Acces to Information - Information Seeking Models & Theories.pdf

Presentation on Access to Information - Information Seeking Models & Theories

1. LIS 60001 – Access to
Information
Information Seeking Models
& Theories

2. This Week’s
Readings

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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5. Information
Behavior (IB)

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)

15. IB RELATED CONCEPTS
Omission
Error
Queuing
Filtering
Approximation
Multiple
Channels
Escaping
“We can seek knowledge in
order to reduce anxiety and
we can avoid knowing in
order to reduce anxiety.”
Maslow
Information overload and anxiety
helka
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16. EXERCISE:
Common
Information
Behaviors

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?

18. COMMON INFORMATION
BEHAVIORS
Buying a product

19. COMMON INFORMATION
BEHAVIORS
Visiting a library

20. COMMON INFORMATION
BEHAVIORS
Locating a law

21. COMMON INFORMATION
BEHAVIORS
Betting on a race horse

22. COMMON INFORMATION
BEHAVIORS
“I want to know more
about cancer…”
FrequencyofCancer
2005DistributionofPrimaryDiagnosis
STOMACH
COLON
RECTUM
LUNG
11.5%
PANCREAS
3.1%
GYN.NOS
BLADOER
42%
LYMPHOMA
PROSTATE
16.9%
2.5%
ALLOTHER
12.1%
BREAST
242%

23. Information
Seeking Models
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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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28. Information
gathering
Information giving
Need-creating
event/environment
Needs
(deferred)
Needs
(immediate)
Source preference
Internal External
Memory
Direct
(structured)
observations
Direct
(interper-
sonal)
Contact
Recorded
(literature)Personal
files
Krikelas Model (everyday behavior)
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29. Leckie, Pettigrew & Sylvain Model
Workroles
;4i
Tasks
mum
CharacteristicsofInformationHeeds
Awareness
Sources
of
34of
5
informationneeds
information
a
f
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Outcomes
Feedback

30. Bystrom & Jarvelin Model
Situational
factors
TaskCategory
Actor
'
sAmbition,
EducationandExperience
Categoryof
InformationNeeded
InformationChannels
andSourcesConsidered
1
EvaluationofSources
UsedChannelsUsed ReasonsforUse
FinalEvaluation

31. Johnson Model
Information-
seekingactions
Information-
carrierfactors
Health-related
factors
Demographics
Direct
experience
Action
Salience
Utility

32. Information
Seeking
Theories

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

34. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Principle of Least Effort
Language usage
E.g., word distributions
1930 census – city
populations
‘Harmonic distributions’

35. A plot of word frequency
in Wikipedia (November
27, 2006). x is rank of a
word in the frequency
table; y is the total
number of the word’s
occurrences. Most
popular words are “the”,
“of” and “and”, as
expected.

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

44. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Play Theory and Entertainment
Theory
Are information and
entertainment two different
things?

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

46. INFORMATION SEEKING
THEORIES
Play Theory and Entertainment
Theory
Humans tend to:
Seek pleasure and avoid pain
Mix work with play
E.g., reading the news

48. See You Next Week!