Sanda Erdelez

Bio: Sanda Erdelez is an academic researcher from Simmons College. The author has contributed to research in topics: Information behavior & Information seeking. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 85 publications receiving 1494 citations. Previous affiliations of Sanda Erdelez include University of Missouri & University of Texas at Austin.

Theories of information behavior

Abstract: Library and information science research has, in the past, been described as being, to a large extent, “atheoretical”[1]. This substantial tome demonstrates that this can no longer be said of information behaviour research, and that a formal theoretical base is being established in this area. For the first time, most of the significant conceptual frameworks and theoretical developments in information behaviour research are drawn together and presented in a single volume. This new edited book, organised in two parts, is a collection of three introductory chapters, followed by 72 shorter chapters or overviews of many of the concepts, models, and theories relating to information behaviour that have emerged in recent years (each, on average, about five pages long). While most of the theories presented in the book have emerged during the last 25 years, there are a small number that pre-date the 1980s that are also included, for example, Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (by McKechnie), that was developed by Vygotsky, a Soviet psychologist, in the 1920s and 1930s but not translated into English for a further 30 years; Zipf’s Principle of Least Effort (by Case), from 1949; and Taylor’s Information Use Environments (by Palmquist), developed in the 1960s. The idea for this book arose from the 2003 Research Symposium of the Special Interest Group on Information Needs, Seeking, and Use a(SIG USE) of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, which focused on theoretical frameworks of information behaviour. Theories of Information Behavior is dedicated to the late Elfreda Chatman, with the proceeds going to support the activities of ASIS&T SIG USE. There are contributions from more than eighty scholars, most of whom are internationally known information behaviour researchers. In a number of cases, the person writing about a particular theory or model is the same individual that developed it. In their preface to the collection, the editors state that the aim of the book is to “facilitate theory building and use” (p. xix) in information behaviour research. They describe the book as a “researcher’s guide, a practical overview of both well-established and newly proposed conceptual frameworks that one may use to study different aspects of information behavior.” (p. xx). The first part of the book comprises of three chapters, which collectively establish an intellectual and theoretical context for the rest of the book, which comprises of JDOC 62,3

Investigation of information encountering in the controlled research environment

Abstract: Experimental research of opportunistic acquisition of information (OAI) is difficult to design due to the overall opacity of OAI to both the information users and to the researchers. Information encountering (IE) is a specific type of OAI where during search for information on one topic information users accidentally come across information related to some other topic of interest. Building on our prior descriptive investigation of IE, we developed a conceptual framework that explains IE as stopping of information seeking activities for a foreground problem due to noticing, examining, and capturing of information related to some background problem. With objective to evoke IE in users' information behavior and record users' actions during an IE episode, we created a controlled laboratory situation, intended to trigger participants' experience of IE during an information retrieval task. We report about the methodological challenges experienced in this effort and share lessons learned for future experimental studies of opportunistic acquisition of information.

Incidental Exposure to Online News

Abstract: News readership is shifting to the Internet because of accessibility, inexpensive technology, and free content. The prevalence of news on the Web provides opportunities for people to come across news in an incidental way as a byproduct of their online activities. This paper presents findings related to incidental exposure to online news from a study on information behavior of news readers. Erdelez's (2004) Information Encountering model guided the mixed method study, which consisted of two phases. The first phase involved the analysis of a web survey with 148 participants recruited through the website of a local newspaper. Respondents who demonstrated an awareness of their incidental exposure to online news were selected for the second phase. In the second, qualitative phase, the researcher interviewed 20 respondents using critical incident, explication interview, and think-aloud techniques. This paper presents findings from the second phase focusing on four main areas: the respondents' perception of incidental exposure to online news, the frequency of these experiences, the characteristics of the environment where they take place, and the respondents' feelings associated with this behavior. The study indicates that incidental exposure to online news is becoming a major way for some respondents to get informed about news events. Respondents' perceptions of incidental exposure to online news are grouped into three contexts: news reading, non-news reading, and Internet in general. The majority of respondents stated that they have positive feelings about incidental exposure to online news.

Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information Seeking, Needs and Behavior

Abstract: Abbreviated Contents Figures and Tables Preface Introduction and Examples Concepts Relevant to Information Behavior Models, Paradigms, and Theories in the Study of Information Behavior Methods for Studying Information Behavior Research Results and Reflections Appendix: Glossary Appendix: Questions for Discussion and Application References Index

教育中的建构主义 = Constructivism in Education

Abstract: Contents: J. Gale, Preface. Part I:Radical Constructivism and Social Constructionism. E. von Glasersfeld, A Constructivist Approach to Teaching. K.J. Gergen, Social Construction and the Educational Process. J. Shotter, In Dialogue: Social Constructionism and Radical Constructivism. J. Richards, Construct[ion/iv]ism: Pick One of the Above. Part II:Information-Processing Constructivism and Cybernetic Systems. F. Steier, From Universing to Conversing: An Ecological Constructionist Approach to Learning and Multiple Description. R.J. Spiro, P.J. Feltovich, M.J. Jacobson, R.L. Coulson, Cognitive Flexibility, Constructivism, and Hypertext: Random Access Instruction for Advanced Knowledge Acquisition in Ill-Structured Domains. K. Tomm, Response to Chapters by Spiro et al. and Steier. P.W. Thompson, Constructivism, Cybernetics, and Information Processing: Implications for Technologies of Research on Learning. Part III:Social Constructivism and Sociocultural Approaches. H. Bauersfeld, The Structuring of the Structures: Development and Function of Mathematizing as a Social Practice. J.V. Wertsch, C. Toma, Discourse and Learning in the Classroom: A Sociocultural Approach. C. Konold, Social and Cultural Dimensions of Knowledge and Classroom Teaching. J. Confrey, How Compatible Are Radical Constructivism, Sociocultural Approaches, and Social Constructivism? Analysis and Synthesis I: Alternative Epistemologies. M.H. Bickhard, World Mirroring Versus World Making: There's Gotta Be a Better Way. Part IV:Alternative Epistemologies in Language, Mathematics, and Science Education. R. Duit, The Constructivist View: A Fashionable and Fruitful Paradigm for Science Education Research and Practice. G.B. Saxe, From the Field to the Classroom: Studies in Mathematical Understanding. N.N. Spivey, Written Discourse: A Constructivist Perspective. T. Wood, From Alternative Epistemologies to Practice in Education: Rethinking What It Means to Teach and Learn. E. Ackermann, Construction and Transference of Meaning Through Form. D. Rubin, Constructivism, Sexual Harassment, and Presupposition: A (Very) Loose Response to Duit, Saxe, and Spivey. Part V:Alternative Epistemologies in Clinical, Mathematics, and Science Education. E. von Glasersfeld, Sensory Experience, Abstraction, and Teaching. R. Driver, Constructivist Approaches to Science Teaching. T. Wood, P. Cobb, E. Yackel, Reflections on Learning and Teaching Mathematics in Elementary School. P. Lewin, The Social Already Inhabits the Epistemic: A Discussion of Driver Wood, Cobb, and Yackel and von Glasersfeld. J. Becker, M. Varelas, Assisting Construction: The Role of the Teacher in Assisting the Learner's Construction of Preexisting Cultural Knowledge. E.H. Auerswald, Shifting Paradigms: A Self-Reflective Critique. Analysis and Synthesis II: Epsitemologies in Education. P. Ernest, The One and the Many. Analysis and Synthesis III: Retrospective Comments and Future Prospects. L.P. Steffe, Alternative Epistemologies: An Educator's Perspective. J. Gale, Epilogue.