LIS 510 Info Behavior Concepts II Oct. 27, 2009

1. LIS 510Info Behavior Concepts IIOct. 27, 2009

2. Uncertainty – key element in many models of decision making including Kuhlthau (Xtreme) Browsing Relevance (aboutness & topicality); Pertinence, Salience Info avoidance (non-use, sort of) Info poverty Info overload Info anxiety Infotainment (So they read Nancy Drew…) From Case, Ch 5Explain that Concept…

3. Seeking Giving Sharing Use (Social Types) Dr. Jarkko Kari Today – Concepts III

4. Info Seeking?

5. Info Seeking – Formal Definition • Behavior that occurs when an individual senses a problematic situation or info gap, in which his/her internal knowledge and beliefs, and model of the environment, fail to suggest a path towards satisfaction of his/her goals. • A catchall-phrase encompassing wide-ranging behaviors to researchers/professionals

6. Info Seeking: Informal Def How someone goes about obtaining info

7. Making Decisions • The choices we make from among alternatives • At least 2 options available; select only 1 • Gather info that allows each potential choice to be evaluated & compared to alternative(s)

8. The Uncertainty Principle Key concept in decision making research Is it always part of info seeking? Whether reading or conversing, are we always trying to reduce uncertainty?

9. Problem Solving Vs. Decision Making Problem Solving • ID issue worthy of attention, set goals, design course of action Decision Making • Act evaluating & choosing among alternative actions to take in response to a problem • DM is separate, narrower activity than PS • Search & choice of alternativesDMkey components

10. No Problemo… Info seeking not always motivated by need to “solve problem” or “make decision” Sometimes (more times) simply want more info, stimulation, or assurance; or less uncertainty, boredom, overload, anxiety, curiosity, interaction, communication…. Serious leisure (seriously)

11. Types of Info Seeking By level of purpose: • Searching: Purposely looking for info to resolve a particular info need • Surfing: Browsing through a source of info, just to see what it has, without a particular info need • Encountering: “Bumping” into info that can resolve a particular info need when doing other things (including looking for info on another topic); serendipity

12. Info Seeking: Search Strategies • Browsing: Intuitive scanning following leads by association without much planning ahead • Analytical: Explicit consideration of attributes of the info need and of the search system • Empirical: Based on previous experience, using rules and tactics that were successful in the past • Known site (or item): Entering a URL to retrieve a particular site (or item) • Similarity: Find info based on a previous successful example that is similar to the current need.

13. Examples of Browsing Goals by Domain of Interest, Goal Type & Terminology

14. Formal Vs. Informal Search Informal Searches • Examine few sources • Simple learning w/ narrow limits Formal Searches • More effort & more sources • Tied to impending decision/action

15. Factors Affecting Info Seeking • Seeker’s awareness of need and sources • Seeker’s past experiences, professional practice • Source Characteristics: • Formal (book) v.s. Informal (conversation) • Internal (inside org) v.s. External • Oral v.s. Written • Format / Presentation • Timeliness • Accessibility • Cost (financial, physical, social) • Trustworthiness (accuracy, quality) • Security • ??? • Seeker’s emotions

16. How Many Emotions are There? in Towne, N.  & Adler, R.B. (1996). Looking Out Looking In, 8th ed.  Forth Worth: Harcort Brace. at bliss.umpi.maine.edu/~petress

17. Tweens Trust Social Cost Empowerment Happy Disagree Grateful Anger Neutral Shame Worry SAHMs Relief-reassurance Irritation Worry Happy Anger Empowerment Doubt Social cost Fisher’s NSF Studies ofTweens & Stay-at-Home MothersComparison of Affective Factor

18. The Dark Side: Avoiding Info • When does this happen? • Why? • Not always part of info overload

19. Barriers to Info Acquisition • Attitudes • Beliefs • Values • (Domain, accuracy, breadth) of knowledge • Family socialization • Community identity, connectedness • Socioeconomic status • Ethnic/racial group stratification • Behaviors • Media use • Media exposure • ???

20. Info Poverty When segment of population seems permanently ignorant, their state is labeled “info poverty” & has 3 characteristics: • Low level of processing skills, with reading, language, hearing, or eyesight deficiencies • Social isolation in subculture, leading to unawareness of info known to larger public, reliance upon rumor & folklore, & dependence on entertainment-oriented media like TV • Tendency to feel fatalistic/helpless, which in turn reduces likelihood of active info seeking

21. Info Overload State of individual/system in which excessive inputs cannot be processed, leading to breakdown Filtering - mark difference between what we “need to know” Vs. what would be “nice to know,” ie, selective attention to environmental inputs Possible responses to info overload • Omission – fail process inputs • Error - process info incorrectly • Queuing – delay processing of info with intent catching up later • Filtering – process only info ID’d as “high priority” • Approximation – lower discrimination standards by being less precise in categorizing inputs/responses • Multiple Channels – split up incoming info to decentralize response • Escaping – give up burden of attending to inputs

22. Information Anxiety • When adjustment to info overload is not possible & defense mechanisms fail • When person can’t abandon task (eg, students/assignments) • Resultstress & anxiety Information anxiety produced by ever widening gap between what we understand & what we should understand Information anxiety is black hole between data & knowledge

23. For your Infotainment… Info  Entertainment continuum • Sensory input being “purely” enjoyable • Other input being “purely” informative • Rest, falls in between • Spink, Ozmutlu & Lorence (2004): users’ searching for sexual images accounts for more time/effort than other topics; is this strictly for “entertainment” or more driven by “info need”?

24. Info + Fun!! • Whether to relieve anxiety or just for play/ creativity, people seek entertainment & info • People often prefer to mix fact/fiction • Desire to be entertained, in turn, strongly affects type of sources to which people turn for info

25. Break

26. Social (i.e., info) epidemics • Roles played by • Connectors • Salesmen • Mavens Gladwell’s (2000) The Tipping Point

27. Call ‘em “users,” “participants,” “actors” …, focus of IS is invariably human beings User studies  grown scope & volume, ARIST ’60s  few researchers approach populaces from perspective of social types USER – 4-letter Word

28. A Concept with a (~sordid) History (Been ‘round the social sciences block, esp sociology) Social Types

29. Social Types are: • Sociological summary of typical characteristics of particular group/category of people usually recognized & typed by the public & often granted nickname • This group or category may be secondary group, community, profession, subculture, status group, class or generation unit that is characterized by its look (physical, fashionable or both), life style & philosophy, pattern of interaction (particularly linguistic), attitudes & certain psychological traits  May we add “by their info behavior”??? Almog (1998)—referencing Parker, Simmel, Goffman, Klapp, Becker, et al—

30. Chatman’s work is exemplar of incorporating social types • Key concept in her theory of normative behavior (cf. 2000) • More limitedly viewed social types as • “absolute definition given to members of a social world” • pertaining to how they are permanently classified by others • Harkening back to Schutz and Luckmann, Chatman emphasized implications of insiders and outsiders in info flow within small worlds • Studied them in several contexts: • virtual communities (Burnett, Besant & Chatman, 2001) • higher education (Huotari & Chatman, 2001) Elfreda said it all…

31. Granovetter’s Strength of Weak Ties (1973, 1982) • Bridging weak ties  access to new info • Strong ties  negotiate needs, validate info, affect • Nurse/senior communication @ footclinics hybrid strong-weak ties (weak ties profs who give info/act like strong ties; Pettigrew (1998, 1999) • Latent Ties (Haythornthwaite, 199?) • LIMBs (Lay Info Mediary Behavior) • People who seek info on behalf of others without always being asked or engaging in follow-up w/ recipients • Modeled by Abrahamson & Fisher (2007; online consumer health) • Saxton, Naumer & Fisher (2007; “2-1-1”) • Pettigrew, Durrance & Unruh (2002; how people use the Internet for everyday situations) • Gross and Saxton (2001; “imposed query” in public libraries) • “Super-Encounterers” & personalities on Web (Erdelez & Rioux, 2000; Heinström, 2003, …) • Monitors vs. Blunters (Miller’s coping theory; Baker, 1996) • Gatekeepers (Metoyer-Duran, 1991, 1993; Barzilai-Nahon, 2006) • Gender & info search styles (Burdick, 1996) • Rogers’ (1962…2003) Diffusion of Innovations: laggards, early adopters, opinion leaders …. Present Company Incl…

32. What social types have you encountered in communication? • What role do they play in info flow, good &/or bad, with respect to fostering: • Info needs, info seeking, sharing, giving, managing, use… • Are social types the same online and offline? • Do people change their online/offline behavior? Tell Me…

33. 'MySpace Whores': Network Generation on Social Network Sites” (danahboyd, www.danah.org/) Lawyers Living Gratefully?: Social Types & Info Behavior in an Online Deadhead Community (Gary Burnett, Florida State) The Persona Lifecycle (Tamara Adlin, Adlin, Inc) Social Types in Usenet (Tammara Turner, Microsoft) Social Types & Personas: Typologies of Persons on the Web & Designing for Predictable Behaviors (Fisher, ASIST 2007)

34. Act of communicating using different media, incl oral, print, electronic, physical gestures Triggers User asks for info directly User raises topic about which the giver has info User describes his/her situation to the giver who has info that can help User behaves/shows signs that prompts giver to give info that might help Giver expects to receive needed info in return Other?? Info Giving

35. Types Simple: Give info without probing Complex:Give same info but after probing to determine person’s real underlying need ** Simple Info Giving can be in response to complex need ** Strategies Tailor complete info to attributes of particular need Plant a nugget (anticipation of situation) Push/make case for need of info Present info & ask for feedback Types of & Strategies for Info Giving

36. Lay • Information • Mediary • Behavior

37. LIMs: Lay Info Mediaries People who seek info on behalf or because of others in a peer or non-info professional role, who may or not engage in follow-up to see if their info was used. • AKA innovator, change agent, communication channel, link, navigator, gatekeeper, intermediary, helper, opinion leader, proxy searchers, info acquirers & sharers (IA&S), etc. • Any age, sex, depending upon situation; likely multilingual • Reflect diverse occupations, educational & socioeconomic backgrounds

39. Muses: “Proxies,” “Hidden Patients”

41. Info Use People’s actions upon receiving info & how they perceive that info helped (or did not help) in dealing with situation. How is info use like an iceberg?

42. People’s behavior upon receiving info & how they perceive that info helped (or did not help) in dealing with situation Outcomes of Info Seeking Action (satisfy immediate info need/solve problem) Change state of knowledge (make new sense) Confirm what one already knows Suggest alternative solutions Store for future use Create new info need through feedback Pass it on to someone else (2-step flow) Other ??? Info UseBeat the 20/80 Rule (change to 80/20)

43. Trust & Public Access Computing @ Libraries • People gain informational trust from librarians and library-associated content. • People gain digital trust in that machines are virus-free and well-maintained, and that sophisticated knowledge about IT to operate them is unneeded. • People trust using the Internet on specific machines because they are filtered or monitored. • People gain emotional security to connect with other people online who share the same values, interests, and views. • People gain cognitive trust in admitting without fear that they do not understand about technology. • People perceive physical security from violence in the home or in the community (e.g., gangs, children supervised). • People perceive financial security in leaving their belongings untended or with staff.

44. Trust & Public Access Computing @ Libraries 8. People gain self-assurance/self-respect because all people, from all backgrounds, are accepted as users with no attached stigma. 9. People gain trust of safety from addictions such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography. 10. People obtain mental security when in need of routine daily structure, especially when coping with mental health disorders or dealing with transition such as unemployment or probation. 11. People perceive communal trust during and following times of crises, eg, natural disaster, violence. 12. People trust their info use & computing activities not being watched and reported on to the government. 12. People perceive social trust from fellow library users who provide assistance if asked or needed, including as witness. 14. People perceive societal trust by assuring for their children’s and grandchildren’s education and future place in society.

45. Go to a library Act as a LIM Write-up your experience (max 750 words) Submit in class, Thurs, Nov 5th LIMB Assignment #2 (due 11/5)

46. Informational uses of spiritual information • Presentation for course LIS 510: Information Behavior • October 27, 2009 • The Information School, University of Washington • by Jarkko Kari (Dr.Soc.Sc., Visiting Scholar)

47. 1. Introduction • the concept of information use (IU) • informational vs. practical uses • source information (SI) vs. target information (TI) • spiritual information • mediator: “1. a. Theol. An intermediary between God and mankind, spec. Jesus” (OED, 2009)

48. 2. Methods • data: 110 published, spiritual texts in Finnish • qualitative content analysis: • paragraphs containing IU were identified • informational uses (IUSI) were identified • IUSIs were divided into specific categories • specific categories gave rise to generic ones

49. 3. Findings A: internalizing information • using SI to integrate TI into oneself • types: acquiring information & identifying something • example: “Read this [booklet] slowly and with concentration absorbing its text. It needs not be understood with reason nor handled with emotion, but take it into your awareness through your heart of hearts.”

50. 4. Findings B: processing knowledge • using SI to consider/transform knowledge • types: developing knowledge, thinking, examining knowledge & creating knowledge • example: “When you quiet, you begin on the grounds of the received information to create a mental impression of the spirit being who’s helping you.”