3. INFORMATION SEEKING
“…a conscious effort to acquire
information in response to a need
or gap in your knowledge.”
Case, Looking for Information
(2007), 5.
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6. INFORMATION BEHAVIOR (IB)
“…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 avoiding
information.”
Case, Looking for Information
(2007), 5
7. IB RELATED CONCEPTS
REDUCING UNCERTAINTY
Problem Solving
Identifying issues
Setting goals
Designing suitable courses of action
Decision Making
Evaluating
Choosing among alternatives
8. IB RELATED CONCEPTS
Browsing
Informal, unplanned
Aimless vs. goal-related
Scanning
Serendipity
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12. IB RELATED CONCEPTS
Relevance
Requires context
‘Aboutness’ (i.e., on the topic)
vs. non-topicality
Pertinent – connected to a need
Salience
Unexpected, notable, prominent
Selective exposure
13. IB RELATED CONCEPTS
Avoiding information
Selective exposure (filtering)
Rejection of ideas
Reluctance to be distracted
Unused information
14. IB RELATED CONCEPTS
Information poverty
Knowledge gaps
Barriers to knowledge
• Cultural patterns
• Lack of processing skills (e.g.,
reading, language, hearing, sight)
17. COMMON INFORMATION
BEHAVIORS
Buying a product
Visiting a library
Locating a law
Betting on a race horse
“I want to know more about
cancer…”
Needs? Actions? Search strategies?
Challenges and barriers? Sources?
22. COMMON INFORMATION
BEHAVIORS
“I want to know more
about cancer…”
Frequency of Cancer
2005 Distribution of Primary Diagnosis
STOMACH
COLON
RECTUM
LUNG
11.5%
PANCREAS
3.1%
GYN.NOS
BLADOER
42%
LYMPHOMA
PROSTATE
16.9%
2.5%
ALL OTHER
12.1%
BREAST
242%
24. INFORMATION SEEKING MODELS
Describe and (attempt to) explain
circumstances that predict
actions by people seeking to find
information
25. INFORMATION SEEKING MODELS
Flow-charts and diagrams
Suggest sequences of events
Specific, often defined in relation
to theories
See Handout
26. INFORMATION SEEKING
MODELS
Wilson (2 models) (1981, 1999)
Krieklas (1983)
Leckie, Pettigrew and Sylvain
(1996)
Bystrom and Jarvelin
Savolaienen (1995)
Johnson (1997)
27. Wilson’s (1981) Model
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29. Leckie, Pettigrew & Sylvain Model
Work roles
; 4 i
Tasks
mum
Characteristics of Information Heeds
Awareness
Sources
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3 4
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5 information needs
information
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f
^ Outcomes
Feedback
30. Bystrom & Jarvelin Model
Situational
factors
Task Category
Actor's Ambition,
Education and Experience
Category of
Information Needed
Information Channels
and Sources Considered
1
Evaluation of Sources
Used
Channels Used Reasons for Use
Final Evaluation
33. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
George Zipf – Principle of
Least Effort (1949)
Each individual will adopt a
course of action that will
involve the expenditure of the
probable least average of his
work
36. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Principle of Least Effort
80/20 or 70/30 rule
Library collections
Internet websites
Dorsch and Pifalo study
(1997) – medical journal circ.
37. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Principle of Least Effort
Professional asks nearest
coworker
Artists use nearest tools
Consulting older (closer) resource
instead of a more current one
38. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Principle of Least Effort
Using interpersonal sources vs.
authoritative sources
Dervin: relying on close friends
and relatives
Other examples?
39. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Principle of Least Effort
Cost-benefit paradigm - the
trade-off between the effort
required to employ a strategy
and the quality of the resulting
action
40. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Cost-Benefit Paradigm Applied to IB
Seekers will minimize the effort
required to obtain information,
even if it means accepting a
lower quality or quantity of
information.
Case, Looking for Information (2007),
154.
41. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Uses and Gratification (Mass
Media)
Audience plays an active role
(not passive) in selecting
sources
The person uses the medium,
not the other way around
42. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Uses and Gratification (Mass
Media)
Media are only a portion of a
range of options for fulfilling
needs
Use can be studied by asking
people directly
43. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Uses and Gratification in LIS
Chatman – studied working-class
poor (janitors)
How the poor define/deal with
problems
Reasons for non-active
information seeking
45. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Play Theory and Entertainment
Theory
Stephenson (1967) – humans
manipulate their intake of
entertainment and information
to serve their emotional needs
Pleasure principle
