Exploring Context in Information Behavior: Seeker, Situation, Surroundings, and Shared Identities

Description

The field of human information behavior runs the gamut of processes from the realization of a need or gap in understanding, to the search for information from one or more sources to fill that gap, to the use of that information to complete a task at hand or to satisfy a curiosity, as well as other behaviors such as avoiding information or finding information serendipitously. Designers of mechanisms, tools, and computer-based systems to facilitate this seeking and search process often lack a full knowledge of the context surrounding the search. This context may vary depending on the job or role of the person; individual characteristics such as personality, domain knowledge, age, gender, perception of self, etc.; the task at hand; the source and the channel and their degree of accessibility and usability; and the relationship that the seeker shares with the source. Yet researchers have yet to agree on what context really means. While there have been various research studies incorporating context, and biennial conferences on context in information behavior, there lacks a clear definition of what context is, what its boundaries are, and what elements and variables comprise context. In this book, we look at the many definitions of and the theoretical and empirical studies on context, and I attempt to map the conceptual space of context in information behavior. I propose theoretical frameworks to map the boundaries, elements, and variables of context. I then discuss how to incorporate these frameworks and variables in the design of research studies on context. We then arrive at a unified definition of context. This book should provide designers of search systems a better understanding of context as they seek to meet the needs and demands of information seekers. It will be an important resource for researchers in Library and Information Science, especially doctoral students looking for one resource that covers an exhaustive range of the most current literature related to context, the best selection of classics, and a synthesis of these into theoretical frameworks and a unified definition. The book should help to move forward research in the field by clarifying the elements, variables, and views that are pertinent. In particular, the list of elements to be considered, and the variables associated with each element will be extremely useful to researchers wanting to include the influences of context in their studies.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Other editions

• 

  Exploring Context in Information Behavior: Seeker, Situation, Surroundings, and Shared...

  • 2017-12-08
  • 223 pages
  • Paperback
  • Morgan & Claypool Publishers

Similar books

• 

  Family History Digital Libraries

  By William Sims Bainbridge

  One named Sara and Timberlake had 11 male workers, 1 female worker, and 4 children workers, so it might have employed the Minor family.

• 

  Foundation Dreamweaver MX

  By Craig Grannell, Jerome Turner, Matt Stephens

  So here's what we need to do to arrive at our layout: s Create the main table to hold all the page elements. s Deal with the navigation area which is ...

• 

  Cisco CCNA Certification, 2 Volume Set: Exam 200-301

  By Todd Lammle

  This inclusive, two-book set provides what you need to know to succeed on the new CCNA exam. The set includes Understanding Cisco Networking Technologies: Volume 1 and the CCNA Certification Study Guide: Volume 2.

• 

  CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-006

  By Todd Lammle

  ... you can use: –a –A –c –n –r –R –S –s All nbtstat switches are case sensitive. Generally speaking, lowercase switches deal with NetBIOS names of hosts, ...

• 

  CompTIA Network+ Study Guide with Online Labs: N10-007 Exam

  By Todd Lammle, Jon Buhagiar

  ... you can use: –a –A –c –n –r –R –S –s All nbtstat switches are case sensitive. Generally speaking, lowercase switches deal with NetBIOS names of hosts, ...

• 

  CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate FastPass

  By Todd Lammle

  S The S reference point defines the point between the customer router and an ... with the letter E deal with using ISDN on the existing telephone network.

• 

  Stranger in the Chat Room

  By Todd Hafer, Jedd Hafer

  A sequel to In the Chat Room With God finds a group of teens contacted by a mysterious and increasingly malevolent character who claims to know about their encounters with the Almighty and challenges their beliefs. Original.

• 

  Error Correction Coding: Mathematical Methods and Algorithms

  By Todd K. Moon

  M M−1∑ k=0 −∞ ∞ k=0 The average energy per signal E s ∫ can be related to the ... we will deal primarily with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), ...

• 

  Security+ Training Guide

  By Todd King

  ... to deal with most , but unfortunately not all , of these potential threats . ... The S / MIME standard implements encryption for message content using ...

• 

  CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-861

  By Todd Lammle, Andy Barkl

  S reference point The S reference point defines the reference point between ... with the letter E deal with using ISDN on the existing telephone network.