In discussions with knowledge workers about their information requirements, several distinct modes of looking for something tend to surface. Two common ones are "I need to stay on top of every new publication, conference paper, and blog post dealing with X" or "I want to trace the evolution of current opinion regarding Y". In the first case, the driver is a desire to insure against missing information. The second case represents a look back to benefit from accumulated evidence or accumulated context - something may not have grabbed our attention when it first appeared, but now it does. (The looking-back mode is, of course, illustrated in end-of-year and end-of-decade top-10 lists in which commentators review events or developments to assess what, in retrospect, stands out or appears to have future implications.) Information professionals are well positioned to serve information seekers in those two modes.
In a third mode, it's trickier: "I don't know what I'm looking for, but I'll recognize it when I see it". Here, the information seekers typically wish to mine a wide range of information sources for nuggets triggering ideas or connections, and information professionals rely on their understanding of the clients' projects and concerns, and on "more-like-that" and "forget-that" feedback, to refine their ability to serve up candidate material potentially containing items of interest.
To these seeking modes we then add individual seeking styles: On one end of a spectrum, some seekers have high tolerance for volume and don't mind scanning through a lot of stuff and following links "just in case something interesting turns up" - in fact appreciate the serendipity - while on the other end, seekers look for information in a systematic way using a set of tried-and-true sources, aiming to isolate quickly a specific answer for the question at hand. Seeking style has a further component associated with how much experience a knowledge worker has, how intensely he or she communicates with the peer community, and other aspects influencing confidence that "enough evidence has been collected for the purpose".
Are the various modes and styles associated with subject matter or professions? Shannon Wills thinks so, based on her experience with the way engineers go about looking for information. shannonwills23@gmail.com writes for toponlineengineeringdegree.com and sent me this comment:
"Those with formal training in an engineering discipline look for and apply information differently from the rest of us. They look for information in a logical sequence, first researching potential sources and then deciding if these sources are viable and reliable. Once they have confirmed the authoritativeness of sources, they go about looking for the information they want in a rational and ordered way. Engineers know what to discard and what to retain, and they’re adept at putting together all they glean from different sources into a form that makes sense and is true to what they need in a given situation. An engineer would prefer a map rather than verbal or written directions."
It could be argued that a preference for precision or comfort with ambiguity might simultaneously inform an individual's choice of academic study and his or her preferred mode and style of information seeking. On the other hand, so many other factors play a role that it may be impossible to connect information seeking behavior to professions beyond some generalizations. (Thesis topic, anyone?)
As information professionals, we need a hefty dollop of insight into our clients' individual information seeking modes and styles - and we need to recognize how those modes and styles might change over time as project life cycles evolve, as extrinsic events impinge on policy making, as experts acquire experience, and so on. That's why I use the term "information diagnostic" when describing the activity of getting to know the daily reality in which our current and potential clients work: We diagnose not only what they (think they) need, but also how they prefer to ingest any information we may provide, how much they can absorb at any given time, how wide a net to cast in order to be able to draw their attention to items they would likely never see on their own, etc. Understanding the information seeking modes and styles of the individuals we serve, quite apart from our professional expertise in the relevant information sources, is key to building the trust-based professional relationship we wish to have with them.
In writing my series on cognitive bias (http://bruceharpham.ca/2010/01/librarian-guide-to-cognitive-bias-confirmation-bias/), I've come across research articles that explore the information behavior of accountants and other professionals. I am still exploring this research but it looks like the degree of client direction has a major influence on the professionals information behavior.
I also agree you that it is important to to see the world from the client standpoint. What do they read? What is their educational background? How do they like information presented (e.g. focus on charts, numerical data or other approaches)?
Posted by: Bruce | January 20, 2010 at 06:02 PM