Building on models of information behaviour: linking information seeking and communication

Purpose – This paper aims to gain insights from existing models of information behaviour, building on them to develop a new model which, unlike most others, encompasses both information seeking and communication. By identifying key factors affecting the successful communication and use of information, it is hoped that the model will be of practical value both to information providers and to users.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a literature search and analysis of well‐established models of information seeking and of communication, from which a new conceptual model is constructed.Findings – Existing models have elements in common, though most models in library and information science focus on information seeking and the information user, while those from the field of communications focus on the communicator and the communication process. A new model is proposed that includes key elements of existing models and takes into account not just the information seeker but also the communicator ...

[1]  Gabriel Dumouchel,et al.  Les compétences informationnelles des étudiants à l’heure du Web 2.0 : proposition d’un modèle pour baliser les formations , 2014 .

[2]  Dorothy Williams,et al.  Towards a conceptual framework for provider information behaviour , 2013, J. Documentation.

[3]  Brenda Dervin,et al.  Comparative Theory Reconceptualized: From Entities and States to Processes and Dynamics , 1991 .

[4]  Allen Foster,et al.  A non-linear model of information seeking behaviour , 2005, Inf. Res..

[5]  J. D. Johnson.  Cancer-Related Information Seeking , 1997 .

[6]  David Bawden,et al.  The Information Seeking Behaviour of Distance Learners: A Case Study of the University of London International Programmes , 2015 .

[7]  David Ellis,et al.  A Comparison of the Information seeking Patterns of researchers in the Physical and Social Sciences , 1993, J. Documentation.

[8]  Pertti Vakkari,et al.  Theory growth in information science: applications of the theory of science to a theory of information seeking , 1997, J. Documentation.

[9]  Amanda Spink,et al.  Human information behavior: Integrating diverse approaches and information use , 2006 .

[10]  T. D. Wilson,et al.  Information behaviour: an interdisciplinary perspective , 1997, Inf. Process. Manag..

[11]  Marc Rittberger,et al.  Knowledge generation in online forums: a case study in the German educational domain , 2015, Aslib J. Inf. Manag..

[12]  G. Zipf,et al.  Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort: An Introduction to Human Ecology. , 1949 .

[13]  Margaret Ann Wilkinson,et al.  Information Sources used by Lawyers in Problem Solving: An Empirical Exploration , 2001 .

[14]  Stanley J. Baran,et al.  Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment and Future , 1994 .

[15]  Carol Collier Kuhlthau,et al.  Information Search Process , 2005 .

[16]  K. Pettigrew,et al.  The Use of Theory in Information Science Research. , 2001 .

[17]  Martin Dawes,et al.  Knowledge management in clinical practice: a systematic review of information seeking behavior in physicians , 2003, Int. J. Medical Informatics.

[18]  Allen Foster,et al.  A nonlinear model of information-seeking behavior , 2004, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[19]  Peter Ingwersen,et al.  The Turn - Integration of Information Seeking and Retrieval in Context , 2005, The Kluwer International Series on Information Retrieval.

[20]  Ann Blandford,et al.  Using information behaviors to evaluate the functionality and usability of electronic resources: From Ellis's model to evaluation , 2008, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[21]  Yuen Ren Chao,et al.  Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort: An Introduction to Human Ecology , 1950 .

[22]  T. D. Wilson,et al.  On conceptual models for information seeking and retrieval research , 2003, Inf. Res..

[23]  Elfreda A. Chatman,et al.  Exploring the Contexts of Information Behaviour , 2001 .

[24]  David Ellis,et al.  A Behavioural Approach to Information Retrieval System Design , 1989, J. Documentation.

[25]  Natalya Godbold,et al.  Beyond information seeking: towards a general model of information behaviour , 2006, Inf. Res..

[26]  Birger Hjørland,et al.  Toward a New Horizon in Information Science: Domain-Analysis , 1995, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[27]  Carol Collier Kuhlthau,et al.  Information search process of lawyers: a call for 'just for me' information services , 2001, J. Documentation.

[28]  J. D. Johnson,et al.  A model for understanding and affecting cancer genetics information seeking , 2001 .

[29]  Brian Detlor,et al.  Information Seeking on the Web: An Integrated Model of Browsing and Searching , 2000, First Monday.

[30]  Soo Young Rieh,et al.  Credibility: A multidisciplinary framework , 2007, Annu. Rev. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[31]  Jette Hyldegård,et al.  Beyond the search process - Exploring group members' information behavior in context , 2009, Inf. Process. Manag..

[32]  Denis McQuail,et al.  Communication models for the study of mass communications , 1981 .

[33]  Jette Hyldegård,et al.  Collaborative information behaviour--exploring Kuhlthau's Information Search Process model in a group-based educational setting , 2006, Inf. Process. Manag..

[34]  P. Lazarsfeld,et al.  Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communications , 1956 .

[35]  H. C. Coumou,et al.  How do primary care physicians seek answers to clinical questions? A literature review. , 2006, Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA.

[36]  Lokman I. Meho,et al.  Modeling the information-seeking behavior of social scientists: Ellis's study revisited , 2003, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[37]  Barbara Niedzwiedzka,et al.  A proposed general model of information behaviour , 2003, Inf. Res..

[38]  Lishi Kwasitsu,et al.  Information-seeking behavior of design, process, and manufacturing engineers , 2003 .

[39]  Heidi Julien,et al.  Communicating research findings to library and information science practitioners: A study of ISIC papers from 1996 to 2006. , 2008 .

[40]  Gloria J. Leckie,et al.  Modeling the Information Seeking of Professionals: A General Model Derived from Research on Engineers, Health Care Professionals, and Lawyers , 1996, The Library Quarterly.

[41]  T. D. Wilson,et al.  Models in information behaviour research , 1999, J. Documentation.

[42]  D. Ellis.  Modeling the Information-Seeking Patterns of Academic Researchers: A Grounded Theory Approach , 1993, The Library Quarterly.

[43]  Crystal Fulton,et al.  Information seeking and students studying for professional careers: the cases of engineering and law students in Ireland , 2004, Inf. Res..

[44]  K. Davies,et al.  The information-seeking behaviour of doctors: a review of the evidence. , 2007, Health information and libraries journal.

[45]  David Ellis,et al.  Modelling the information seeking patterns of engineers and research scientists in an industrial environment , 1997, J. Documentation.

[46]  Carol Collier Kuhlthau.  Inside the Search Process: Information Seeking from the User's Perspective. , 1991 .

[47]  Sue Lacey Bryant,et al.  The information needs and information seeking behaviour of family doctors: a selective literature review , 2000 .

[48]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy. I: V. S. Ramachandran (red.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (vol. s. ). New York: Academic Press. , 1994 .

[49]  Carol Collier Kuhlthau,et al.  The Role of Experience in the Information Search Process of an Early Career Information Worker: Perceptions of Uncertainty, Complexity Construction, and Sources , 1999, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[50]  H. Lasswell.  The structure and function of communication in society , 2007 .

[51]  Marcia J. Bates,et al.  AN INTRODUCTION TO METATHEORIES, THEORIES, AND MODELS , 2009 .

[52]  Carol F. Landry,et al.  Work roles, tasks, and the information behavior of dentists , 2006 .

[53]  Beata Mrugalska,et al.  Identification of Preferred Sources of Information for Undertaking Studies in the Faculty of Engineering Management at Poznan University of Technology , 2015 .

[54]  Donald O. Case,et al.  Looking for Information , 2002 .

[55]  B. Dervin,et al.  Sense-Making Methodology Reader: Selected Writings of Brenda Dervin , 2003 .

[56]  P. Lazarsfeld,et al.  6. Katz, E. Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communications , 1956 .

[57]  Pertti Vakkari,et al.  Trends in ... a Critical Review: Growth of Theories on Information Seeking: An Analysis of Growth of a Theoretical Research Program on the Relation Between Task Complexity and Information Seeking , 1998, Inf. Process. Manag..

[58]  E. Rogers.  Diffusion of Innovations , 1962 .

[59]  T. D. Wilson,et al.  On user studies and information needs , 2006, J. Documentation.

[60]  Ann Blandford,et al.  Investigating the information-seeking behaviour of academic lawyers: From Ellis's model to design , 2008, Inf. Process. Manag..

[61]  Lyn Robinson,et al.  Information science: communication chain and domain analysis , 2009, J. Documentation.

[62]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. , 1977, Psychology Review.