Models of information needs and seeking behavior.

A comprehensive understanding of models of information needs and seeking behavior can be constructed by examining how users are categorized, how their information needs are classified, and what processes they follow when searching for information. These topics are primarily discussed within the context of user studies, which are essential for designing effective information systems and services.

Categorization of Information Needs

Before exploring behavioral models, it is important to understand the different types of information needs that drive the search process. The sources identify four main types of user information needs:

• Current Information Need: This is the need to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in a field of interest on a regular basis. It is addressed by services that provide a continuous flow of new information, such as current awareness services.
• Exhaustive Information Need: This is the need to find as much information as possible on a specific subject. Researchers often have this need at the beginning of a project to survey all existing literature or when reporting their findings to compare them with previous studies.
• Everyday Information Need: This refers to the requirement for a specific piece of factual information for day-to-day work. An example would be a scientist needing to know the boiling point of a compound.
• Catching-up Information Need: This need arises when a user is unfamiliar with a subject and requires a brief, comprehensible overview of its development. It is common in multidisciplinary research projects where a specialist in one field needs to quickly understand another.

Models of the Information Search Process

The sources describe several models that outline the process users go through when seeking information, often presented in the context of information literacy and user education. These models provide a framework for understanding user behavior.

• Kuhlthau's Information Search Process: This is described as a user-centered "process model" that helps empower the user by inculcating critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It focuses on the user's experience and the different stages they go through during an information search.
• SCONUL's "Seven Pillars of Information Literacy": Developed by the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) in the UK, this is presented as an "Information Skills Model". It outlines seven key skills or stages in information seeking:
  1. Recognizing the need for information
  2. Distinguishing ways the information gap can be addressed
  3. Constructing strategies for locating information
  4. Locating and accessing information
  5. Comparing and evaluating information from different sources
  6. Organizing, applying, and communicating information
  7. Synthesizing existing information to create new knowledge
• Irving's Nine Steps Information Skills Model: This model guides students through academic assignments and is also applicable to workplace and personal life scenarios.
• Stripling/Pitts Research Process: This model combines content and process elements into a structure for learning, emphasizing the importance of understanding the student's "Mental Model" or current state of knowledge to challenge it for further learning.

Models of User Types and Informal Seeking Behavior

The way users seek information is also influenced by their professional roles and their participation in informal networks.

User Categories

The sources identify different ways to group or model users, which helps in predicting their information needs and behavior:

• J.D. Bernal's Classification: This model categorizes users of scientific and technical information based on their function, such as workers in fundamental research, applied research, technologists (engineers, doctors), and others.
• Ranganathan's Grouping: Users are categorized as the freshman, ordinary inquirer, specialist inquirer, and general reader, reflecting different levels of inquiry and service needs.

Informal Information Seeking

Beyond formal search processes, users often rely on human, non-documentary sources.

• Technological Gatekeepers: A technological gatekeeper is a well-informed individual in a specific field who acquires information from various sources and disseminates it to interested colleagues. They are characterized by their approachability, technical competence, and communication skills.
• Invisible College: This is not a physical institution but a loosely formed association of like-minded people, often researchers in the same discipline, who share experiences and knowledge through informal channels like correspondence, phone calls, and discussions at conferences. This facilitates the exchange of nascent ideas before they are formally published.

Factors Influencing Information Seeking Behavior

User studies aim to understand the variables that affect how users seek and use information. A comprehensive model of information seeking behavior must account for these factors:

• Individual Characteristics: A user's perception of a problem, their definition of needed information, and their capacity to use a particular type of information.
• Environmental or Social Characteristics: Factors within a user's social system, such as norms and reference groups, that influence their behavior.
• Communication Characteristics: The specific information sources, channels, and systems that users prefer or have access to.
• Demographic and Psychological Variables: User studies should also consider factors like age, experience, motivation, and work habits to ensure findings are valid and widely applicable.