5.1 Inside the Search Process: Information seeking from the User’s Perspective

5.1 Inside the Search Process: Information seeking from the User’s Perspective

Carol C. Kuhlthau

The article by Kuhlthau looks at stages of information use. Within the article, Kuthltahu combines the theories of 3 different information scholars into a model for information use. She connects Kelly’s phases of construction to Taylor’s levels of need, Belkins levels of specificity and expression. Out of this theoretical foundation, she created a 6 stage information search process. These phases follow the user through his or her search for information and information use, and addresses the thoughts, feelings and actions of the user.

It was nice to read an article that combined many of the theories we have been using. Kuhlthau’s combination helped to re-explain the major stages of the different theories in relation to each other. I connect strongly with the idea of stages of information use. I can relate to the uncertainty and stress related to the first phase, initiation. The most stressful part of embarking on any kind of research project is the moment before you have started, when the vastness of the knowledge available overwhelms you. The phases help to progress past this stage. This set up of phases can be used quite effectively in a library situation. When dealing with a patron who is having trouble searching and getting more and more frustrated, you can use this model not only to explain that the frustration and rate of progress is normal, but also to help guide the patron to the next stage. I think these stages can be related strongly to Bates’ theory of berrypicking. To get from the stage of initiation to the stage of selection, the user must go through berrypicking to find information that is interesting and relevant to them. Berrypicking is also used in the transition from exploration to formulation.

What would be very interesting would be a computerized system designed to follow the stages of this information process and use. Giving the user options to narrow or widen the search or to view articles within similar realms of interest could be very helpful. This could allow a user to make a search on one specific term but still be able to navigate to a related but equally specific term without researching. The biggest flaw with this idea is that it would require a strict hierarchy of search keywords and a high degree of interconnectedness within the database. It is also possible that a system designed to do this would only cause more problems in the search process and that it would limit users ability to search effectively.