In Library and Information Science (LIS), studying Information Seeking Behaviour (ISB) is crucial to designing effective information retrieval systems and user-centric library services. Information seeking behavior encompasses the activities an individual engages in when identifying an information need, searching for that information, and evaluating or utilizing the gathered results.
The following comprehensive notes compile and synthesize the major Information Seeking Behaviour Models featured in foundational LIS literature, arranged in strict chronological order. These notes detail their founders, launch dates, key characteristics, and evolutionary steps.
1. Wilson’s Information Behaviour Model (1981)
Founder: Prof. Tom D. Wilson
Date of Launch: 1981
Key Concepts & Functions
Wilson’s 1981 model was one of the earliest to shift focus from library system usage to holistic human behavior. It posits that information need is not a primary need, but a secondary need rooted in basic biological, cognitive, or affective needs. It recognizes that the context of these needs is shaped by an individual's work role or environment.
Steps and Path
- An individual recognizes an Information Need stemming from personal or environmental context.
- This activates Information Seeking Behaviour, prompting a search across various information sources (formal or informal).
- The path splits based on success: if successful, the user proceeds to Information Use; if unsuccessful, the user experiences failure and loops back to redefine the search or adjust expectations.
- It also maps out the process of Information Exchange, where information is shared with or transferred to other individuals.
2. Krikelas General Model of Information-Seeking Behaviour (1983)
Founder: James Krikelas
Date of Launch: 1983
Key Concepts & Functions
Krikelas developed a simplified, unified flow chart model based on a synthesis of prior empirical user studies. He defined information seeking as any activity undertaken to identify information that satisfies a perceived need. A key characteristic of this model is its division of sources into internal (memory) and external (human or physical environments).
Steps and Path
- Perceiving a Need: Triggered by immediate environment or internal cognitive states.
- Information Gathering vs. Information Seeking: Krikelas distinguished between long-term background gathering (keeping up to date) and immediate, problem-focused seeking.
- Source Selection: The user first consults internal memory. If insufficient, they turn to external sources: first immediate human contacts (friends, colleagues) and, as a last resort, formal structures (libraries, documentation centers, databases).
3. Ellis’s Behavioral Model of Information Seeking (1989)
Founder: David Ellis
Date of Launch: 1989 (expanded in 1993 and 1997)
Key Concepts & Functions
Unlike sequential stage models, Ellis’s framework is behavioral and feature-based. Initially derived from studying social scientists (1989) and later tested with physical scientists and engineers, it identifies core behavioral components rather than a rigid timeline. Users can jump dynamically between these features depending on their situation.
The 8 Behavioral Features
- Starting: Initial activities to kick off a search (e.g., asking a colleague, identifying key background papers or database seeds).
- Chaining: Following citation paths, either backward (hyperlinking through reference lists) or forward (checking who has cited a paper since publication).
- Browsing: Semi-directed or casual scanning of tables of contents, journals, or physical book stacks.
- Differentiating: Filtering and filtering out sources based on quality, viewpoint, authority, or prestige.
- Monitoring: Maintaining awareness of a field through journal alerts, tracking specific authors, or attending regular conferences.
- Extracting: Working systematically through a targeted source to isolate specific ideas, data sets, or text chunks.
- Verifying: Evaluating the reliability, validity, and structural truth of the extracted information.
- Ending: Wrap-up operations concluding the search behavior, such as a final cross-check before drafting a report.
4. Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (ISP) Model (1991)
Founder: Carol Collier Kuhlthau
Date of Launch: 1991 (refined through longitudinal academic and student studies)
Key Concepts & Functions
Kuhlthau's ISP model is distinctly holistic. It maps the user's journey across three parallel dimensions of human experience: the Affective (feelings), the Cognitive (thoughts), and the Sensorimotor (actions/physical steps). It highlights how emotional shifts affect search persistence.
The 6 Stages of ISP
- Initiation: Realizing an information gap exists.
Feelings: Uncertainty, anxiety, and apprehension. - Selection: Deciding on a general topic or domain to study.
Feelings: A brief sense of optimism and readiness. - Exploration: Gathering general information on the broad topic; often considered the most cognitively taxing phase.
Feelings: Confusion, frustration, and self-doubt. - Formulation: A critical turning point where the user forms a clear focus or personal perspective from the chaotic data.
Feelings: Clarity, direction, and localized confidence. - Collection: Systematically gathering highly relevant, specific data supporting the formed focus.
Feelings: Strong confidence and focused interest. - Presentation / Closure: Finalizing the search process and preparing the output.
Feelings: Relief and satisfaction if successful, or disappointment if failed.
5. Marchionini’s Information Seeking Model (1995)
Founder: Gary Marchionini
Date of Launch: 1995 (published in "Information Seeking in Electronic Environments")
Key Concepts & Functions
Marchionini frames information seeking as a highly structured, cognitive **problem-solving process**. His model explicitly focuses on human interaction within electronic, digital, and hyperlinked environments, placing emphasis on system feedback loops and query optimization.
The 8-Step Iterative Process
- Recognizing and Accepting: Acknowledging that an information problem or gap requires a solution.
- Defining and Understanding: Mapping the boundaries and conceptual requirements of the problem.
- Choosing a Search System: Selecting appropriate tools (e.g., specific search engines, web directories, online catalogs).
- Formulating a Query: Translating the mental concept into the syntax of the chosen platform (keywords, operators).
- Executing the Search: Activating the query within the search platform interface.
- Examining Results: Evaluating retrieved lists, abstracts, titles, or snippets for alignment with the search intent.
- Extracting Information: Mining data from selected objects, taking notes, or saving files.
- Reflecting/Iterating/Stopping: Deciding if the problem is solved. If incomplete, the user loops back to adjust queries or change systems.
6. Wilson’s Revised Model of Information Behaviour (1996)
Founder: Prof. Tom D. Wilson
Date of Launch: 1996
Key Concepts & Functions
Wilson’s 1996 framework is an expanded multidisciplinary macro-model. It integrates behavioral research from fields outside LIS (such as psychology, decision-making, and consumer research) to explain *why* search paths are chosen or abandoned.
New Core Components
- Intervening Variables: Replaced the basic "barriers" concept. These can block or facilitate seeking and include: Psychological traits, Demographic features, Socio-emotional factors, Environmental realities, and Source characteristics.
- Activating Mechanisms: Explains what shifts a user from a passive need to active behavior. It leans on psychological frameworks like Stress/Coping Theory (how critical the need is) and Risk/Reward Theory (the perceived effort versus value).
- Modes of Seeking: Identifies four distinct information acquisition modes: Passive Attention, Passive Search, Active Search, and Ongoing Search.
7. Choo’s Integrated Model of Information Seeking (1998)
Founder: Chun Wei Choo (with Brian Detlor and Don Turnbull)
Date of Launch: 1998
Key Concepts & Functions
Choo developed an integrated behavioral framework specifically designed to look at how people seek information on the World Wide Web. This model synthesizes **Ellis’s behavioral features** with **Aguilar's scanning modes** to classify how organizations and professionals extract insights from digital spaces.
The 4 Seeking Modes
- Undirected Viewing: Broad, passive scanning of the environment without specific goals. The user encounters information opportunistically.
- Conditioned Viewing: Directed viewing where the user tracks specific, pre-selected topics or web areas to detect patterns or changes.
- Informal Search: A loose, unstructured search intended to build background knowledge or explore a topic without investing heavy resources.
- Formal Search: A structured, purposeful, and systematic effort to extract definitive information using precise queries, indexes, and methodologies.
8. Foster’s Non-Linear Model of Information Seeking (2004)
Founder: Allen Foster
Date of Launch: 2004
Key Concepts & Functions
Foster’s model challenged conventional step-by-step sequential approaches by explicitly mapping information seeking as a non-linear, dynamic process. Based on empirical work with interdisciplinary scholars, it argues that searchers experience activities simultaneously, shifting directions fluidly based on changing contexts.
Core Behavioral Dimensions
Instead of sequential phases, Foster describes three broad, interacting dimensions that operate concurrently:
- Opening: Activities concerned with expanding a search (e.g., exploring, unexpected discovery/serendipity, broad browsing, and establishing initial topical perimeters).
- Orientation: Activities intended to build cognitive context (e.g., identifying key problem shapes, tracking current boundaries, review, and sorting source types).
- Consolidation: Activities focusing on narrowing, refining, and finishing (e.g., verifying details, filtering out noise, assembly, and determining limits).
Summary Table: Evolution of Information Seeking Models
| Year | Model | Founder | Primary Focus / Structural Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Information Behaviour Model | T.D. Wilson | Introduced environmental/role context and basic search loops. |
| 1983 | General ISB Model | J. Krikelas | Differentiates internal vs. external sources and gathering vs. seeking. |
| 1989 | Behavioral Framework | D. Ellis | Non-sequential, features-based approach (chaining, browsing, monitoring). |
| 1991 | Information Search Process (ISP) | C.K. Kuhlthau | 6-stage model adding emotional/affective dimensions (uncertainty, confusion). |
| 1995 | Information Seeking in Electronic Environments | G. Marchionini | Cognitive problem-solving steps tailored to electronic systems. |
| 1996 | Revised Macro-Model | T.D. Wilson | Introduced intervening variables and psychological activating mechanisms. |
| 1998 | Integrated Web Scanning Model | C.W. Choo | Blends Ellis’s features with scanning modes for World Wide Web behavioral analysis. |
| 2004 | Non-Linear Model | A. Foster | Dynamic, overlapping dimensions (Opening, Orientation, Consolidation). |