VOL. 21 NO. 3, SEPTEMBER, 2016
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Elaborating the conceptual space of information-seeking
phenomena
Reijo Savolainen.
Abstract
Introduction. The article contributes to conceptual studies of
information behaviour research by examining the conceptualisations
of information seeking and related terms such as information search
and browsing.
Method. The study builds on Bates' integrated model of information
seeking and searching, originally presented in 2002. The model was
slightly elaborated, resulting in the identification of four main modes
of information seeking: (i) active seeking and searching, (ii)
browsing and scanning, (iii) passive monitoring, and (iv) incidental
acquisition of information. The study draws on the conceptual
analysis of fifty-two key articles or books characterizing the
constituents of the above modes.
Results. The main activities constituting active seeking and
searching are the identification, selection, location and accessing of
information. The mode of browsing and scanning is based on the
selection and sampling of information sources. The core activity of
passive monitoring is the recognition of potentially relevant sources,
while the mode of incidental acquisition of information is based on
passive reception of information in certain events or situations.
Conclusions. Information seeking is a multifaceted phenomenon,
the research of which has led to conceptual multiplicity. The present
study helps to create an overview of the multiple viewpoints by
specifying the conceptual space of information seeking phenomena.
Introduction
Traditionally, information seeking is understood as a process
through which an individual resolves an information need.
Since the 1960s, the features of information seeking have been
characterized in numerous models of information behaviour
(for an overview, see Case, 2012
, pp. 139-162). Despite these
change font
efforts, however, there is no consensus among researchers
about the definition of information seeking or closely related
activities such as information search and browsing. Instead,
there is a host of constructs like active search, information
encountering, keyword searching, monitoring, and non-
directed scanning (Davies and Williams, 2013
, p. 549). While
conceptual multiplicity may signify the dynamic nature of a
research field, the existence of multiple constructs has a
downside. To rephrase Dervin, it manifests itself in an
increasing chaos and overload 'which plague researchers
within and between fields'. Because of this, researchers are
'drowning in concepts, variables, methods, theories; and in an
avalanche of contradictory findings' (Dervin, 2003
).
The above problem is exacerbated by the scarcity of conceptual
analysis in library and information science. This issue is not
new. For example, Vakkari (1997
, p. 460) expressed concern at
library and information science researchers' ways of using
central concepts like information seeking and information use
as primitive concepts; a practice that creates the impression
that most researchers take their meaning as given. The problem
is rendered more difficult by the fact that researchers often use
concepts such as information seeking and information search
interchangeably, without due explanation or demarcation. The
terminological issues have also been blurred by the growing
popularity of the networked sources. Case (2006
, p. 315)
pointed out that previously, investigations focusing on
searching electronic resources were not called 'information
seeking' studies; they were, rather, a subtopic within other
research areas: information retrieval, online searching or
human–computer interaction. Currently, Web searching has
occupied a central role in information seeking in diverse
contexts such as studying (Lee, Paik and Joo, 2012
) and health
(Tennant
et al., 2015). With these developments, information
seeking tends to be associated with Web searching in particular,
thus blurring the terminology of information behaviour
research.
The present study makes an attempt to add conceptual clarity
by scrutinising how researchers have approached information
seeking and related constructs as forms of human activity. To
this end, a conceptual analysis was made by drawing on the
integrated model for information seeking and searching
developed by Bates (2002b
). She identified four fundamental
modes by which people come into contact with information:
searching, browsing, monitoring and being aware. The present
study elaborates these categories, with the intent of specifying
the picture of information seeking. The main contribution of the
article is the elaboration of the conceptual space of information
seeking phenomena by specifying the constitutive categories of
this activity.
This paper is structured as follows. To give background, key
terms such as information, seeking, search, information seeking
and information search are first characterised on a general level,
followed by the specification of the research setting. The
findings are then reported by focusing on the conceptualizations
of four key modes of information seeking: (i) active seeking and
searching, (ii) browsing and scanning, (iii) passive monitoring
and (iv) incidental acquisition of information. The final sections
discuss the findings and draw conclusions regarding their
significance.
Terminological issues
Information
Information seeking is a compound noun whose elements are
subject to multiple meanings. The former element, i.e.,
information, is a notoriously vague concept. Schrader (1986
, p.
179) identified no less than 134 nuances in the characterisations
of information developed in information science alone. More
recently, Bates (2010a
) provided an authoritative overview of
the multiple meanings of information. First, information may be
conceived of as a process of being informed, similar to
Buckland's (1991
) view on information-as-a-process. Second,
information can be defined as a claim about the world, a
proposition. Information denotes an abstract, meaningful
representation of determinations which have been made of
objects. Third, social definitions emphasise that information is a
socially constructed human artefact within social situations.
Fourth, structural definitions propose that the structuring and
organizing of information contains its own information, and is
therefore likewise informative. Bates's (2010a
, p. 2356) own
definition of information draws on the structural viewpoint:
'information is the pattern of organization of matter and
energy'. Information is not identical to the physical material
that composes it; rather information is the pattern of
organization of that material, not the material itself.
The multiplicity of the above viewpoints suggests that the
understanding of the core concept of information remains a
highly contested area. Case (2012
, pp. 69-70) concluded that
defining information in an absolute sense is not necessary for
the study of information behaviour. It is more productive to
treat information as a primitive term, without needing a full
explication. From this perspective, information is a
phenomenon that can be recognised when we see it in its
various forms or modes, for example, as a message, proposition,
or a socially constructed human artefact. The present study
adopts the broad approach proposed by Case. This view is
preferred, because understanding information as a primitive
concept does not unnecessarily restrict the analysis of the ways
in which this entity, however vague, is sought, searched,
acquired or encountered, for example. To this end, the present
study brackets the diverse meanings of information while
scrutinising the nature of information seeking; the analysis will
be focused on the latter element of the compound noun.
Seek, search or acquire?
The exact characterisation of information seeking and related
activities such as information search and information
acquisition is difficult because they are subject to diverse
interpretations. According to a dictionary definition, the verb
seek means, for example, 'to go in search of, to look for, to try
to discover, to ask for, to try, to acquire or gain, or to make an
attempt' (Seek, 2016
). Overall, seek and seeking suggest an
active and intentional pursuit of an object. Search is a closely
related verb with diverse meanings such as, 'to look into
thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something; to
examine in seeking something; to check, to uncover, find, or
come to know by inquiry or scrutiny' (Search, 2016
). Further,
the verb acquire refers to activities such as to get (something),
to come to own (something), and to gain (something), usually
by one's own effort (Acquire, 2016
). Overall, the above three
verbs are closely related, even though there are nuances
between them. Seek and search refer to one's attempts to find or
get something. Such hunting attempts may succeed or fail; what
is sought may be found or remain unfound. Acquire refers more
strongly to how something that is sought can also be captured or
received into possession.
Information seeking
Researchers in diverse fields such as communication science
(Ramirez, Walther, Burgoon and Sunnafrank, 2002
), consumer
research (Bettman, Luce and Payne, 1998
), health studies
(Johnson and Case, 2012
) and information science (Wilson,
2010) have provided a host of characterisations of information
seeking. The history of this concept is relatively short. In the
1940s and 1950s, the phenomena of information seeking were
viewed implicitly in terms of use of various forms of literature
(e.g., books and journals), and of various types of institutions
such as libraries (Bates, 2010b
, p. 2386). At that time, terms
like information-receiving acts and communication-receiving
activity were used instead of the term information seeking
(Talja and Hartel, 2007
). Early examples of the use of the term
information seeking can be traced to the 1970s. For instance,
Feinman and associates (1976
, p. 3) defined information
seeking as 'specific actions performed by an individual that are
specifically aimed at satisfying information needs'. However,
the above term became more widely known through Wilson's
(1981
) pioneering article on user studies and information needs.
He suggested that information-seeking behaviour arises as a
consequence of a need perceived by an information user, who,
in order to satisfy that need, makes demands upon formal or
informal information sources or services, which result in
success or failure to find relevant information.
Since the 1980s, the term information seeking has received
additional meanings. The conceptual setting has become more
complex due to the introduction of related terms such as
information search, information retrieval and information
activities, which are sometimes used interchangeably with
information seeking. For example, Kuhlthau (1993
) prefers the
term information search, even though her study focuses on the
phenomena of information seeking. Marchionini (1995
)
proposed a model for information seeking from electronic
sources, but in effect his framework concentrates on
information search and information retrieval. Hektor (2001
)
developed a social model of information behaviour. This
framework incorporates a number of constituents labeled as
information activities. Of them, search and retrieve, browsing
and monitoring are most directly linked to information seeking
behavior, while exchange is more relevant from the perspective
of information sharing.
The conceptual setting can be clarified by making use of the
nested model of information behaviour developed by Wilson
(1999
, pp. 262-263; 2000, pp. 49-50). In this model, human
information behaviour is posited as an umbrella category
covering all aspects of human information interactions with
various forms of information. A subset is information seeking
behaviour, which encompasses the range of ways employed in
discovering and accessing information resources (both humans
and systems) in response to goals and intentions. Information
searching behaviour is a subset of information seeking, a
micro-level behaviour, referring to the purposive actions
involved in interacting with an information search system,
including information retrieval systems. Finally, information
use behaviour consists of the physical and mental acts involved
in incorporating the information found into the person's
existing knowledge base. From this perspective, information
seeking can be positioned as a middle-level category between
macro-level constructs such as human information behaviour
and micro-level categories such as information searching or
information retrieval.
Information acquisition