Competency J

Core Competency J: describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behaviors.

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Introduction:

Information seeking can be described as a conscious effort made to acquire information (Haycock & Sheldon, 2008). Information seeking is usually done to fulfill an information need; which is “a recognition that your knowledge is inadequate to satisfy a goal that you have” (Haycock & Sheldon, 2008). There have been many studies done on information seeking behaviors, both in and outside of the library and information science field. Some of the more prominent theories/concepts on information seeking were created by the scholars Marcia Bates, Carol Kuhlthau, and Elfreda Chatman. It is important that information professionals understand the behaviors people engage in when they seek out information, as this knowledge allows information professionals to better help library users, and can further lead to improved library services.

Marcia Bates’ Work on Information Seeking Behaviors:

Marcia Bates is notable for putting forth this definition of information: “Information is the pattern of organization of matter and energy” and includes things that are “cognitive, physical, architectural, social, [and] linguistic” (Bates, 2009). Bates also emphasized that any study of information seeking behavior needed to consider all the forms of information a person takes in (Bates, 2009). One of Bates’ most prominent information seeking theories is the “berrypicking” model, which was developed after studies had been conducted on how people gathered information from information retrieval (IR) systems. Bates proposed that peoples’ searches evolved with each new piece of information that is encountered (Bates, 1989). Furthermore, a single search query would usually not provide all of the information necessary to satisfy a person’s information need. Rather, multiple searches are conducted and relevant bits of information are picked out at each stage of the search—similar to the act of berrypicking (Bates, 1989).

Bates’ berrypicking model is extremely useful to information professionals as it provides some insight into how library users make use of the most popular IR system of the modern era: internet search engines. Having a thorough understanding of the berrypicking model allows information professionals to better guide library users who need help finding information on the web. Additionally, information professionals can also use their knowledge of Bates’ berrypicking model to create more user-friendly IR search interfaces and functions.

Carol Kuhlthau’s Work on Information Seeking Behaviors:

Carol Kuhlthau devised the information search process (ISP) model to describe general information seeking behavior from the user’s perspective. She developed and refined the ISP after conducting numerous research studies into how students and library users sought out information (Kuhlthau, 2007). Kuhlthau’s ISP describes information seeking as a process involving six stages: initiation, selection, exploration, formulation, collection and presentation (Kuhlthau, 2007). Furthermore, the ISP model also includes “three realms of experience”: feelings, thoughts, and actions (Kuhlthau, 2007). Kuhlthau’s ISP model is unique in that it is one of the first to investigate how peoples’ emotions play a role in their information seeking behavior. One of her most notable findings was that people actually experience increased uncertainty and a dip in confidence during the exploration stage of information seeking (Kuhlthau, 2007). However, once people reach the formulation stage (a more focused perspective is formed on what information is needed); their uncertainty tends to diminish and their confidence rises (Kuhlthau, 2007).

For information professionals, it is important to fully understand Kuhlthau’s ISP model because it describes the stages of information seeking behavior that library users may go through as they attempt to find information. It is also important that information professionals understand that information searching often involves an emotional component. With this knowledge in mind, information professionals can better identify and help users who are in the early stages of their information search. This will lead to more confident library users who would be more likely to successfully find the information that they need.

Elfreda Chatman’s Work on Information Seeking Behaviors:

Elfreda Chatman closely studied the information seeking behaviors of poor and/or marginalized people; which included low-skilled workers, elderly individuals who lived in a retirement complex, and female prison inmates (Savolainen, 2009). From her studies, Chatman devised the “small world” and “life in the round” theories to explain how people engaged in everyday life information seeking behaviors in these isolated communities. Chatman’s theories are notable for analyzing how social norms and roles affect information seeking behaviors. People who inhabited a “small world” usually found information received through personal sources (such as acquaintances) to be more acceptable than the information received from “outsiders” (Savolainen, 2009). Chatman further proposed that a life “lived in the round” has adverse effects on information seeking. Small world inhabitants will not seek out information if there is no need to do so, and will ignore information if they perceive that their world is working fine without it (Savolainen, 2009). Small world inhabitants will generally only seek information outside of their boundaries if the information need is critical (Savolainen, 2009).

Information professionals need to have an understanding of Chatman’s small world and life in the round theories as they are critical to understanding the information seeking behaviors of minority groups and underserved populations (such as the homeless). Furthermore, it is important to acknowledge how information seeking behaviors in these groups can be strongly tied to social aspects. By keeping this knowledge in mind, information professionals can better deliver relevant information to these groups in a manner they will accept.

Coursework/Experience that Prepared Me for this Competency:

During my time in the MLIS program, I have had much experience engaging in information seeking for my assignments, reports, and projects. However, I learned the most about information seeking behaviors and theories from my Info 200 (Information Communities) class. I appreciate that this was a required class for incoming MLIS students; and that it was one of the first classes that had to be taken the program. My experiences in Info 200 gave me an understanding of what information seeking behaviors were and why it was so important to acknowledge in LIS professional work. This knowledge of information seeking was something that I would draw upon in my later classes.

References:

Bates, M. J. (1989). The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface. Retrieved from https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/berrypicking.html

Bates, M. J. (2009). Information. In M. J. Bates & M. N. Maack (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition (pp. 2347-2360). doi:10.1081/E-ELIS3-120045519

Haycock, K., & Sheldon, B. E. (Eds.) (2008). The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Kuhlthau, C. C. (2007). Reflections on the development of the model of the information search process (ISP): Excerpts from the Lazerow lecture, University of Kentucky, April 2, 2007. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 33(5), 32-36.

Savolainen, R. (2009). Everyday life information seeking. In M. J. Bates & M. N. Maack (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition. (pp. 1780-1789). doi:10.1081/E-ELIS3-120043920

Evidence:

1. Info 200 Research Paper -- "Vietnamese-Americans and Health Care Services"

The first piece of evidence that I am submitting towards competency J is a research paper which I created for Info 200 (Information Communities). For this assignment, we were to write a research paper discussing the information seeking behaviors of a specific community. I decided to focus on the Vietnamese-American community as this was a community I was very familiar with. To narrow the topic down into something that I would realistically be able to research given the time frame, I decided to focus specifically on Vietnamese-Americans and their information seeking behaviors in regards to health care services. This paper was the final assignment of the class, and a culmination of all the research I had done up to that point.

In this paper, I talked at length about why Vietnamese-Americans may actively choose not to seek out information on health care services, especially preventive services such as cancer screenings. Although I did not discuss any established information seeking behavior theories in my paper (it was not a requirement), much of the information seeking behaviors displayed by the Vietnamese-American community are similar to those described in Chatman’s small world and life in the round models. Chatman’s models described how the small world view could have an adverse effect on information seeking behavior, and this can be clearly seen here. In my paper, I pointed out that some Vietnamese-Americans will not seek out information on preventive health care services because they simply don’t see a need to do so when nothing appears to be wrong with them (health-wise). In this case, outside information (health care) is ignored because it is perceived as being irrelevant to their current everyday needs. While the topic of my research was not something directly related to the LIS field, this paper demonstrates my ability to identify the information seeking behaviors (or lack of) for a given community.

Towards the end of my paper, I offered several suggestions for how health care providers can provide better health services, as well as make their services more known, to the Vietnamese-American community. All of my suggestions were based on my knowledge of Vietnamese-Americans’ information seeking behaviors (which I had already described in my paper up to that point). I highlighted that many Vietnamese-American women may be more willing to believe the information they receive from personal acquaintances (which again brings Chatman’s small world and life in the round models to mind). Because of this, one of my suggestions was that health care providers take on a more community-focused approach when trying to deliver health care information. With the explanations I have given above, I submit this piece of evidence to demonstrate my understanding of a prominent theory of information seeking behavior as it relates to an ethnic community. I also submit this piece of evidence to demonstrate my understanding of the importance in knowing about the information seeking behaviors of a community; as this may lead to the provision of more efficient and beneficial services.

The entire research paper can be found as an MS Word document below.

2. Info 210 Mini Activity Assignments Part 2

The second and final piece of evidence that I am submitting towards competency J is a series of exercises I completed in the latter half of my Info 210 class (Reference and Information Services). These series of exercises required me to use a variety of reference resources to answer questions that would likely be posed by library users in a real-life library environment. In the document, I detailed the resources I consulted as well as the steps that I took to find answers to the questions.

Completing these exercises required me to engage in information seeking behaviors. Because most of the questions required information that could be found online, my information seeking behavior was most similar to the one proposed in Bates’ berrypicking model. It was very rare that just one search in just one reference source would give me the all the information that I needed. Most of the time, I had to conduct multiple searches in multiple reference sources to gather enough information to confidently answer a question. For example, in Mini Activity 4 (question 3) I had to consult both PubMed and Wikipedia. And in Mini Activity 6 (question 1) I had to conduct further searches in Google after being unsatisfied with the information provided in an established encyclopedia resource. Furthermore, many of my search queries evolved as I encountered new information. In Mini Activity 4 (question 6) and Mini Activity 6 (question 2), I needed to answer the questions of two library users who had slightly inaccurate titles in mind. After analyzing the results retrieved from my first search query, I was able to deduce that the library users were actually searching for the “Chicago Manual of Style” and “Lalaloopsy,” respectively. This piece of evidence demonstrates my understanding of a prominent information seeking theory (Bates' berrypicking model) as it relates to my own information seeking behavior.

While I would likely have more experience in information seeking (compared to a regular library user) due to my time in the MLIS program, these exercises still gave me some insight into how library users may conduct their searches in an online environment. This allows me to somewhat predict how library users go about finding information; and thus I would be able to help any library users who end up "stuck" with an unproductive search query. Additionally, by completing these exercises, I was able to examine my own information seeking behaviors. By knowing the areas where my own information seeking behaviors are lacking, I can use different information seeking strategies in the future to improve my chances of finding relevant information. This piece of evidence therefore demonstrates how having an awareness information seeking behaviors (including my own) can lead to the provision of improved reference services for library users. Because of the reasons I described in the paragraphs above, I submit this document to show my mastery of competency J.

I have compiled these exercises into one document for easier viewing, and have only included the relevant questions and my answers to them. The document containing these exercises can be found below.

Conclusion:

Information seeking behaviors are a fundamental part of what we do as information professionals. However, I will also need to pay attention to the information seeking behaviors of my clients in my future career. By understanding how my clients seek out information, I can deliver more efficient and necessary services. I plan to keep the many theories on information seeking behaviors in mind to help me with this task. However, I will also be keeping an eye out in the LIS literature to see if there have been any new theories on information seeking that have been proposed.