Carol Kuhlthau developed the Information Search Process (ISP), which laid out the actions, thoughts, and feelings of individuals as they work their way through the stages of information seeking. According to Kuhlthau, there are six stages to the information seeking process: initiation, selection, exploration, formulation, collection, and presentation.

 

It is important to note that not all information seekers will go through all of the stages, and not all of the stages are necessary for each information need. An information need is the acknowledgement that you need additional knowledge on a topic either to solve a problem, or resolve a particular need. People seek out information when they have a need. Information seeking is the act of looking for resources that will resolve the information need. Information behaviors are the actions that people take when seeking to resolve an information need. It might include consulting others for assistance, or conducting research.

 

Initiation

This stage occurs when an individual understands that they have a need for information. In school, it may be an assignment. In a professional environment, it might fill a need for a business or legal matter. For others, it might be information about a medical condition, a project, or a hobby. Whatever the cause, it is during this stage that the information seeker deals with the most uncertainty. There is uncertainty about the topic, but also about where to find the information that is needed, or sometimes even uncertainty about what type of information is needed.

 

Selection

After the initiation stage comes the selection stage. During this part of the information seeking process, the information seeker will begin to select resources that are relevant to the information need. The researcher will gather information broadly, some of which will be relevant, and some of which will not be. The selection stage can be chaotic in nature, and involves the researcher learning more about the topic, as well as potential ways to focus the topic. The selection stage can seem overwhelming, particularly if there is a lot of information available on the topic. The researcher may encounter information overload at this stage.

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Exploration

This stage is when the researcher will begin to narrow the focus of the information need, or the research question based on the resources that are available to him or her. After the researcher begins to narrow the focus, the search for information can become more refined and specific, and the searcher can select the materials that most fit the information need. This part of the information seeking process can be stressful, as the researcher has to discern what resources may be applicable to the information need. Additionally, if the researcher finds conflicting information during this stage, he or she will need to determine the most accurate information source and which, if not both, sources are worth including.

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Formulation

At this stage, the researcher has a more clear picture about what information he or she needs, because he or she has searched through the resources located during the exploration stage. At this level, the information seeker has developed background information about the query, and understands where the information he or she is collecting fits within that context. During this stage, the researcher has more confidence in the direction of the information need.

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Collection

At this stage, the researcher has surveyed the resources that he or she selected, and narrowed down the information need. At this point, the researcher begins to organize the information (or resources) that he or she gathered and to work toward his or her own position on the topic. The researcher then develops his or her own position, and begins to argue that position within the context of the resources he or she has collected.

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Presentation

At this stage in the process, the researcher should have an answer. The presentation stage comes at the end, when the researcher is able to produce the results of his or her query and to share the results with other people if necessary. The presentation stage marks the end of the information seeking process.

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The "Berrypicking" Model

In addition to Kuhlthau, the work of Marcia Bates (1989) also explored information seeking behaviors. She argued that her model, referred to as “berrypicking,” was a more accurate reflection of information seeking behaviors. Berrypicking has four major points of departure from the traditional information seeking behaviors, which are:

 

•typical search queries are not static, but rather evolve

•searchers commonly gather information in bits and pieces instead of in one grand best retrieved set

•searchers use a wide variety of search techniques which extend beyond those commonly associated with bibliographic databases

•searchers use a wide variety of sources other than bibliographic databases (1989).

 

Bates argued that existing models of information behaviors were not realistic to the ways that people searched for information, and that the information need, and thus the search query, would evolve over time.

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Evidence

The first piece of evidence that I submit to demonstrate my mastery of this competency is a research paper that I wrote in INFO 200. For this project, we had to identify an information community, analyze it, and identify the information seeking behaviors within the community. For my project, I chose to focus on an online weight loss community called Sparkpeople. People visit this online community for information about health and weight loss. For these people, the information need may be how to lose weight, or improve their health. As they take part in the community, they will often go through many or all of the steps outlined above for the information seeking process. This piece of evidence demonstrates mastery by identifying members of the information community, and how they use Sparkpeople to seek out resources to fill their information need.

 

The second piece of evidence that I submit to demonstrate my mastery of this competency is another assignment that I completed for INFO 200. For this assignment, I had to identify two resources that were relevant to my information community - one of which is research based, and the other a community based resource. I had to compare the two resources and evaluate their scope, content, and place within the information seeking cycle. I also had to speculate as to which type of resource might be the most used, or the most useful to my information community. This piece of evidence demonstrates my mastery of this competency by showcasing my ability to evaluate the information needs of others and their thought process while seeking information.

 

The third piece of evidence that I submit to demonstrate my mastery of this competency is a blog post that I wrote about information seeking behaviors within my information community for INFO 200. For this post, I wrote about some of the challenges that members of my information community faced when searching for information, and how those challenges affected the information seeking process for these individuals. This blog post demonstrates my mastery by showing my ability to understand the challenges that people face when engaging in the information seeking process, and how those challenges could impact where and how seekers search for information.

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Conclusion

Information seeking is a complex process that can elicit several emotions throughout. People seeking information may at times feel overwhelmed, confused, relieved, or confident. Because of these conflicting emotions, it is important to keep service values in mind when assisting patrons with their information needs. Likewise, it is important to find out why the patron needs the particular information that they are searching for, so that you can assist them with finding resources appropriate to the information need. For example, an amateur bird watcher who comes in searching for information about birds in the area will have different information needs than a graduate student who is writing a thesis on a similar topic. Even though the information needs of these two individuals may be similar, the types of information seeking they conduct, and the resources that they consult will be different according to their information needs.

 

References:

Bates, M. J. (1989). "The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search Interface." Online Review 13(5): 407–424
 

Kuhlthau, C. C. (1991). Inside the search process: Information seeking from the user’s perspective. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42(5), 361-371.