A Beginner’s Guide to Information Science
This article is a small exploration of information science. I do this by comparing and contrasting three user-centric views from information science literature. These are Brenda Devin’s sense-making framework, Carol Kuhlthau’s information-seeking process and Nicholas Belkin’s
anomalous states-of- knowledge approach. I then go on to explain the implications that these approaches have upon research, their implications for professional practice; as well as issues that arise for information provision and research.
By studying the outcomes of these user-centric frameworks we can nurture and develop new approaches to research. We are then able to move beyond our existing outlooks and gain a more holistic insight into individual and collective sense-making abilities.
What is information?
Simply put, information is a set of symbols that act to reduce uncertainty and acts to modify a person’s knowledge state; which in turn assists in decision-making (Faibisoff & Ely 1974). Information can be just a random collection of data which, often does not become information until it is used by someone to achieve a specific purpose (Faibisoff & Ely 1974).
As Brenda Dervin puts it, information holds variable and constantly changing versions of reality. Dervin also posits that information is something more fundamental than ephemeral messages or meanings. Information must be instructive about the nature of reality; it must point to what is real, and therefore it must reduce the uncertainty in reality (Taljia 1997).
What is an information need?
An information need is a situation in which there is an inseparable interconnection with information and need. Information originates because there exists a need. The most renowned models of information seeking and information behaviour; some of which I discuss in the following report, follow a common trend. That is, there is a recognition that an information gap is seen as setting off active information seeking; this active seeking continues until either the gap is closed or the seeker abandons the search altogether (Olsson 2009).
Dervin created a three-part model of the essences of information needs. The model is called SITUATION-GAP- USE. The sense-maker is stopped in a situation. Movement is prevented by some kind of gap. The sense-maker is then seen as potentially making some kind of use of whatever bridge
is built across the gap that the user faces (Dervin & Nilan 1986).
Who is a user?
The person who is actively seeking access to information and who when successful, obtains and uses the information is described as a user. In order to address the user’s problem and to promote communication between a system and the user, an image or model of the user is needed as well as an image or model of the texts represented in the system (Kuhlthau 1991). Any study of users should aim to reveal characteristics, information needs, behaviour, attitudes, opinions, priorities, preferences and evaluation of users (Prassad 2000).
Implications for research
Information handling activities should be based on the needs of the users. In response to this institutions are now creating programs which will extend services to those subgroups of the community which have not been adequately served. The user categories have different needs for information depending upon their functions, responsibilities and duties. The matching of information needs to sources of information has to be based on the careful assessment of information needs.
User-centred paradigms
With the rise to prominence of the user-centred paradigm (Dervin & Nilan 1986), information researchers, particularly those associated with the emergent discipline of information behaviour research, have claimed to have moved beyond the prevailing systems-centric worldview to a more holistic approach based on understanding the needs of the information seeker (Olsson 2010).
Brenda Dervin: Sense-making
Simply put, sense-making is the process in which meaning is given to an experience. It aids people in constructing sense in life in a state of constant changes. Information from various sources is synthesised into what is already known through a series of choices (Kuhlthau, Heinström & Todd 2008).
Dervin emphasises that uncertainty, knowledge gaps, lack of understanding and limited constructs are part of our information world (Taljia 1997). Sense-making can be utilised in order to describe information needs and uses of people in diverse contexts (Dervin & Nilan 1986).
Sense-making consists of a set of conceptual and theoretical premises; and a set of interrelated methodologies for assessing how people make sense of their environments; as well as how they use information and other resources in the process (Dervin & Nilan 1986). Sense-making is explicitly both qualitative and quantitative in nature (Dervin 1992). It consists of
open-ended responses to questions and can be constructed as case studies, records or interactions with messages (Dervin 1992). The intent of the sense-making approach is to yield data that can be useful for information practice (Dervin & Nilan 1986).
Carol Kuhlthau: The Information-Seeking Process
Carol Kuhlthau describes the information-seeking process as user’s constructive activity of finding meaning from information in order to extend their state of knowledge on a particular topic (Kuhlthau, Heinström & Todd 2008). As with sense-making it is caused by uncertainty due to a lack of
understanding, a gap in meaning or a limited construct (Taljia 1997).
Kuhlthau’s information search process model is used in order to develop practice in many various contexts including education, work and everyday information seeking (Kuhlthau, Heinström & Todd 2008). It has been employed as a means for educators to recognise critical moments when instructional interventions are essential in students’ information-to- knowledge experiences (Kuhlthau, Heinström & Todd 2008).
The reception of information is mediated by a person’s existing knowledge state and knowledge structures. Information is something that an individual has actively generated, and something that another individual may choose to internalise. When information is perceived and received it works to transform the recipient’s state of knowledge (Taljia 1997). The information search process model was ground-breaking in its emphasis on the interrelationship
of cognitive, affective and physical dimensions of information seeking; as well as identifying circumstances in how the search process can often create and causes anxiety and uncertainty in users (Kuhlthau, Heinström & Todd 2008). Kuhlthau (2008) found that in more complex information seeking situations, feelings of uncertainty commonly increased in the process of information seeking before diminishing with focus formulation and construction in later stages. This increase in uncertainty is frequently unexpected and caused apprehension and confusion in some information searchers to the point of obstructing the task (Kuhlthau, Heinström & Todd 2008).
The information search process culminates in an enhanced understanding or a solution which may be presented and shared with others. Evidence of the transformation of information into meaning is present in the way in which users share their new found knowledge with others (Kuhlthau 1991).
Nicholas Belkin: Anomalous States-of- Knowledge Approach
Nicholas Belkin has emphasised that we should study large-scale social knowledge structures in order to understand how and why people seek information. Belkin’s anomalous states-of- knowledge approach starts with a situation in which someone with a problem needs help from some kind of information system. Belkin explains how that approach doesn’t necessarily focus on information needs but on people in problematic situations with views of the situations that are incomplete or limited in some way. In this context users are viewed as being in an anomalous state of knowledge; in which it is difficult to speak of or even recognise what is incorrect or incomplete. Because a user may face gaps, lacks, uncertainties and/or incoherencies, they are seen as being unable to specify what is needed to resolve the anomalies (Dervin & Nilan 1986).
Implications for Professional Practice
There is little doubt that the user-centred approach to studying information behaviour has dominated the literature and has greatly influenced the design and management of contemporary information systems (Pettigrew, Fidel & Bruce 2001). Information systems and the people who manage them have traditionally been driven by a bibliographic-paradigm centred on collecting and classifying texts; and devising search strategies for their retrieval (Kuhlthau 1991). The challenge now is to design information systems which enable people to move from uncertainty to understanding with the least amount of effort (Taljia 1997).
Researchers should not assume that all information problems can be solved by simply just improving access to information (Taljia 1997). Institutions need to be aware of the need to introduce better systems or lose their trust and credibility (Faibisoff & Ely 1974). Success is more likely to be achieved by ensuring that the system has a responsive design; and that it is orientated towards solving the specific needs of individuals; rather than trying to match the output of other information services (Dervin & Nilan 1986). Dervin (1992) applied sense-making to study the everyday information needs of average citizens and to apply the findings to public library services. Dervin points out that the underlying assumption that drives current studies is that there is a need for a far more complex treatment of issues than has been called for in the past, and in particular, for research which examines the issue from the perspectives of those being accused as the source of the problem. The example that Dervin gives is expectant mothers who are addicts.
Typically institutions stigmatise, criminalise and even threaten addicted mothers based on prevailing statistical data regarding physical effects (Dervin 1992). Campaigns are then removed from their political, economic and/or social context; ignoring issues relating to institutions, policy making, work
and social environments, communities, and family contexts. They then tend to use too much technical jargon (Dervin 1992). Whether delivered via mediated or interpersonal channels, campaigns are often costly and usually fail to deliver an adequate response (Dervin 1992). Sense-making has called for a revision in the processes of conducting awareness campaigns; as well
the audience research in the formative stages of campaign development (Dervin 1992). Existing approaches have traditionally focused on correcting deficiencies in the intended audience. Such campaigns emphasised transmission of (what was assumed to be) objective information through the use of persuasive communication techniques. Institutions control the content and frequency of the public awareness messages, assign blame for the problem at the individual level, and direct the institution’s resources to its own agenda for change (Dervin 1992). In effect communication campaigns proceed without regard for the host of complex factors in the campaign situation (Dervin 1992).
Issues that Arise for Information Provision and Research
The behaviour which delivers the highest information satisfaction is the best. The ultimate aim of any information system should be to deliver the information which can precisely matched to the information requirements of a user.
There exists a strong desire for concepts and performance to be measurable; and for theories to be testable. Sense-making is viewed as a working concept that enables us to investigate and bridge the gap between people and institutions. Any new information product or system should be matched with the user needs. The system has to direct the supply of information more specifically towards the identified category of users and adapt the information services infrastructure to the abilities of its users. The education of users of information systems is becoming more important with each technological
advance. Merely devising better means for orienting people to sources and technology does not adequately address the issue of uncertainty and anxiety in the information seeking process (Kuhlthau 1991).
The ultimate aim of the prevailing user-centred literature is to help design, alter, evaluate and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of information systems and their services in meeting their predetermined goals (Prassad 2000).
Conclusion
To serve information users better, information needs must be the central focus of any information system operation. It should be clear that the success of an information service is more likely to be achieved by adjusting the services to meet the specific needs of individuals; rather than trying to adapt the individual user to match the wholesale output of an information system (Prassad 2000). Novel interpretative frameworks develop as a synthesis of prior frameworks. Established perspectives do not disappear with the appearance of new ones. Each field of knowledge consists of several competing discourses, based on incompatible and contradictory assumptions (Taljia 1997).
Kuhlthau’s information searching process model is not only valuable as a theoretical construct for examining information behaviour, but also serves as a diagnostic tool for intervention in different information seeking contexts (Kuhlthau 1991). Dervin and Nilan (1986) propose that the fundamental understandings can be summarised in four propositions:
- Information systems could serve users better and increase their utility to their clients and be more accountable to them.
- To serve the clientele better, user needs and uses must become a central focus of system operation.
- Serving clientele better may require implementation of a system redesign mandate.
- Information systems have not capitalised on technology to help them serve clientele better.
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing both information researchers and practitioners today is that of acknowledging this complexity. Developing new approaches to research that move beyond a narrow framework allow us to gain a more holistic insight into a user’s individual and collective sense-
making abilities. From these insights may emerge new ideas about what it means to be an information professional and information user in the 21st century (and beyond) (Olsson 2009).
