Information-Seeking Behaviour
Overview:
In this assignment you will explore the information-seeking behaviour of two professionals, comparing and contrasting their behaviour. You will also reflect on your own behaviour.
Please note: this is an individual assignment.
Due Date: The Information Seeking Behaviour Report is due on November 3, 11:59pm (via BrightSpace) and is worth 20%.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this assignment, you will be able to:
- Actively explore experiences related to information seeking and retrieval
- Reflect personally on human information behaviour
- Consider the social impact of technology
Format Options:
- Choose one of the following formats:
- Video Blog (3-5 minutes):
- Submit either a YouTube link or MP4 file
- Sample tools: Powtoon,_VideoPad Video Editor,_Avidemux,_ iMovie (Mac)
- Podcast (5-10 minutes)
- Submit either a SoundC oud link or a MP3 file
- Sample tools: AudacitY., Garage Band (Mac)
- Response Paper (750-1000 words)
- Submit in .doc, .docx or PDF file
- References:
- All outside information must be cited using APA style.
- Video Blog (3-5 minutes):
Instructions:
- Identify and interview 2 individuals in different professions (i.e. Engineer, Architect, Nurse, Doctor, Welder, Mechanic, etc.).
- Guiding Questions:
1. Describe their educational or experiential background. How did they develop expertise in their profession?
2. How do they generally seek information for professional purposes?
3. What are the key places they seek professional information? Consider online, physical, and individuals or groups, formal and informal.
4. What is most challenging in information seeking in their profession? What is easy and enjoyable?
5. Ask them to describe a situation where they had to find information related to their profession. Where did they go? How did they determine that the information was current, accurate and authoritative?
- Summarize: The responses for each of the individuals for the five guiding questions
- Compare and contrast: The results, identifying similarities and differences.
- Reflect: Explore your own information-seeking behaviour in response to the guiding questions. How is this different or similar to those that you interviewed?
- Use appropriate course resources: Explore and highlight what you have learned about information seeking behaviour in relation to your interview subjects using appropriate supplemental sources. Don't forget to cite them!
Title
Your name
Subject and Section
Professor’s name
Date
Information-Seeking Behavior
The process of seeking information that may answer a specific question is known as information-seeking behavior (Gordon et al., 2020). In today’s world, technological advancements play a significant role in assisting people in finding answers to all of their questions. Everything is available on the internet, and it is up to the individual to maximize their search results (Liu, 2020). Individuals, however, have different information-seeking behaviors. People can be uncertain, confused, or confident when seeking information. Nonetheless, technology is one of the factors that has altered people’s perceptions and ways of seeking information.
Colleague 1
An interview with a colleague reveals that technology plays a significant role in information-seeking behavior. This individual is a computer programmer, and computer programmers generally use computers to complete their tasks. This person has been a programmer for eleven years and has gained professional knowledge primarily through books and frequent website searches. Websites play an essential role in the search for answers; this person reads forums where information from other people is obtained. However, besides relying on what technology offers, this person seeks assistance from others. The colleague admits that there are still many things to learn, and this colleague is sometimes doubtful. These things are usually learned from people who are also programming experts.
Furthermore, this colleague finds identifying the information one must know to challenge. It is difficult for this person to determine what information is required. When asked about a time when this person needed to seek information related to their job, it was stated that there was a time when this colleague wanted to create a system that would be very convenient for everyone. However, this person does not fully understand how to create this system. Fortunately, this colleague has been patient in the search for answers. This colleague sought assistance from other experts and extensively used the internet. The colleague searched for specific terms and concentrated on what needed to be done or worked on. As a result, it is clear that this colleague relies heavily on technology and, at times, experts to find answers.
Colleague 2
According to the second interview, most of the information that these people obtain comes from books, the internet, and interactions with other people. This colleague is in the new media industry. Comprehensive search strategies are required in this industry. This col...