How many types of information search are there?

III.B.2. Kuhlthau's Model

In 1993, Kuhlthau developed a six stage model of the human information search process (ISP). The model includes human feelings, thoughts, actions, and strategies through six stages: (1) task initiation, (2) topic selection, (3) exploration, (4) focus formulation, (5) information collection, and (6) search closure. At the first stage of the model, an individual becomes aware about the lack of information he or she needs in order to understand a problem or perform a specific activity. Feelings of uncertainty and apprehension are the common state associated with this stage. The second stage involves identification and selection of the general domain to be analyzed. The third stage, exploration, is usually the most difficult step for the user because the uncertainty and doubts frequently increase. This is also the most difficult stage for the designers of IS because the ambiguity about what information is needed makes it difficult to support the user–IS communication. The fourth stage of the model is formulation, a turning point of the process when feelings of uncertainty diminish and understanding increases. At the fifth stage of the model, an interaction between the user and an IS is most effective and efficient as the main task is to gather information pertinent to the problem. The last stage of the model, presentation, includes completion of the search and solving the initial problem.

Dimension 3—interface design

In terms of interface design, all three groups regarded search function and browsing function as the most important criteria in evaluating digital libraries. Searching and browsing are the two main approaches in the information search process, and subjects rated search and browsing functions as the top two criteria. Navigation and intuitive operation were chosen as relatively important evaluation criteria across the three groups. Visual appeal, user control, and personalized page were rated least important in the dimension of interface design. Table 10.4 presents the importance of evaluation criteria in the dimension of interface design.

Table 10.4. Importance of Evaluation Criteria in the Dimension of Interface Design

CriterionDefinitionImportanceSearch functionTo assess what types of search functions are offered by a digital library and how easy it is to use them6.54Browsing functionTo assess in what ways and to what extent the interface supports a user’s ability to surf related items in a digital library6.34NavigationTo assess in what ways and to what extent the interface supports a user’s exploration in a digital library6.26Intuitive operationTo assess how straightforward a digital library interface is for a user to understand its operation and how easily a user can learn to operate the interface6.25Search results presentationTo assess how the types of formats/options of search results are presented to users in a digital library6.18ConsistencyTo assess whether the design and layout are coherent across a digital library interface6.12ReliabilityTo assess the ability of a digital library to perform and maintain its functions under different circumstances6.11Help functionTo assess what types of help functions are offered and how effectively they support users in their help-seeking process5.64Visual appealTo assess to what extent the interface of a digital library is visually attractive to users5.61User controlTo assess to what extent a digital library allows users to manipulate its interface4.95Personalized pageTo assess whether a digital library offers personalized pages based on user profile4.25

Living with uncertainty

As difficult as outright failure might be, uncertainty can be just as difficult to face. Coping with uncertainty helped us realize something we have in common with our students. Carol Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process model describes the typical emotions of a student approaching a research-based assignment:

People engage in an information search experience holistically, with an interplay of thoughts, feelings and actions … Rather than a steady increase in confidence from the beginning of a search to the conclusion, as might be expected, a dip in confidence is commonly experienced once an individual has initiated a search and begins to encounter conflicting and inconsistent information. A person “in the dip” is increasingly uncertain and confused until a focus is formed to provide a path for seeking meaning and criteria for judging relevance … Increased uncertainty indicates a zone of intervention in the process of information seeking for information intermediaries. (Kuhlthau, n.d.)

Developing a knack for tolerating uncertainty is particularly important in the inquiry-based learning model that forms the foundation of our information literacy instruction. Remembering Kuhlthau’s model, we try to help students cope with “the dip” and we attempt to time our instruction to coincide with the “zone of intervention” she describes.4 In some settings we share the model itself with students, and we find that it often resonates with them: one group of game design students even noted a resemblance between Kuhlthau’s model and the “hero’s journey” narrative they were using in their own work.

The more surprising impact of Kuhlthau’s model was the realization that, as librarians, we too were experiencing a dip in confidence and an increase in uncertainty as we struggled to design and maintain effective instruction and assessment techniques. In fact, sometimes it seemed like an ongoing series of “dips,” reminiscent of the 1990s movie Groundhog Day, in which a disgruntled TV weatherman finds himself re-living the same day over again until he eventually learns valuable life lessons. The expression “Groundhog Day in the Kuhlthau model” is becoming part of our lexicon; we use it to signal our recognition of the need to reflect on and tolerate uncertainty during much of our work. More broadly, it reminds us to consider information literacy research as meta-analysis tools to explore, expand, and enlighten our daily work of developing information literacy instruction and assessment. It has helped us develop a more reflective approach, as individuals and as a team, to our professional practice.

Developing our ability to deal gracefully with uncertainty will be particularly important as we look ahead. In the coming year, we will experience substantial staff turnover as well as changes in the Core Curriculum that require us to redesign an entire year of the embedded information literacy program. At our most recent retreat, we talked about these changes openly, and focused our attention on identifying elements of our existing culture and ethos that we want to be certain to retain even as we reconfigure. As we move forward, we hope to preserve and espouse the values and approaches described in this chapter: to match the mission and the vision of Champlain College explicitly, consciously, and in unison; encourage autonomy, with its correlates of responsibility and authority; tolerate uncertainty – and yes, to celebrate success.

Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process model

The research undertaken by Carol Kuhlthau (1987, 1989, 1993, 2004) over several decades has been very influential in this field. Kuhlthau’s (1989) pioneering research used a grounded theory approach to develop the Information Search Process (ISP) model. One of the innovative aspects of her research was that it not only studied what students did when researching for a school assignment but how students perceived the information process and how their feelings changed at different stages of the process. Despite its name, the ISP model is not merely focused on searching for information but, according to Kuhlthau (2004, p. 44) focuses on ‘the affective (feelings), the cognitive (thoughts) and the physical (actions) common to each stage’. Kuhlthau’s (2004) subsequent studies showed that, despite extensive claims from within the field of bibliographic instruction research, the quantity of resources found by students was not necessarily instrumental in extending students’ learning or improving the quality of written work done by students.

Kuhlthau (2004) summarizes a number of research projects related to information literacy in schools. One of the areas studied by Kuhlthau, but paid little attention by other researchers, was the level of student confidence at different stages of completing an assignment. Kuhlthau (2004) states that, in all her research, students tended to have low levels of confidence at the start of an assignment and that their confidence increased as they were able to define the parameters of their topic and find more relevant information. Kuhlthau (1993, 2004) does not focus closely on the issue of the transfer of information literacy skills from one context to another but implies that some of the students she studied, both at school and at university, were able to transfer aspects of skills they had learned. In particular, Kuhlthau (2004, p. 76) states that students’ abilities in ‘formulating a focus’ and their ability to deal with changes to ‘their preconceived notions of a topic’ developed over time.

Tip-of-the-tongue experience

Curiosity on the verge of discovery tends to feel unpleasant (Litman et al., 2005). Being close to a solution triggers intense and tension-filled states dominated by a pressing need to conclude. ‘Tip-of-tongue’ experiences, when you are just about to remember something but cannot quite reach the memory, are therefore often unpleasant and distressing (ibid.). This experience can be compared to the focus formulation stage of the information search process (Kuhlthau, 2004). A process of seeking information for a project, such as an essay or a presentation, tends to be accompanied by both positive and negative emotions. A lingering curiosity as a desire to know reminds us of the exploration stage when searchers begin to familiarize themselves with a topic. The anxiety and irritation of the tip-of-tongue experience, again, resemble the next stage where there is a pressing and frustrating need to find the essential focal point. In the information search process, anxiety and frustration tend to rise just before a person forms a focus. The searcher is aware that he/she is at a loss among an overflow of information, alternatives and possibilities, and has a high need for closure (ibid.). This pressing and anxiety-ridden experience reminds us of curiosity as deprivation, which culminates in the tip-of-tongue experience (Litman et al., 2005). In both cases the feeling of information overload is bothersome, and there is a need to find the key solution or focal point.

Approaches to the Social Measurement of Information Management

Diverse sets of measures have been employed in the study of information management. Many of these measures have been used more as abstract methodologies than as applied measurements. Information management research is influenced by theories and methodologies developed in other social and human sciences, including information studies, communications, sociology, psychology, information technology, management of information systems, business and administration, and education research. Researchers in these diverse fields often employ a range of social measures for various types of research about issues of information management. As a result, many different social measurements are used in the study of information management; a comprehensive review of the social measures that are applied to the management of information would be extensive and is well beyond the scope of the discussion here.

The social measurement of information management can be done with quantitative, qualitative, or action research, or even mixed methods, using many different types of data collection instruments to describe information measurement in individual, organizational, or social settings. A selection of the most common methods, measures, theories, and techniques that can be used in the social measurement of information management is included in Table I.

Table I. Social Measurement Instruments for the Study of Information Management

Analysis of administrative recordsMedia richness theory Models of question negotiationBehavioral intention toward technology usageNarrative researchBibliometricsPerceived usefulnessCase studiesPersonality testsCognitive authorityPhenomenologyConjoint analysisPolicy analysisDemand simulationQuestion answeringDiffusion of innovationSocial network theoryEthnographiesSpeech act theoryFocus groupsSurveysGenre theoryTask–system fitGrounded theory researchTechnology acceptance modelInformation search processUnobtrusive observationMeasurement of user information satisfactionUsability assessment User modeling

Given the range of possibilities that could be discussed in terms of the social measurement of information management, the focus here is only on a selection of relevant studies and measures. These have been chosen to represent well-respected methodologies in information behavior, information access, and information policy. Of the three, information behavior has been the most heavily studied and has created more generalizable approaches to social measurement. The other two areas are just as valuable as areas of research, but there simply has been less scholarship to date.

Information search tactics

Search tactics and moves are the elements of information search strategies. Researchers have applied different definitions of tactics and moves in their papers. In some cases, tactics and moves are used interchangeably. Incorporating Bates’ (1979, 1990, 1992) and Marchionini’s (1995) definitions, Xie and Joo (2010) further define the meaning of the terms moves and search tactics. According to them, moves are basic thoughts or actions in the information search process, while search tactics refer to a series of moves, including search choices and actions, that users apply to advance their searches in the information search process.

Tactic research has focused on query formulation and reformulation. Fidel’s (1985) operational moves are characterized by reducing or enlarging the size of search results, and conceptual moves are exemplified by intersecting, narrowing, or expanding the meaning of queries. Other researchers discovered the following tactics: broadening, narrowing, searching for an author, term checks, changing topics, error, and repeat (Shute and Smith, 1993; Vakkari et al., 2003; Wildemuth, 2004).

In addition to query formulation and reformulation tactics, tactics have been identified for different aspects of the search process. Bates (1979) organizes 29 tactics into monitoring (e.g., check, correct, etc.), file structure (e.g., select survey, etc.), search formulation (specify, exhaust, etc.), and term tactics (e.g., super, related, etc.). Extending Bates’ work on the Internet, Smith (2012) incorporates new dimensions—evaluation tactics and new tactics, such as context evaluating, crosschecking, etc. Search tactics are further analyzed with respect to the search process. Yue et al. (2012) associate the search tactics Query, View, Save, Workspace, Topic, and Chat with a search process, such as defining a problem, selection of sources, and examining results. Children’s information search tactics in digital environments are classified into seven modes: Start, Recognize (scanning and selecting), Browse (viewing, verifying, and examining), Differentiate (viewing and sweeping), Read (viewing and flipping), Explore (navigation and backtracking), and Finish (ending a task or stopping) (Bilal et al., 2008).

Previous research on moves and tactics sets up a foundation for researchers to further investigate patterns of search tactics in the digital library environment. Very few studies have explored the application of search tactics in digital libraries. Joo (2013) examined how users incorporated search tactics in terms of frequency, time, changes in a session, and transition patterns in their interactions with digital libraries. Adopting the tactics identified by Xie (2008) and Xie and Joo (2010), Joo (2013) analyzed the application of nine types of tactics: create search statements, explore information, modify search statements, organization of search results, access forward, access backward, evaluation of results, and evaluation of individual documents. The results show that users apply different search tactics for different types of search tasks. The accessing forward, browsing information, and evaluating results tactics are the top search tactics used in accomplishing a known-item search. Evaluating results, accessing forward, accessing backward, and evaluating individual documents are the top search tactics chosen in achieving a specific information search task. In fulfilling an exploratory task, evaluation of individual documents, accessing forward, accessing backward, and evaluating results are the top search tactics employed. Interestingly, the exploring tactic takes the longest for a known-item search; the evaluation of result tactics takes the longest for a specific task; and the evaluation of an individual document tactic takes the most time to complete for an exploratory task. The findings of tactics applications in digital libraries offer significant implications for system design to support different types of search tactics in the search process.

Information-seeking trends

The six-stage funnel

Users often engage in episodes of information seeking spread over days, weeks, and even months as they strive to accomplish tasks such as finding a place to live, buying a car, or booking a vacation. But episodes aren’t static; in fact, users progress through a series of stages during the lifecycle of a given work task (we’ll look at work tasks in more detail in the next chapter). These stages funnel the user’s journey from clouded beginnings to a decisive conclusion.

Carol Kuhlthau, a professor at Rutgers University, performed a series of studies during the 1980s to better understand how people seek information to satisfy long-term goals (Kuhlthau, 1991). Her studies included high school and college students who were performing research for a term paper and adults with personal or job-related projects. Kuhlthau identified distinct phases in what she called the information search process but is best described as stages of information seeking (Figure 2.14). She observed both the tasks and emotions unique to each of six phases:

Initiation

Initiation is the phase in which one becomes aware of a need for information, an event often accompanied by uncertainty and apprehension. For instance, lets imagine that Fane Tomescu recently decided that he wanted to buy a car, prompting a need to research suitable vehicles.

Selection

The selection phase involves committing to constraints that narrow the information search. Fane quickly eliminated motorcycles, vans, and SUVs, deciding to look only at small family cars. Kuhlthau found that this phase tends to produce a spike in optimism once the user makes the selection.

Exploration

The optimism of selection usually gives way once more to confusion, uncertainty, and doubt as one realizes the many options still left to explore. Even though he had decided on small family cars, Fane still had to sift through dozens of makes and models, each of which had advantages and disadvantages. In Kuhlthau’s study, about half of her students never made it past this stage.

Formulation

Formulation is the crucial turning point at which all the information encountered thus far is formulated into a specific, tangible requirement. Fane’s car hunt reached the formulation stage when he decided that a four- to six-year-old VW Golf hatchback with 30,000 to 50,000 miles was the best fit for his needs and budget. The formulation stage is characterized by decreased anxiety and increased confidence.

Collection

Once the problem has been clearly articulated in the formulation phase, the next step is to evaluate the available solutions. Once Fane had a clear idea of the model he wanted, he used automotive websites to search for cars in his area that matched his criteria. Confidence continues to increase throughout the collection process.

Action

The final stage of the process is to act on the newly acquired knowledge. For Kuhlthau’s students, this meant writing the term paper. For Fane, it meant going to look at a car, transferring money, and driving the car home.

What are two types of information search?

What is information search example?

What is the information search stage?

What is internal information search?