A theory of the task-based information retrieval process: a summary and generalisation of a longitudinal study

• Published in: Journal of documentation Vol. 57; no. 1; pp. 44 - 60
• Main Author: Vakkari, Pertti
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford MCB UP Ltd 01.01.2001; Emerald
• Subjects: Cognitive aspects; Empirical Analysis; Exact sciences and technology; Graduate Study; Information and communication sciences; Information processing and retrieval; Information Retrieval; Information retrieval. Man machine relationship; Information science. Documentation; Information Seeking; Information seeking behaviour; Kuhlthau Model; Library and information science. General aspects; Masters Theses; Mental Models; Relevance (Information Retrieval); Sciences and techniques of general use; Search Strategies; Students; Subject Index Terms; Task Orientation; Theoretical Analysis; Use and user studies. Information needs; Writing (Composition); Theory; Information retrieval; Empirical study; Theoretical model; Process; Student; Thesis; Searching behavior; User behavior; Comparative study; Information theory
• ISSN: 0022-0418
• DOI: 10.1108/EUM0000000007075

The aim of this article is threefold: (1) to give a summary of empirical results reported earlier on relations between students' problem stages in the course of writing their research proposals for a master's thesis and the information sought, choice of search terms and tactics and relevance assessments of the information found for that task; (2) to show how the findings of the study refine Kuhlthau's model of the information search process in the field of information retrieval (IR); and (3) to construe a tentative theory of a task-based IR process based on the supported hypotheses. The results of the empirical studies show that there is a close connection between the students' problem stages (mental model) in the task performance and the information sought, the search tactics used and the assessment of the relevance and utility of the information found. The corroborated hypotheses expand the ideas in Kuhlthau's model in the domain of IR. A theory of task-based information searching based on the empirical findings of the study is presented.