PRESENTED BYAASIA ASLAM, MPHIL1401

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Information SeekingInformation Seeking

Presented toDr. Muhammad Rafiq

Contents:

Introduction Definitions History & Key Authors Terms used with IS Modes of information Seeking Understanding Information Seeking

Theories on Information Seeking Methods for studying IS Education and Research on Information

Seeking Journals of Information Seeking Conclusion

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Introduction

The present era is called the “Information era.” Information has become the most important element for progress in society. To thrive in this modern era, one needs a variety of information, no matter how well versed one is in a field or profession. Information plays a significant role in our professional and personal lives.

People need information to work properly in their fields. Information availability does not mean information accessibility and nor does it mean information utilization. The inequality among information availability, accessibility and utilization prevails in some situations. A major cause of this inequality comes from the information systems and information provisions that do not meet the information users’ needs.

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Definitions of Information Seeking

“A conscious effort to acquire information in response to a need or gap in your knowledge”.

(Case,2002)

“The process of construction within information seeking involves fitting information in within what one already knows and extending this knowledge to create new perspectives”.

(Kuhlthau,2004)

History & Key Authors

The history of Information Seeking and related human behaviors demonstrates that the topic has remained salient for almost a century.

According to Herbert Poole (1985), the first study of information uses dates back to 1902, when Charles Eliot wrote about the used and unused portions of a library’s collection, and Wilson claims that its beginning was in 1916. Whichever claim is correct, it is clear that the antecedents of information seeking research lie in these early investigations of what channels or sources people use to satisfy their information needs.

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A review of the related literature reveals that no comprehensive study on the information needs and information-seeking behavior of arts and humanities faculty members at the University of the Punjab, Lahore has been conducted since 1978.

During the past 30 years or so, a considerable body of literature has been produced dealing with information needs and information-seeking behavior of both individuals and groups in a variety of contexts (Anwar, and Abdullah, 2004).

 

In Pakistan , a number of studies on reading habits of different professional groups have been carried out by various individuals, associations, and institutions which partly indicate their information needs.

Anwar (2007) reviewed different research studies on information needs and information-seeking behavior of different groups of people in Pakistan . He mentioned fifteen unpublished studies conducted on the subject so far.

Shahzad (2007) conducted a survey to find out the information-seeking behavior of faculty members of Government College University, Lahore . He acquired the data from all three faculties, i.e., science and technology, social sciences and humanities.

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Key Authors

Robert Saxton TaylorBrenda DervinCarol C. KuhlthauThomas D.WilsonNicholas BelkinElfreda Chatman

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Robert Saxton Taylor

Robert Saxton Taylor (1918-2009) was an influential library scholar and information scientist who served as Dean of the Syracuse University School of Information Studies from 1972 to 1981. His research and publications focused attention on users of information systems and services.

In 1963, Taylor argued behavioral sciences provide fundamental approach to information science, as well as logic and mathematics, linguistics, and systems analysis.

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In 1986 Taylor published Value-Added Processes in Information Systems, where he presented his important user criteria and value-added framework, outlining six categories of value-added services in library and information systems: ease of use; noise reduction; quality; adaptability; time savings; cost savings.

At Syracuse, Taylor founded the nation’s first master’s degree in information management in 1980.

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Taylor served on the Executive Council of the American Society for Information Science (now ASIST) from 1959–61, and was elected President in 1968. In 1972, Taylor received the ASIS award for the Best Information Science Book, and in 1992 received the organization's Award of Merit.

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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 (2003).

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Dervin received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and home economics from Cornell University, with a minor in philosophy of religion, and her M.S. and PhD degrees in communication research from Michigan State University. In 1986 she acted as the first president of the International Communication Association.

Dervin reviews articles and also is on editorial boards for communication and library and information science journals.

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Carol C.Kuhlthau

Carol C. Kuhlthau was born on December 2, 1937 (age 77).Carol Collier Kuhlthau is a retired American educator, researcher, and international speaker on learning in school libraries, information literacy, and information seeking behavior.

She received her B.S. from Kean University in 1959, Master's in Library Science (MLS) from Rutgers University in 1974 and her Doctorate in Education in 1983, also from Rutgers University.

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Her doctoral dissertation was titled "The Library Research Process: Case Studies and Interventions with High School Seniors in Advanced Placement English Classes Using Kelly's Theory of Constructs.“

She held several teaching and library positions before joining the Rutgers faculty in 1985 where for twenty years she directed the school library specialization in the Masters in Library and Information Science degree program that is ranked first in the United States by US News & World Report.

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Nicholas Belkin

Nicholas J. Belkin is a professor at the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University.

Belkin is best known for his work on human-centered Information Retrieval and the hypothesis of Anomalous State of Knowledge (ASK).

Belkin realized that in many cases, users of search systems are unable to precisely formulate what they need. They miss some vital knowledge to formulate their queries.

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In such cases it is more suitable to attempt to describe a user's anomalous state of knowledge than to ask the user to specify her/his need as a request to the system.

Among the main themes of his research are digital libraries; information-seeking behaviors; and interaction between humans and information retrieval systems.

Dr. Belkin was the chair of SIGIR in 1995-99, and the president of American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) in 2005.

Thomas Daniel. Wilson

Thomas Daniel Wilson was born in 1935 in England.

He has been an active contributor to the world of information science since 1961.

His research has focused on information management and information seeking behavior.

He left school at age 16 to work as a library assistant in Durham County Library. Following National Service in the Royal Air Force he returned to Durham County Library and took the examinations of the Library Association to qualify as a professional librarian.

He then moved to being head of a small academic library head by default, because he was the only librarian.

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Dr. Wilson’s best-known study on information seeking behavior was the INISS (Information Needs in

Social Services)project, conducted from 1980 to 1985. The aim of the project was to increase the efficiency of Social Services workers in the management of information.

In the area of information behavior (a term he invented to cover all activities associated with seeking, acquiring, using and sharing information) Dr. Wilson has focused largely in analyzing how individuals and groups gather and communicate information.

He is now retired, but still holds several academic positions, including Professor Emeritus at the Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, Visiting Professor at Leeds University and University of Sweden.

Dr. Wilson received an honorary doctorate from Gothenburg University in 2005 and a second honorary doctorate from the University of Murcia, Spain, in 2010.

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Elfreda Chatman

Dr. Elfreda A. Chatman was well known for her ethnographic approaches in researching information seeking behaviors among understudied.

Dr. Chatman's research contributions or developments resulted in several middle-range theories: Information Poverty, Life in Round, and Normative Behavior.

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Based on her background in sociology, she introduced her "small worlds" method to studying information behavior or minority groups.

Her 1992 book, The Information World of Retired Women (Greenwood Press), won the ACRL Best Book Award in 1995.

Dr. Chatman was a professor at the School of Information Studies at Florida State University before her death on January 15, 2002 at the age of 59.

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Terms used with Information Seeking

These terms which are used with Information Seeking

Information seeking & information need

Info. seeking & Inf. Behavior

Info.seeking & Info. SearchingInf. Seeking & Inf.GatheringInf. Seeking & Inf. Retrieval

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“Information Seeking &Information Need”

Information seeking is a conscious effort to acquire information in response to a need or gap in your knowledge.

While An information need is a recognition that your knowledge is inadequate to satisfy a goal that you have.

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Information Behavior

Information behavior encompasses information seeking as well as the totality of other unintentional or passive behaviors (such as glimpsing or encountering information), as well as purposive behaviors that do not involve seeking, such as actively avoiding information.

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Information Seeking & Searching

Several studies connect information seeking with information searching, Information seeking in a broader context is a specific process of searching and there is more to searching as we think usually.

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Information seeking & Information Gathering

Information seeking is, ”an attempt to satisfy an immediate need by searching for relevant document” while Information gathering is, “an attempt to satisfy a deferred need by searching

for relevant information”

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Information Seeking & Information Retrieval

Information seeking includes observing, browsing, using formal as well as informal information sources like reading searching information resources and subscribing to mass media, while information retrieval is mainly used for searching electronic databases, although it may also be used about searching other systems of organized knowledge.

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Modes of Information seeking

We are a very social species and draw much learning and experience from such social interactions. For most people, most of the time, information-related behavior consists of absorbing and using the learning and information that comes our way during the course of our daily lives. Looking at us as a species that exists physically, biologically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually, it is not unreasonable to guess that we absorb perhaps 80 percent of all our knowledge through simply being aware, being conscious and sentient in our social context and physical environment.

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With that foundation we can understand the "Modes of Information Seeking“,

"Directed" and "Undirected“, means that an individual seeks particular information that can be specified to some degree, and sometime he gets information without being directed.

"Active" and "Passive" refer, respectively, to whether the individual does anything actively to acquire information, or is passively available to absorb information, but does not seek it out.

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Questions to be Answered…

Why Seek?Who Seeks?How do they seek?

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Why we seek information?

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Why Seek?

Uncertainty initiates the process of information seeking.( ISP) (Kuhlthau,C.2004)

Situations in which the patrons’ knowledge is incomplete or limited in some way, and they need furthur information to get on, the patrons are seen to be in an anomalous state of knowledge (ASK) (Nicholas Belkin)

The Gap that does not make sense(sense making) Dervin presents to us a picture of a man walking

along a road, when he comes upon an impossible hole in the ground. In this situation he is obviously facing a gap. what is he to do now? (Brenda Dervin)

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Who Seeks? Define the seeker?

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Who Seeks?

Patrons, who are in problematic situations ,seek information. (Belkin)

People, who experience ISP ,seek information with an interplay of thoughts , feeling and actions.

(Kuhlthau)A person, who is seen as being locked in a

situation unable to move further, because of some kind of gap in his knowledge. (Brenda Dervin)

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How do they Seek?

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How do they Seek?

Users performing some activity feel that they have a knowledge gap that cannot be filled directly, and consequently they engage into an information seeking process. (Nicholas Belkin)

In ISP person’s own formulation of a focus that involves gaining a personal perspective of the topic or subject while using a variety of sources of information. In other words users are constructing their own understanding through inquiry. (Kuhlthau)

A person is being locked tries to bridge this gap by asking questions and using the answers to closing the gap, making new sense. (Brenda Dervin)

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Theories on Information Seeking

1. Question Negotiation (Robert S.Taylor)

2. Sense Making (Brenda Dervin)3. Information Search Process ISP

(C.Kuhlthau)4. Models on Information Seeking (T.D

Wilson)5. Anomalous State of Knowledge ASK

(Belkin)6. Life in the Round (Elfreda

Chatman)38

Question Negotiation Framework (Taylor)

Robert Taylor’s work focuses on the kind of formal information seeking activity that occurs at a library reference desk. His model has been instrumental for the training of reference librarians. He identifies four levels of information seeking:

(1) the identification of a visceral need, or “vague sort of dissatisfaction” that is unexpressed;

(2) the formulation of a conscious need that is expressed as “an ambiguous and rambling statement” and which sometimes results in communicating the need to another person;

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(3)the construction of a formalized need, expressed as a “qualified and rational” statement of the need; and finally,

(4)the establishment of a compromised need, which is a query that is expressed in terms that fit the organization of the information system (i.e., the library collection or database).

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Sense Making (Dervin)

Brenda Dervin is prominent among proponents of models that focus on the cognitive dimensions of information behavior.

Dervin’s sense-making metaphor describes humans as moving along through time and space until they reach a cognitive gap, where an information need is perceived. Such gaps must be bridged through the acquisition of new information before they can move forward again. The goal of a person’s information seeking endeavors is to make sense of a current situation.

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Information Search Process ISP

Carol Kuhlthau’s research is based on the work of psychologist George Kelly. Kelly theorized that learning is a process of testing constructs. Kuhlthau built on Kelly’s theory to develop a model called the Information Search Process (ISP).

Similar to Belkin and Dervin, Kuhlthau’s ISP model posits uncertainty reduction as the prime motivator for research, and like Taylor, Kuhlthau breaks the information seeking process into stages.

However, Kuhlthau’s focal point is the emotional states that accompany the stages. For example Anxiety at the first stage,

However, Kuhlthau’s focal point is the emotional states that accompany the stages. In these six stages an individual also experience six psychological stages.

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Emotional stages in ISP

For example,

(1) initiation (Anxiety),(2) selection (optimism),(3) exploration (confusion/doubt), (4) formulation (clarity), (5) collection (confidence), and (6)presentation (relief/satisfaction or

disappointment).

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ISP….

Initiation: user “becomes aware of lack of knowledge or understanding”.

Selection: user needs to “identify and select the general topic to be investigated”.

Exploration: user needs to “investigate the information on general topic in order to extend general understanding”.

Formulation: user forms “a focus from the information encountered”.

Collection: user need “to gather information related to the focused topic”.

Presentation: user completes the search and presents the findings.

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Information Search Process

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Anomalous State of Knowledge (ASK)

Nicholas Belkin is the proponent of the Anomalous States of Knowledge (ASK) concept for explaining how information needs arise.

An information need arises when a human individual encounters an ASK; an ASK is a situation where “the user realizes that there is an anomaly in [their] state of knowledge with respect to the problem faced.”The person may address the anomaly by seeking information. After obtaining information, the person will evaluate again whether the anomaly still exists. If it does, and the person is still motivated to resolve it, more information may be sought. according to Belkin every search Begin with a problem and a need to solve the problem, the gap between this is refers to information need, which lead to information seeking.

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Belkin’s ASK 1980

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Information Seeking Model (Wilson)

Dr. Wilson looked at information seeking behavior for the British Library Research and Innovation Centre. The resulting paper, "Uncertainty in Information Seeking," identified that information seeking is based on a series of uncertainty resolutions which lead to a problem solution.

There are four steps in the process, problem identification, problem definition, problem resolution, and solution statement.

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At each step of the process, more information must be gathered in order to resolve the uncertainty of that step. Also, the research established that by providing information seekers with a pattern to follow (such as the four step uncertainty resolution pattern), the accuracy and volume of information they acquired was increased.

T.D. Wilson has put forth a series of models of information seeking (1981, 1996, 1997, and 1999).

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Wilson Model 1981 (1st model)

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In 1999, Wilson developed a general model that brought together different areas of research in the study of information behavior. The model represented research topics as a series of nested fields, with information behavior as the general area of investigation, information-seeking behavior as its sub-set, and information searching behavior as a further sub-set.

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Life in the Round (Chatman)

This theory draws on Chatman's study of female prisoners at a maximum-security prison in the northeastern United States.

After observing inmates both during and outside of their interactions with the prison's professional employees, Chatman observes that the women live "in the round", that is, "within an acceptable degree of approximation and imprecision".

Instead of seeking information about the outside world, over which they have no control, prisoners avoid gathering this type of information: in order to survive, they place importance on "daily living patterns, relationships, and issues that come within the prison environment" over which they can exercise agency. In this way, inmates display defensive information seeking behavior

Chatman concludes that life in the round disfavors information seeking behavior, as there is no need to search for outside information. Prisoners "are not part of the world... being defined by outsiders";because inmates do not need additional information to participate fully in their reality, they do not seek it out.

Chatman saw that these disincentives to information seeking could become cultural norms in the small worlds that the people she observed took their norms from, and that these cultural norms could produce what she labeled information poverty, where a group could perpetuate norms that would cause the avoidance of information that would be useful to people in the group if they were to seek it out.

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Methods For Studying Information Seeking

•The Case Study: Analyzing an Analyst•Laboratory Experiments: Shopping for Cars•Field Experiments: Reading the Label•Postal Surveys: Information Needs and Issue Relevance•E-mail and Web Surveys: Studying Scholars•Brief Interviews: Studies of Everyday Folks

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Education and Research on IS

As a practice, information seeking is invariably performed in relation to certain, institutionally-shaped objectives. One important setting for information seeking is that of education.

In schools at different levels, from preschools to universities, the various practices of information seeking play a central role.

This role has increased dramatically over the last decades, a development that can be related to two strong trends: the powerful development of new information and communication technologies and an increasingly student centred and problem-based pedagogical orientation.

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The ability to critically seek, evaluate and use information and tools for information seeking within different communities is a competence that is given increasing importance in contemporary western society.

To investigate the practice of teaching information seeking is therefore a crucial task for library and information studies.

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A comparison between the categories of experiences of teaching contents and the categories of experiences of assessment criteria indicates a striking lack of consistency. There is hardly any correlation between experiences of teaching content and conceptions of assessment criteria apart from the relationship between citing sources as teaching content and correct bibliography as an assessment criterion.

Comparison between teaching contents and assessment criteria59

Teaching Content Assessment criteria

finding sources reading, understanding and correctly presenting

factual information

citing sources correct bibliography or reference list

applying recommended order

among types of sources

critical evaluation of sources

experience of search process

Independent learning

Journals of Information Seeking

Information Processing & Management (IPM)Food Quality and Preference (FQP)Information seeking research needs extension towards tasks

and technologySocial and Behavioral Sciences (SBS)Information Processing & Research Management

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Conclusion

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In conclusion, information seeking is a taken-for-granted concept, a catchall phrase that encompasses a variety of behaviors seemingly motivated by the recognition of “missing’’ information. Although it is the most common term in use, information seeking is typically defined strictly in terms of active and intentional behavior, which limits its applicability to the broad range of research currently being conducted on human use of information.

References

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•Case, D. O. (2002). Looking for information: A survey of research on information•seeking, needs, and behavior. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.•Feather, J. (Ed.). (2003). International Encyclopedia of Library and Information•Science (2nd ed.). London, New York: Routledge.•Kent, A. (Ed.). (1981). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. New•York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.•Belkin,N. J. (1978). Information concepts for information science. Journal of Documentation.

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•Belkin, N. J. (2005). Anomalous state of knowledge. In K. E. Fisher, S. Erdelez & E. F. McKechnie•(Eds.), Theories of information behavior (pp. 44–48). Medford, NJ, Information Today, Inc.•Belkin,N. J., Oddy,R., & Brooks, H. (1982).ASK for information retrieval. Journal of Documentation.•http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1081/E-ELIS3-120044073#preview•Wilson, T. D. (1981). On user studies and information needs. Journal of Documentation, 37(1), 3-15. •Wilson, T. D. (1994). Information needs and uses: fifty years of progress? In B. C. Vickory (Ed.), Fifty years of information progress: A Journal of Documentation review (pp. 15–51). London: Aslib. •Wilson, T. D. (1997). Information behaviour: an interdisciplinary perspective. Information Processing and Management.•“Question-Negotiation and Information Seeking in Libraries,” College & Research Libraries (May 1968

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