The logic of questions and answers

Utilizing the model of information needs which focuses attention on reorientation and construction in addition to orientation, this study compared questioning behaviors toward a low versus high rel...

The Relationship of Information Needs to Issue Relevance and Media Use

The current research explores how intermediaries seek information from patrons, in particular by analyzing intermediaries' elicitation utterances through three dimensions--linguistic forms, utterance purposes, and communicative functions--to determine whether indeed any dimension appeared consistently, to be called "elicitation styles." Five intermediaries from four academic libraries (three national university libraries, one private university library) and one research institute library participated in the study. Thirty patrons with 30 genuine search requests were recruited; thus, 30 patron/intermediary information retrieval interactions making a total of 30 encounters were collected. Video/audio data were taped. Dialogues between patron and intermediary were transcribed. Statistical analysis revealed three types of elicitation styles among the five intermediaries, labeled, (1) situationally oriented, (2) functionally oriented, and (3) stereotyped. This study seeks an explanation for different elicitation styles. Qualitative analysis was applied to investigate "inquiring minds." An inquiring mind is termed to represent a mentality or tendency that one elicits certain threads of questions influenced by professional beliefs, individual characteristics, tasks, goals, and interactional contexts in conversation. The results of qualitative analysis specified three modes of inquiring minds of the intermediaries, namely: (1) information problem detection, (2) query formulation process, and (3) database instructions.

Intermediary's information seeking, inquiring minds, and elicitation styles

Libraries have experienced a great deal of change in communication networks and information technology. The Iranian academic libraries, like other libraries, attempted to adopt the new information technology. It should be realized that although new information technologies and electronic resources are collected on a large scale by academic libraries they are not always used in the same scale. There are some factors, which affect the rate of adoption of each new technology. Rogers in his theory introduced these factors in five categories as relative advantage, observability, trial- ability, complexity and compatibility. This paper investigates the effects of different features of electronic reference materials on the rate of their adoption. Results show that the most effective factors in adoption of electronic reference materials are the ability of electronic reference materials to facilitate information retrieval, shortening the time of searching and fair cost of resources. In addition, it seems that the ...

Adoption of electronic reference materials in academic libraries of Iran

Five types of information seeking expressions of users are identified by an analysis of a sample of such expressions and of analogous expressions in another social context. The treatment of these expressions in the literature of information retrieval iFive types of information seeking expressions of users are identified by an analysis of a sample of such expressions and of analogous expressions in another social context. The treatment of these expressions in the literature of information retrieval iFive types of information seeking expressions of users are identified by an analysis of a sample of such expressions and of analogous expressions in another social context. The treatment of these expressions in the literature of information retrieval iFive types of information seeking expressions of users are identified by an analysis of a sample of such expressions and of analogous expressions in another social context. The treatment of these expressions in the literature of information retrieval is reviewed. Two recommendations are offered: (1) information specialists should call questions “questions,” requests “requests,” statements “statements,” commands “commands,” and truncated expressions “truncated expressions,” and (2) both the search interview and the search itself should focus upon user questio requests “requests,” statements “statements,” commands “commands,” and truncated expressions “truncated expressions,” and (2) both the search interview and the search itself should requests “requests,” statements “statements,” commands “commands,” and truncated expressions “truncated expressions,” and (2) both the search interview and the search itself should requests “requests,” statements “statements,” commands “commands,” and truncated expressions “truncated expressions,” and (2) both the search interview and the search itself should focus upon user questions.

Information Seeking Expressions of Users.

A methodology is developed and applied to a data collection consisting of questions in order to discern the nature of the cognitive need “to know”: the information need. The experimental design for the generation and formulation of questions was achieved by means of a “closed” problem situation. A “closed” problem situation has within it sufficient and available data with which to reach solution of said problem. The question is an observable behavioral act which reflects information need. Because it is a hypothetical construct, information need had to be operationalized indirectly via the question as the dependent variable and the data input as the independent variable. The varying of this independent variable was achieved by partitioning the “closed” problem. Two experimental hypotheses guided this methodology for a “closed” problem situation: H1 where the number of questions generated varies directly as the Information need varies, and H2 where the number of questions generated varies inversely as the data input varies. The results of the statistical analysis supported the indicated trend to decreasing questioning activity as the data input rose. The results of the linguistic analysis revealed a consistent question formulation pattern between the two “closed” problems. Thus it follows in theory that the nature of information need can be discerned indirectly through question generation and formulation.

Esther E. Home

Papers

Question Generation and Formulation: An Indication of Information Need.