Three Conceptions of Information Seeking and Use

This paper presents and discusses some major findings of a research project investigating the interaction between information seeking and learning outcomes. A group of 25 high school seniors engaged in a learning assignment were followed during the whole learning process including students’ information seeking and use. Each student was interviewed three times about his/her way of experiencing information seeking as well as subject matter. Interview protocols were subjected to phenomenographic analysis. Three categories of students’ conceptions of information seeking and use based on five aspects were identified. Three categories of students’ conceptions of subject matter were identified based on the variation of learning outcome. There was great overlap between conceptions of information seeking and learning outcomes. Conclusions drawn are that variation in experiencing information seeking interacts closely with variation in ways of exp eriencing or understanding the content of information. The results provided a deeper understanding of information seeking and use through the description of variation. The findings may provide a foundation for further research on the variation of information seeking as well as a basis for didactic development of information skills instruction. Aim of paper The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss some major findings of a research project investigating the interaction between information seeking and use and learning outcomes. Research problem This study grew out of a need for better research based understanding of information seeking and use in a specific context. Several researchers in library and information studies (LIS) pointed out the predominance of research on information needs and information seeking and expressed a need for the study of information use (i.a. Kuhlthau 1993; Vakkari 1997; Wilson 1981). The role of context for information seeking behaviour has been stressed (i.a. Dervin 1997; Wilson 1981, 1994). The complex process of information seeking and use in learning contexts needs further exploration, according to i.a. Kuhlthau (1993). My research project investigated how students used information and what they learnt from the information they retrieved and used for an assignment. The aim of the project was to study information seeking through an explorative investigation of the interaction between information seeking and use and learning outcomes. Limberg, L. Three conceptions of Information Seeking ISIC’98 Page 2 Methodological approach Use and user studies in LIS often produced general models of the information search process (i.a. Ellis et al. 1993; Höglund & Persson 1980 a and b; Kuhlthau 1989, passim). The aim is often expressed by researchers as a wish to formulate a general theory of information retrieval (i.a. Hjørland 1997; Ingwersen 1996) or an ”integrative model of information need, information-seeking behaviour and information use” (Wilson 1994, p 42). However, the aim of the present study was to study variation in information seeking as well as learning. A general model of the information search process would not allow a comparison between information seeking and learning outcomes. This in turn called for a methodological approach that would allow such a study and led to the choice of phenomenography, developed since the 1970’s in order to study variation in students’ learning (Marton 1981, 1996).