INFO 289 ePortfolio – Dr. Patricia Franks
SJSU School of Information / Fall 2015
Patricia Ayame Thomson
Competency J
Describe the fundamental concepts of
information-seeking behaviors
Introduction
In order for information organizations to provide the best resources to library users and outreach to non-users in the community, information professionals have to understand how people search for and use information. Studies have shown that different demographic groups seek information in different ways and from a variety of resources. Investigating information-seeking behavior helps information professionals understand the way people seek information. Understanding the information search process instills empathy in the information professional about the many stages the user goes through to seek and find information.
As a result, when information professionals can learn how and where a specific demographic group obtains their information needs, they are better able to provide the group with their specific information needs. Some of the most highly regarded principles, concepts, and theories about information seeking behavior are listed below.
Kuhlthau’s Information Seeking Process (ISP)
There are a variety of concepts in investigating the user’s information seeking behavior, but one that is most renowned in librarianship is Carol Kuhlthau’s (1991) six stages of the information seeking process (ISP). The first stage the information seeker goes through is initiation or the moment they recognize the information need. During this initial stage, the information seeker is filled with anxiety and apprehension. The second stage is selection when the user selects a topic to investigate. At this stage, the user’s apprehension and anxiety is replaced by optimism. The third stage is exploration where the user gathers the information and constructs personal knowledge about the topic. At this stage, the user’s sense of anxiety may return due to conflicting or inconsistent information. The fourth stage is formulation where the information seeker begins to evaluate and process the information gathered. During this stage, the information seeker is not as uncertain and begins to develop a focused perspective on the topic. By the fifth stage, collection, the user has a very good idea of the topic. As a result, “the information seeker will experience greater interest, increased confidence, and more successful searching” (Kulthau, 1991). The sixth and last stage is search closure when the search is completed and the user experiences a sense of relief and is either satisfied or disappointed with the results.
Dervin’s Sense-making Approach
In Brenda Dervin’s (1983) sense-making approach, the user attempts to close the “cognitive gap” that develops while making sense of the observed data (Rubin, 2004, p. 44). One of the most important elements in Dervin’s theories states that developers of information systems should understand the inner-workings of information systems and how it responds to the problem environment the user brings to the search. To develop a flexible and optimum information system, Dervin suggests that the user be constantly consulted for feedback to obtain measurable and improved results.
Zipf’s Principle of Least Effort
Zipf’s (1949) “Principle of Least Effort” states that people will use the least amount of effort and select the most convenient material to meet their information need, even though they realize that it may not be the most accurate or authoritative information available. This principle is important to keep in mind when considering the design of library collections and services, as well as the library’s online public access catalog (OPAC) and other library websites.
Marcia Bates’ Berrypicking
Morville (2006) claims that “Marcia J. Bates deserves credit for shaping our understanding of information seeking behavior” (p. 59). Bates (1989) has made some significant contributions to library science about information seeking behavior, implementation of subject access in manual and electronic information systems, and the user-centered design of information retrieval systems.
In addition, Marcia Bates (1989) suggests another type of information seeking behavior that is not as linear compared to the older models. Bates argues that the “berrypicking” search process evolves and changes little by little instead of having a linear construct. Bates explains that the user changes and modifies her search terms as they search for information, and incorporates her cognitive model to solve the information need.
Barriers to Information Seeking
Rubin (2004) mentions that there are a variety of factors that prevent people from seeking information. These barriers include physical aspects like the location and accessibility of the library. Another barrier is policy and procedural aspects. Although well-meaning and often for very good reasons, libraries create policies that inhibit the use of library collections and services.
In addition, economic/financial aspects have a direct correlation to the quality and quantity of services and resources that the library can provide. Legal aspects like laws and regulations can also hinder the flow of information including copyright laws, and restriction of certain types of information or images. Last, Rubin (2004) mentions that library studies often indicate “that those most likely to use libraries have more formal education, tend to have higher incomes, and are white” (p. 46). As a result, social aspects also play a key role in whether users are likely to visit the library or not. For instance, if libraries are perceived as authoritarian and aristocratic institutions, users from lower socioeconomic levels and minorities may be apprehensive and reluctant to visit the library.
Due to the above reasons, it is important for information organizations to recognize and reduce the many barriers to searching for information by making the information easily and quickly accessible to as many people in the community as possible, both physically and digitally.
Three Artifacts Presented for Competency J
I respectfully present three artifacts as evidence to fulfill the requirements of Competency J.
First Artifact
Competency J – 275 – Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities
The first artifact is from the course LIBR 275—Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities in the San José State University, School of Library and Information Science program. For the assignment, Professor Liu told us to write a literature review about Mooke’s (2005) article titled, “The Information Behaviors of Rural Women in Botswana.” The article investigates and examines the information seeking behavior of women living in three different rural villages in Botswana, Africa.
In summary, the article states that the most important information needs of the women in rural Botswana are related to their livelihood—agriculture and health. In addition, the most frequent way the women seek and share information is through interpersonal communication. As a result, women receive their information by word of mouth from members, elders, and/or leaders of the community.
I believe this literature review regarding the information seeking behavior for a specific demographic group demonstrates my ability to investigate and examine how the members of the group search for and use information. Furthermore, information professionals can go to the demographic group’s gathering place to share information about the library and promote library services.
Second Artifact
Competency J – LIBR 202 – Information Retrieval
The second artifact is from the course LIBR 202—Information Retrieval in the San José State University, School of Library and Information Science program. For Dr. Mary Bolin’s course, I wrote a discussion post based on reading a chapter called Beginnings of Information Retrieval in Peter Morville’s (2005) textbook, “Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become.”
The discussion post is about the beginnings of “Information Retrieval,” the term coined by Calvin Mooers in 1948. Mooers and Zipf have come to similar conclusions about information seeking behavior in that people will chose the quickest and easiest access to information regardless of the quality of the source. As a result, Morville (2005) emphasizes that we need more studies to understand and investigate the user’s information seeking behavior from all aspects, especially geographically and psychologically.
The discussion post goes on to discuss what Morville (2005) calls “The People Problem,” claiming that users and their use of language is the unpredictable variable in the information systems. By conducting studies observing the user’s information seeking behavior, the developers, programmers, and indexers can make the information systems “faster, easier, and more compact” (Morville, 2005, p. 54). In addition, Morville suggests that users add metadata tags to describe the information entity and states that “metadata tags applied by humans can indicate aboutness thereby improving precision” (p. 53).
Finally, the discussion post concludes with the definition of “information science” described by Morville. I decided to include this artifact as evidence to demonstrate my understanding about the user’s information seeking behavior and how it relates to their use of information systems.
Third Artifact
Competency J – LIBR 210 – Reference and Information Services
The third artifact is from the course LIBR 210—Reference and Information Services in the San José State University, School of Library and Information Science program. This assignment is titled, “The Face-to-face or Traditional Reference Encounter” and describes my reference transactions at two different public libraries. The two libraries compared are the Beverly Hills Public Library and the West Los Angeles Regional Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library system.
I decided to include this assignment as an investigation and examination of my own information seeking behavior. In order for information professionals to understand other people’s information seeking behavior, it is also helpful to become aware of their own searching process. Instead of merely going through the motions of a reference encounter, I was cognizant of my own thought process during the face-to-face transaction.
The reference encounters reported in the assignment describe two significantly different reference transaction styles with two separate reference librarians. I believe an understanding of my own information seeking behavior will help me provide better library services in the future, because I can personally understand the process users are going through when they are seeking information.
Conclusion: Understanding and Investigating Information Seeking Behavior
Since the technology revolution, reference services have dramatically developed into many formats besides the traditional face-to-face transaction including live chat, email, phone, and texting. In order to provide the best reference services, it is important for information professionals to examine and investigate the user’s information seeking behavior in all formats.
Keeping in mind the various concepts and principles about information seeking behavior mentioned above also helps in providing improved reference and library services. As a result, it is imperative for information professionals to know and empathize with the various stages and feelings attached to the user’s information seeking behavior. Due to the fact that I studied the various concepts and principles of information seeking behavior along with my submission of three artifacts above, I believe I have demonstrated my competency for Competency J.
Reference:
Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of library and information science. 2nd Ed. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
Morville, P. (2005). Ambient findability: What we find changes who we become. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media
Bates, M. (1989). The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface. UCLA. https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/berrypicking.html