing library | Brainstorming, discussing, contemplating possibilities, tolerating uncertainty |
| 2 | Topic selection | Weighing topics against criteria such as personal interest, project requirements, information available, time available; predicting outcome of possible choices, choosing topic with potential for success | Confusion, sometimes anxiety, brief elation (after selection), anticipation of task | Consulting informal mediators, using reference collections, preliminary searches | Discussing possible topics, predicting outcomes of choices, gaining general overview of topic |
| 3 | Pre-focus exploration | Becoming informed about general topic, seeking focus in general information found, identifying possible foci, inability to express precise information needed | Confusion, doubt, sometimes threat, uncertainty | Locating relevant information, reading to become informed, taking notes, making bibliographic citations | Reading to learn about topic, tolerating inconsistency and incompatibility of information encountered, intentionally seeking possible focus, listing descriptors |
| 4 | Focus formation | Predicting outcome of possible foci, using stage 2 task criteria, identifying ideas in information to form focus, sometimes characterised by a sudden moment of insight | Optimism, confidence of ability to complete task | Reading notes for themes | Making a survey of notes, listing possible foci, choosing a focus while rejecting others OR combining several themes to form one focus |
| 5 | Information collection | Seeking information to support focus, defining and extending focus through information, gathering pertinent information, organising information in notes | Realisation of extensive work to be done, confidence in ability to complete task, increased interest | Using library to collect pertinent information, requesting specific sources, talking detailed notes with bibliographic citations | Using descriptors to search out pertinent information, making comprehensive search of various types of materials i.e. reference, periodicals, non-fiction and biography, using indexes, requesting assistance of librarian |
| 6 | Search closure | Identify need for any additional information, considering time limit, diminishing relevance, increasing redundancy, exhausting resources | Sense of relief, sometimes satisfaction, sometimes disappointment | Re-checking information for information initially overlooked, confirming information and bibliographic citations | Returning to library to make summary search, keeping books until completion of writing to re-check information |
David Ellis
Investigated the behaviour of researchers in the physical and social sciences and engineers and research scientists through semi-structured interviews using a grounded theoryGrounded theory
Grounded theory is a systematic methodology in the social sciences involving the generation of theory from data. It is mainly used in qualitative research, but is also applicable to quantitative data....
approach, with a focus on describing the activities rather than a process.
These initial investigations produced six key activities within the information seeking process:
- Starting (activities that form the information search)
- Chaining (backwards or forwards - following references in initial information sources)
- Browsing (semi-directed search)
- Differentiating (filtering and selecting sources based on judgements of quality and relevance)
- MonitoringMonitoringTo monitor or monitoring generally means to be aware of the state of a system. Below are specific examples:* to observe a situation for any changes which may occur over time, using a monitor or measuring device of some sort:...
(keeping track of developments in an area) - Extracting (systematic extraction of material of interest from sources)
Later studies by Ellis (focusing on academic researchers in other disciplines) resulted in the addition of two more activities;
- Verifying (checking accuracy)
- Ending (a final search, checking all material covered)
Episodic Model
The episodic model was developed by Nicholas J. BelkinNicholas J. Belkin
Nicholas J. Belkin is a professor at School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers University. Among the main themes of his research are digital libraries; information-seeking behaviors; and interaction between humans and information retrieval systems.Dr...
.
The episodic model is based largely on intuition and insight and concentrates on interactions with information. There are 4 dimensions which characterise search behaviour. These dimensions can be combined in 16 different ways.
- Method of interaction (scanning/searching)
- Goal of interaction (learning/selecting)
- Mode of retrieval (recognition/specification)
- Resource considered (information/meta-information)
Anomalous State of Knowledge (ASK)
ASK was also developed by Nicholas J. BelkinNicholas J. Belkin
Nicholas J. Belkin is a professor at School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers University. Among the main themes of his research are digital libraries; information-seeking behaviors; and interaction between humans and information retrieval systems.Dr...
.
An anomalous state of knowledge is one in which the searcher recognises a gap in the state of knowledge. This, his further hypothesis, is influential in studying why people start to search.
Wilson's theory of Information Behaviour
Thomas Wilson proposed that information behaviour covers all aspects of human information behaviour, whether active or passive.Information Seeking behaviour is the act of actively seeking information in order to answer a specific query.
Information Searching behaviour is the behaviour which stems from the searcher interacting with the system in question. This system could be a technological one, such as the searcher interacting with a search engine, or a manual one, such as the searcher selecting which book is most pertinent to their query.
Information Use behaviour pertains to the searcher adopting the knowledge they sought.
Information Foraging
Developed by Stuart CardStuart Card
Stuart K. Card is an American researcher and Senior Research Fellow at Xerox PARC. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of applying human factors in human–computer interaction.- Biography :...
, Ed H. Chi and Peter Pirolli
Peter Pirolli
Peter Pirolli is currently a Research Fellow in the Augmented Social Cognition Area at the Palo Alto Research Center . He is well known in the Human-Computer Interaction field for pursuing studies of human information interaction. His most well-known work is the development of Information foraging...
.
This model is derived from anthropological theories and is comparable to foraging for food. Information seekers use clues (or information scents) such as links, summaries and images to estimate how close they are to target information. A scent must be obvious as users often browse aimlessly or look for specific information. Information foraging is descriptive of why and not how people search in particular ways.
Life in the round
Developed by Elfreda ChatmanElfreda Chatman
Dr. Elfreda A. Chatman was well-known for her ethnographic approaches in researching information seeking behaviors among understudied or minority groups .- Contributions :Dr...
.
She defines life in the round as a world of tolerated approximation. It acknowledges reality at its most routine, predictable enough that unless an initial problem should arise, there is no point in seeking information.
Chatman examined this principle within a small world: a world which imposes on its participants similar concerns and awareness of who is important; which ideas are relevant and whom to trust. Partcipants in this world are considered insiders.
Chatman focused her study on women at a maximum security prison. She learned that over time, prisoner's private views were assimilated to a communal acceptance of life in the round: a small world perceived in accordance with agreed upon standards and communal perspective. Members who live in the round will not cross the boundaries of their world to seek information unless it is critical; there is a collecive expectation expectation that information is relevant; or life lived in the round no longer functions. The world outside prison has secondary importance to inmates who are absent from this reality which is changing with time.
.
Sense Making
Brenda Dervin developed the concept of sensemaking. Sensemaking considers how we (attempt to) make sense of uncertain situations. Her description of Sensemaking consisted of the definition of how we interpret information to use for our own information related decisions.Brenda Dervin described sensemaking as a method through which people make sense of their worlds in their own language.
For more, please reference
Principle of least effort
This explains that information seekers prioritise the most convenient path to acceptable information.Navigators and explorers
This compares the internet search methods of experienced information seekers(navigators) and inexperienced information seekers(explorers). Navigators revisit domains; follow sequential searches and have few deviations or regressions within their search patterns and interactions. Explorers visit many domains; submit many questions and their search trails branch frequently.Information sources: Other people and/or information repositories
Robinson’s (2010) research suggests that when seeking information at work, people rely on both other people and information repositories (e.g., documents and databases), and spend similar amounts of time consulting each (7.8% and 6.4% of work time, respectively; 14.2% in total). However, of theoretical interest, the distribution of time among the constituent information seeking stages differs depending on the source. When consulting other people, people spend less time locating the information source and information within that source, similar time understanding the information, and more time problem solving and decision making, than when consulting information repositories. Furthermore, the research found that people spend substantially more time receiving information passively (i.e., information that they have not requested) than actively (i.e., information that they have requested), and this pattern is also reflected when they provide others with information.Similarities between models
A review of the literature on information seeking behaviour shows that information seeking has generally been accepted as dynamic and non-linear (Foster, 2005; Kuhlthau 2006). People experience the Information Search ProcessInformation Search Process
The Information Search Process is a six-stage process of information seeking behavior in Library and Information Science. The ISP was first suggested by Carol Kuhlthau in 1991.-Stage 1: Initiation:...
as an interplay of thoughts, feelings and actions (Kuhlthau, 2006
Carol Kuhlthau
Carol Collier Kuhlthau is a noted educator, researcher, and international speaker on learning in school libraries, information literacy, and information seeking behavior. Her model of the Information Search Process describes feelings, thoughts and actions in six stages of information seeking...
).
Information seeking has been found to be linked to a variety of interpersonal communication behaviors beyond question-asking, to include strategies such as candidate answers.
A search for information may be linked to decision making
Decision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
. The decision involved may vary from a trivial personal matter to a decision which affects billions or may have cumulative economic or political effects as individual buying or voting decisions may.
Information Seeking Behaviours
Nicolaisen described four distinct types of information seeking behaviours: visceral, conscious, formalized and compromised. The visceral need is expressed as the actual information need before it has been expressed. The conscious need is the need once it has been recognized by the seeker. The formalized need is the statement of the need and the compromised need is the query when related to the information system.JISC's study of the Google Generation detailed six different characteristics of online information seeking behaviour;
- horizontal information seekers
- navigation
- viewers
- squirreling behaviour
- diverse information seekers
- checking information seekers.
Horizontal information seeking is the method sometimes referred to as "skimming". An information seeker who skims views a couple of pages, then subsequently follows other links without necessarily returning to the initial sites. Navigators, as might be expected, spend their time finding their way around. Wilson found that users of e-book or e-journal sites were most likely spend, on average, a mere four to eight minutes viewing said sites. Squirreling behaviour relates to users who download lots of documents but might not necessarily end up reading them. Checking information seekers assess the host in order to ascertain trustworthiness. The bracket of users named diverse information seekers are users whose behaviour differs from the above sectors.
External links and further reading
- Donald O. Case, Looking for information: a survey of research on information seeking, needs and behavior, Academic Press (2002) 370 pages
- Review Information Research
- 2nd edition (December 26, 2006), hardcover, 440 pages,