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21 – 30 of over 303000Current research methodologies in the field of information science employ induction or deduction, ignoring the third fundamental mode of cognition, retroduction. This paper seeks…
Abstract
Purpose
Current research methodologies in the field of information science employ induction or deduction, ignoring the third fundamental mode of cognition, retroduction. This paper seeks to introduce the Retroductive Recognition of Absence (RRA) methodology that expands inquiry from its current inductive and deductive bases to include the intuition‐based retroduction/abduction of Charles Sanders Peirce.
Design/methodology/approach
In brief, RRA consists of an iterative performance, of its nine‐step heuristic, with each iteration narrowing the scope of the research, while increasing the depth of examination. The nine steps are: perceive a phenomenon leading to surprise; perform the fundamental and primary retroduction; synthesize the phenomenon into a hypothesis; bracket intuitive prejudices; immerse in the data; conceptualize; hypothesize; select the hypothesis most efficient to test; and test the hypothesis. The iterations continue until the researcher reaches a hypothesis testable by inductive or deductive methods. This RRA methodology incorporates a “definition heuristic” that defines any previously undefined concept, a heuristic based on Spradley and McCurdy's classification of definitions.
Findings
A study of Compelled Nonuse of Information (CNI) demonstrated the usefulness of RRA in the study of phenomena from an initial “hunch” to a testable hypothesis. As such, the RRA methodology decreases subjectivity and imparts rigor to the study of absent or newly emergent phenomena that have no theoretical basis, no data, and no pre‐existing, coherent body of literature.
Originality/value
This paper presents the philosophy and practice of the RRA methodology and the retroductive philosophical inquiry postulated by Peirce.
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What kind of knowledge is needed by information specialists working in a specific subject field like medicine, sociology or music? What approaches have been used in information…
Abstract
What kind of knowledge is needed by information specialists working in a specific subject field like medicine, sociology or music? What approaches have been used in information science to produce kinds of domain‐specific knowledge? This article presents 11 approaches to domain analysis. Together these approaches make a unique competence for information specialists. The approaches are: producing literature guides and subject gateways; producing special classifications and thesauri; research on indexing and retrieving specialities; empirical user studies; bibliometrical studies; historical studies; document and genre studies; epistemological and critical studies; terminological studies, LSP (languages for special purposes), discourse studies; studies of structures and institutions in scientific communication; and domain analysis in professional cognition and artificial intelligence. Specific examples and selective reviews of literature are provided, and the strengths and drawbacks of each of these approaches are discussed.
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To explore information behavior from a psychological perspective by relating information seeking to personality traits and study approaches.
Abstract
Purpose
To explore information behavior from a psychological perspective by relating information seeking to personality traits and study approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design was quantitative and consisted of statistical analysis of three questionnaires, i.e. the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory measuring personality, the ASSIST test measuring approaches to studying, and a questionnaire regarding information behavior. A total of 305 university students who were in the process of writing a Master's thesis responded to the questionnaires.
Findings
Three information‐seeking patterns – fast surfing, broad scanning and deep diving – emerged from the statistical analyses. Fast surfing could be related to a surface study approach and emotionality, as well as to low openness to experience and low conscientiousness. Broad scanning was linked to extraversion, openness, and competitiveness, whereas deep diving was a search pattern typical of analytical students with a deep and strategic study approach.
Research limitations/implications
The results are based on descriptions of behaviour, not actual observations. Although the statistical results were significant, generalisable conclusions would have required more convincing figures. Further research is recommended in order to explore the three search styles in other populations and contexts.
Originality/value
Information‐seeking behaviour has not previously been studied in relation to the five‐factor model, which is regarded as the most modern personality theory to date. Understanding of the psychological reasons behind different information‐seeking styles is important for a holistic view of information behavior. These insights are valuable for researchers interested in user behavior as well as for practitioners like teachers and information professionals.
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Faraja Ndumbaro and Stephen Mutula
This paper aims to present results of a study which examined students’ collaborative information behavior (CIB) in comparison with behavioral patterns illustrated in Wilson’s…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present results of a study which examined students’ collaborative information behavior (CIB) in comparison with behavioral patterns illustrated in Wilson’s (1996) model of information behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of six groups of undergraduate students; four from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and two from Ardhi University (ARU) were purposively selected. Data were collected using semi participant observation, critical incident interviews and focus group discussion methods.
Findings
Results indicate that students’ CIB is mainly shaped by collaborative learning environment, learning tasks objectives and requirements. Despite its wider applicability in different domains and contexts, Wilson’s (1996) model is partially appropriate in modeling students’ group-based learning information behavioral activities. Person(s) in context and active and passive information seeking are aspects of the model which are observed to be relevant in students’ CIB.
Practical implications
The study has implications on teaching and learning practices in higher learning institutions.
Originality/value
The study provides new insights on how students exhibit different information behavioral patterns during collaborative learning. The study fills a gap on how solitary models of information behavior can be used to model students’ information behavior in team-based learning.
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Carol Sabbar and Iris Xie
The purpose of this paper is to specifically investigate information seeking strategies that are used by scholars in the USA conducting research in languages other than English…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to specifically investigate information seeking strategies that are used by scholars in the USA conducting research in languages other than English and the types of shifts that scholars make between strategies in planned, disruptive, and problematic situations.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews and research diaries were employed to gather information from 16 subjects using seven different languages across seven disciplines. Grounded theory and the constant comparative method were used to analyze types of strategies and types of shifts between strategies.
Findings
This study identified four formal system strategies, seven informal resource strategies, four interactive human strategies, and one hybrid strategy. Subjects in the study selected informal resource and interactive human strategies more often as initial strategies while informal resource strategies are used as final strategies. Moreover, the findings presented a variety of shifts between strategies in planned, disruptive, and problematic situations.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, this study introduces a new conceptual model – the information triangle – which facilitates the classification of strategies used by scholars throughout an information seeking task as well as the characterization of the shifts between strategies. Practically, this paper discusses implications for system designers, publishers, and support providers to better meet the needs of this specific group. A primary limitation is related to isolating the variables of language, culture, and geography from other possible factors such as domain knowledge, system knowledge, or limitations of the systems being used.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in current research in relation to how language plays a role in the selection of and shifts between information seeking strategies used by scholars who rely on sources that are not in English.
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Miamaria Saastamoinen and Kalervo Järvelin
The purpose of this paper is to investigate information retrieval (IR) in the context of authentic work tasks (WTs), as compared to traditional experimental IR study designs.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate information retrieval (IR) in the context of authentic work tasks (WTs), as compared to traditional experimental IR study designs.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants were 22 professionals working in municipal administration, university research and education, and commercial companies. The data comprise 286 WTs and 420 search tasks (STs). The data were collected in natural situations. It includes transaction logs, video recordings, interviews, observation, and daily questionnaires.
Findings
The analysis included the effects of WT type and complexity on the number of STs, queries, search keys and types of queries. The findings suggest that simple STs are enough to support most WTs. Complex WTs (vs more simple ones) and intellectual WTs (vs communication, support and editing WTs) include more STs than other WT categories.
Research limitations/implications
Further research should address the problems related to controllability of field studies and enhance the use of realistic WT situations in test-based studies, as well.
Originality/value
The study is an attempt to bring traditional IR studies and realistic research settings closer to each other. Using authentic WTs when studying IR is still rare. The representativeness of the WT/ST types used in interactive IR experiments should be carefully addressed: in the work flow, people seldom consciously recognise separate “STs”. This means that STs may mainly be an academic construct even to the point that studying IR without a decent context does violence to the further understanding of the phenomenon.
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Karen Tølbøl Sigaard and Mette Skov
The purpose of this paper is to operationalise and verify a cognitive motivation model that has been adapted to information seeking. The original model was presented within the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to operationalise and verify a cognitive motivation model that has been adapted to information seeking. The original model was presented within the field of psychology.
Design/methodology/approach
An operationalisation of the model is presented based on the theory of expectancy-value and on the operationalisation used when the model was first developed. Data for the analysis were collected from a sample of seven informants working as consultants in Danish municipalities. Each participant filled out a questionnaire, kept a log book for a week and participated in a subsequent interview to elicit data regarding their information source behaviour and task motivation.
Findings
Motivation affected source use when the informants search for information as part of their professional life. This meant that the number of sources used and the preference for interpersonal and internal sources increased when the task had high-value motivation or low-expectancy motivation or both.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on a relatively small sample and considers only one motivation theory. This should be addressed in future research along with a broadening of the studied group to involve other professions than municipality consultants.
Originality/value
Motivational theories from the field of psychology have been used sparsely in studies of information seeking. This study operationalises and verifies such a theory based on a theoretical adaptation of this model made by Savolainen (2012c).
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Allen Edward Foster and David Ellis
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of serendipity and approaches to its study particularly in relation to information studies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of serendipity and approaches to its study particularly in relation to information studies.
Design/methodology/approach
The origins of the term serendipity are described and its elaboration as an exploratory and explanatory concept in science and the social sciences are outlined. The distinction between serendipity and serendipity pattern is explained and theoretical and empirical studies of both serendipity and the serendipity patterns are explored. The relationship between information encountering is described. Empirical studies of serendipity using Citation Classics and other research approaches in information studies are described.
Findings
The discrepancy between occurrences of serendipity in studies using Citation Classics and reported serendipity in philosophy of science, research anecdotes, information encountering and information seeking by inter-disciplinary researchers is highlighted. A comparison between a process model of serendipity and serendipity as an emergent behavioural characteristic are indicates directions for future research.
Originality/value
The paper provides and original synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature on serendipity with particular reference to work in information studies and an indication of the methodological difficulties involved in its study.
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Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering
– The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Design/methodology/approach
Introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.
Findings
Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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Jannica Heinström, Eero Sormunen and Sarita Kaunisto-Laine
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of personality (intellectual curiosity, conscientiousness and negative emotionality) and approach to studying (deep, strategic and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of personality (intellectual curiosity, conscientiousness and negative emotionality) and approach to studying (deep, strategic and surface) on students’ learning-related information behaviour in inquiry tasks.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 219 senior high school students with the use of three questionnaires.
Findings
The findings showed that students’ individual traits influenced different aspects of their learning-related information behaviour from information need to information use.
Research limitations/implications
The results were based on survey data. Reliability issues with the scales are discussed. In future research qualitative data would enrich the understanding of the phenomena.
Practical implications
The results are informative for teachers and librarians who guide students in inquiry tasks.
Originality/value
The study spanned learning-related information behaviour across the whole inquiry process: from task construction through task performance to task completion. The findings showed that individual traits were particularly influential at the task completion stage, that is on information use.
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