Information Science

Information:
Information Science was coined in 1955(Madden 2000, p.343). Since then, the literatre
is enriched !" man" definitions of the term information. Mc#readie and
$ice (1999, p.4%) pro&ided a comprehensi&e definition of information. 'he" re&iewed
si( pieces of research literatre, which considered different points of &iew in order to
identif" the concept of information. 'he" considered the followin) concepts*
• +Information as a representation of ,nowled)e+. 'his is concerned with
information as stored ,nowled)e. It tends to !e in carrier materials sch as
docments, !oo,s, periodicals and also in electronic media (e.). #- and Internet).
• +Information as data in the en&ironment+. 'his concept relates to information that
can !e o!tained from a ran)e of en&ironmental stimli and phenomena. not all of
which are intended to /con&e"/ a messa)e, !t which can !e informati&e when
appropriatel" interpreted.
• +Information as part of the commnication process+. 'his is the notion that
meanin)s are in people rather than in words or data. 0man !eha&ior is the !asis
for nderstandin) the process. 'here are two factors. timin) and social factors that
ha&e an impact on the processin) and interpretation of information.
• +Information as a resorce or commodit"+. 'his notion spports the idea that
information is transmitted in a messa)e from sender to recei&er. It assmes that
the recei&er interprets the messa)e in the wa" intended !" the sender
1 simple definition was pro&ided !" #hen and 0ernon (1922, p.S) who defined
information as +all ,nowled)e, ideas, facts, data and ima)inati&e wor,s of mind which
are commnicated formall" and3or informall" in an" format+. 4n the other hand, #ase
(2005, p.S) pro&ided the !road definition that +information can !e an" difference "o
percei&e, in "or en&ironment or within "orself. It is an" aspect that "o notice in the
pattern of realit"+. 1 wad and 6ha7iri (2004, p.3%) e(plained the word information. 'he"
said that information is o!tained from the word /inform/, which means /to )i&e shape
to/. therefore, information means determinin) the data to arri&e at meanin) in the e"es of
the percei&er.
Information is a set of data that ma,es a decision eas". It is also facts and
fi)res !ased on processed data. Moreo&er, information has !een defined from
perspecti&es related to s!8ect and prpose. In)wersen and 9ar&elin (2005, p.20) defined
information from the perspecti&e of Information Science. 'he" indicated that
information mst flfil two main constraints* +4n the one hand information !ein) the
reslt of a transformation of a )enerator/s co)niti&e strctres (!" intentionalit", model
of recipients/ states of ,nowled)e and in the form of si)ns). 4n the other hand !ein)
somethin) which, when percei&ed, affects and transforms the recipient/s state of
,nowled)e+. 4n the other hand, :"att ; Slli&an (2005), :"att (199%) and Shortliffe
et al. (2001) defined information from a health informatics perspecti&e. 'he" defined it
as an or)ani7ed !od" of data or ,nowled)e which is commnicated and sed !" hman
or compter a)ents in order to ma,e decisions and )ide actions
Information Need
. Information need is +the information that indi&idals o)ht to ha&e to do their 8o!
effecti&el", sol&e a pro!lem satisfactoril" or prse a ho!!" or interest happil"+ <icholas
(2000). /4)ht/ implies that a &ale 8d)ment is reco)nised as important if the need of the
person is to !e meet, e.). the pro&ision of the information needed to wor, efficientl",
effecti&el" and safel". 4n the other hand, information wants can !e defined as what an
indi&idal wold li,e to ha&e, /li,e/ !ein) the operati&e word. Information demand is a
re=est for an item of information !elie&ed to !e wanted. :hen a ser starts to see,
information he3she is li,el" to meet an information professional and interact with an
information s"stem, sorce or intermediar". In addition, <icholas (2000) e(plained the
term information se as meanin) more than satisfied demand (intended se) for it ma"
also !e the reslt of !rowsin) or accidental disco&er" (while not loo,in) prposi&el" for
an"thin) or when loo,in) for somethin) else).1ltho)h it is tho)ht of as a simple and
fre=entl" sed word, /se/ has a comple( and &aried spectrm of meanin). 'here are
different le&els of se which can !e distin)ished. 'he first le&el of se simpl" in&ol&es
determinin) whether somethin) is worth sin) in the first place. 'hat se ma" satisf" or
fail to satisf" need. 'he second le&el is the se or consmption of information that is
determined as !ein) rele&ant.
>an de :i8n)aert (1999 p.4%3) defined information need as a process and indicated that
+a need for information consists of the process of percei&in) a difference !etween an
ideal state of ,nowled)e and the actal state of ,nowled)e+. In addition, information need
has !een identified as determinin) the awareness of the )ap in the ,nowled)e. ?or
e(ample, In)wersen and 9ar&elin (2005, p.20) stated that information need means +a
consciosl" identified )ap in the ,nowled)e a&aila!le to an actor. Information needs ma"
lead to information@see,in) and formlation of re=ests for information+. In addition,
#ase (2005, p.S), defined information need as +a reco)nition that "or ,nowled)e is
inade=ate to satisf" a )oal that "o ha&e+.
Information Seeking Behaviour
#hen and 0ernon (1922,p.%) defined the concept of information@see,in) !eha&ior or
information@see,in) as one term. It is +the paths prsed !" indi&idals in the attempt to
resol&e an information need+. 0owe&er, :ilson (2000a, p.49) made a distinction !etween
the terms information !eha&ior and information@see,in) !eha&ior. 0e defined
information !eha&ior as +the totalit" of hman !eha&ior in relation to sorces and
channels of information, incldin) !oth acti&e and passi&e information see,in), and
information se. Information !eha&ior incldes face@to@face interactions, as well as the
passi&e recei&in) of information from, for e(ample, watchin) tele&ision ad&ertisin),
withot ha&in) an" intention of actin) on the information pro&ided+. 4n the other hand,
he defined information@see,in) !eha&ior as +prposi&e see,in) for information as a
conse=ence of a need to satisf" some )oal.
Indi&idals interact with two paths when see,in) for information* manal information
s"stems e.). newspaper or a li!rar" and compter@!ased s"stems sch as :::+.
1dditionall", #ase (2005, p.S) differentiated !etween the terms information@see,in) and
information !eha&ior. 0e defined information@see,in) as +a conscios efforts to
ac=ire information in response to a need or )ap in "or ,nowled)e+. At information
!eha&ior +encompasses information@see,in) as well as the totalit" of other
nintentional or passi&e !eha&ior (e.). enconterin) information), as well as prposi&e
!eha&iors that do not in&ol&e see,in), sch as acti&el" a&oidin) information+. Ber!inos
(1990, pC.922) reco)ni7ed two featres of information see,in)* firstl", nformationsee,in)
occrs +when a person has ,nowled)e stored in lon) term memor" that precipitates an
interest in related information as well as the moti&ation to ac=ire it+.
Secondl", +it can ta,e place when a person reco)ni7es a )ap in their ,nowled)e that ma"
moti&ate that person to ac=ire new information+. :ilson (2000a, p.49) has said that
information see,in) is +the prposi&e see,in) for information as a conse=ence of a need
to satisf" some )oal+.
User Studies
Dser stdies are started in the "ear 1999 !" Saitri. Dser stdies are a &ital tool to help
information professionals impro&e !oth their nderstandin) of the se and deli&er" of
information and to adapt to new technolo)ies and the information e(plosion (Saitri 1999).
Dca, and Er!ano)l (1992) said that the ,nowled)e o!tained from ser stdies cold
assist in the de&elopment of information s"stems and ser&ices. 4chei!i and A!a (2003)
a)reed that commnicatin) with sers and nderstandin) their needs helps in de&elopin)
a s"stem !t a deeper insi)ht into information needs is re=ired !" the formal researcher.
User Studies of Doctors:
'here is no do!t that for doctors, as an" other professionals, information is crcial to
their medical practice. 'he information need of doctors was cate)orised
more specificall" !" 6orman/s (1995) std". 0e identified for t"pes of doctors/
information needs*
• Dnreco)nised needs. 'his t"pe of need occrs when doctors are not aware of the
information the" need or their ,nowled)e is insfficient to flfil the needs
(,nowled)e deficit). Dnreco)nised needs shold !e dedced from doctors/
,nowled)e or o!ser&ation of clinical practices. 'his need cannot !e predicted with
an information s"stem !ecase the ser cannot reco)nise their need. 0owe&er,
new technolo)" s"stems sch as reminder s"stems and clinicaldecision@ spport
s"stems are ideal sorces of information to address nreco)nised needs.
• $eco)nised needs. 0ere there is awareness that information is needed. It is either
articlated !" doctors or can !e inferred !" on o!ser&er. It ma" reslt in a search
for new information or it ma" not.
• Frsed needs. 0ere, information@see,in) occrs which can !e o!ser&ed or
recalled at a later time.
• Satisfied needs. 'his is a s!set of prsed needs and it refers to when the prsit
of information is sccessfl.
In )eneral, the reason for doctors/ information needs was pro&ided !" #ham!liss and
#onle" (199%) who pointed ot that doctors need information for two main reasons* a)
information to answer specific patient =eries. !) information to !e pdated with crrent
impro&ements in the medical field.
Information needs in different conte(ts
'here is a )reat focs in the literatre on in&esti)atin) the information needs of doctors
!" std"in) the fre=enc" and t"pes of =estions identified !" doctors thro)h different
scenarios. 'his is a critical isse accordin) to Aarrie and :ard (1995) who distin)ished
!etween information needs and =estionin) !eha&ior. 'he" ar)ed that stdies which
focsed on doctors/ information needs ma" possi!l" )i&e an inaccrate pictre of
=estionin) !eha&ior !ecase information needs ma" !e reco)nised or nreco)nised
and are independent of doctors/ !eha&ior, which is a normati&e concept. 0owe&er,