Information Hunting and Gathering
The Internet is an information forest. Every day, millions of us go online and search for information. We follow links and browse whatever meets our interest or need. In some manner, shape, or form, we consume the information we seek. We are the hunter-gatherers of the information forest.
You are learning a new skill or enhancing an existing one! You are studying a new subject or expanding your knowledge of a familiar one. Whatever the case, you probably spend considerable time SEARCHING and ACQUIRING information resources to fulfill your specific learning goals.
You know all too well, SEARCHING and ACQUIRING information takes time. Exactly how much time may depend on at least 5 variables;
- ACCESSING meaningful, useful information
- INDEXING the information you can access
- ARTICULATING your information interest
- QUALIFYING the information you discover
- CAPTURING information useable toward your outcome
SEARCHING activity returns results. You spend time QUALIFYING the results to determine their usefulness. Physical tasks include scanning the resulting link lists, following links of interest, and scanning target documents.
You then begin ACQUIRING documents of interest. Physical tasks may include bookmarking links of interest, copying, pasting, and annotating links of interest into your own link list, and possibly even downloading documents of high interest.
As you pursue ACQUIRING, you may find yourself refining the articulation used to SEARCH. If so, you'll repeat the process of SEARCHING and ACQUIRING until you reach a point when you feel confident you have identified a sufficient volume of information to satisfy your learning objectives.
I don't know about you, but SEARCHING and ACQUIRING can consume many hours over an extended period of time. Much depends on the quality of the search results (INDEXING) and the terms you use (ARTICULATION). And much more depends on the nature and organization of the information you are QUALIFYING and CAPTURING.
Much of my discussion relates to the first 5 Stages of the Information Search Process (ISP) defined by Dr. Carol Kuhlthau:
- Stage 1 - Initiation (contemplating the assigned task, problem or project and identifying possible issues or questions to pursue; uncertainty)
- Stage 2 - Selection (selecting a topic, issue or engaging question to explore; optimism)
- Stage 3 - Exploration (encountering inconsistency and incompatibility in information and ideas; confusion)
- Stage 4 - Formulation (forming a focused perspective from the information encountered; clarity)
- Stage 5 - Collection (gathering and documenting information on the focus; confidence)
- Stage 6 - Presentation (connecting and extending the focused perspective for presenting to the community of learners; satisfaction or disappointment)
- Stage 7 - Assessment (reflecting on process and content learning; sense of a personal ISP)
Additional Readings
- Information Foraging: Why Google Makes People Leave Your Site Faster
- Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, June 30, 2003
- http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030630.html