1	Information Seeking Module 1 Min-Yen KAN Fundamentals of LIS
2	Why “seeking”? Don’t want to limit to “retrieval” IR: match query to documents. Seeking as the larger context: berrypicking We’ll revisit IR later in another lecture
3	Information Need Taylor’s (68) model of need Visceral: The actual, but unexpressed need Conscious: ________________ Formalized: e.g., a search statement Compromised:_________________
4	Berry Picking “… picking blueberries in the forest. The berries are scattered on the bushes; they do not come in bunches. One must pick them one at a time…” - paraphrased from Bates (89) The nature of the query is an evolving one The nature of the search process is such that it follows a berrypicking pattern The query is satisfied not by a final set of documents but by __________________
5	Information Foraging Techniques that expert searchers use: _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ To think about: How well does LINC support these functions? How about Google?
6	Vocabulary Problem The fact that a user is looking for something means that they don’t know what exactly they are looking for (otherwise, they wouldn’t be looking in the first place) - paraphrased from Belkin et al. (82) Therefore, they may not be using the right vocabulary to express their needs.
7	Anomalous State of Knowledge means that the seeker realizes that there is a gap or lack of knowledge in some area: an ASK. Partial or even incorrect search results can alter the ASK and change the seeker’s perception.
8	Three aspects of Information Seeking
9	Cognitive Factors Selecting a source that is most relevant and useful Purpose Authority Scope Audience Cost Format
10	Affective Factors – Kuhlthau (93) Initiation: uncertainty Selection: optimism Exploration: confusion/frustration/doubt Formulation: clarity Collection: sense of direction and confidence Presentation: satisfaction or disappointment
11	Implications of Kuhlthau (93) Users tend to try to move towards ______________ Vague, invitation mode transforms to focused, indicative mode Corollaries: Too much redundant information = __ Too much unique information = __ Unfocused search without selection/formulation gives information overload = __
12	Situational Factors Often the most important situational factor: Perceived source accessibility Principle of Least Effort – Zipf 49 Rural libraries get less utilized than urban ones RBR / ILL services / acquisition library features rarely used
13	Dimensions of Accessibility – Culnan (85) Physical / Automated library Physical: Location, location, location! Interface: Catalog use, organization of library Informational: locating the book, article Digital library Physical: Interface: Informational:
14	Quality is (often) secondary! People often access easily accessible material first irrespective of quality But informed professionals accept ideas from sources in proportion to their technical quality But what about the uninformed?
15	Putting the models together