Mutual Dependence and Task Uncertainty in Scholarly Communication of Theologians

This research studies the scholarly communication of theologians, taking Karl Barth as a case study. Based on Hjørland's method of domain analysis and Whitley's (1984) theory of " mutual dependence " and " task uncertainty " , this paper analyzes how the degrees of mutual dependence and task uncertainty affect the theologian's information seeking and knowledge production. I hypothesize that Fish's concept of " interpretive community " which is evident in Barth's communication with peer theologians can be analyzed and explained through Whitley's theory, namely, high degrees of mutual dependence will result in more coordinated information seeking and uses, while high degrees of task uncertainty in terms of technical uncertainty and strategic uncertainty, particularly the diverse reader response, leads to increasing information production.