Information-Seeking


 * Definition **

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term information is defined as “the imparting of knowledge in general” and the term seek is defined as “go[ing] in search or quest of” (Information, 2012; Seeking, 2012) The meaning of term “information” has changed over time. While Aristotle viewed information as a means of structure, it was later viewed as stuff (concrete objects) human senses, statistical data and even in a military context (Peters, 1988, pp. 13, 19). Thus, what is considered to be information is perhaps so vast due to the concept’s rich and changing history over the years.

The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that the term “information-seeking” may first have been used in E. P. Hingston’s Artemis Ward’s Panorama in 1869 to describe how readers “quest for information” in a book of travels (Roberston & Hingston, 1869, p. 51; Information-Seeking, 2012). The use of the word appears to spike in the 1950’s among psychology research, particularly the study of groups and their decision-making processes (Klein, 1956 p. 140). Early scholars within this field defined information-seeking as “seeking to obtain information of an objective, factual or technical nature” (Crockett, 1955 p. 379). In the context of electronic research, information-seeking is defined as “a conscious effort to acquire information in response to a need or gap in your knowledge” (Case, 2002 p. 5). These two definitions may exemplify how the meaning of the concept is dependent on what is considered information.


 * Organizational Communication **

Within communication, the study of information-seeking appears to begin with the study of group communication in the early 1950’s (much at the same time as it appeared in the psychology world). Information-seeking was identified as a key means (along with concepts such as information giving, blocking, and reasoning) of problem-solving within groups (Harnack, 1953 p. 16). More recent group decision-making research shows that homogenous groups tend to seek out information that is biased toward their viewpoints (Shulz-Hardt et al., 2000, p. 665).

In addition, information-seeking is studied in the context of newcomers entrance and socialization within organizations. New workers often experience uncertainty when they first begin a job and seek out information to reduce that uncertainty (Forward, 1999 p. 192).


 * Interpersonal Communication **

Within the context of interpersonal communication, information-seeking is often linked with the concepts of uncertainty and relationships. Berger & Calabrese (1975) identified information-seeking as a key stage in developing interpersonal relationships. He argued that as information-seeking increased, uncertainty was reduced. In addition, he theorized that as communication behavior increases, information-seeking behavior decreases. Berger offers three information-seeking strategies to reduce uncertainty: a passive strategy (observing the person from a distance), an active strategy (asking another person for information about that person and an interactive strategy (speaking with the person face to face) (Griffin, 2011).

With the rise of computer-mediated relationships Ramirez et. al. (2002) argue that computers impact interpersonal information-seeking by “free[ing] communicators to pursue information in qualitatively significant ways.” These scholars also outline specific how passive, active and interactive strategies can be used in a computer-mediated context” (p. 219). Within romantic relationships, predictors of information-seeking include time, jealousy and perceived level of commitment from the other partner (Bell & Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1990 p. 64).


 * Health Communication **

In the context of health communication, information-seeking is viewed as “intentional, directed by goals, and involv[ing] such behaviors as asking questions and formally searching databases such as the Internet” (Thompson et. al, 2012, p. 56). Information seeking falls under the umbrella of the concept of “information management” which includes not only seeking but “avoiding, providing, appraising and interpreting” that information (Brashers et. al, 2002, p. 259). When people experience uncertainty about a health-related issue, they tend to seek out information in face-to-face contexts (such as seeking out a physician, family member or friend) or mediated communication contexts (such as a magazine, pamphlet or the Internet (Brasher et. al, 2002, p. 259). Healthcare providers are often a primary source when a patient seeks out information (Longo et. al, 2009, p.193). Information-seeking in this context may be collaborative as both the provider and the patient must seek information to determine the illness and a course of treatment (Brashers et. al, 2002, p. 261).

When a patient is dissatisfied with the level of empathy of their provider, the information their provider has given them or the quality of time spent with their provider, they are likely to seek health-related information elsewhere, such as on the Internet (Tustin, 2010, p. 11). Generally, those who are health conscious tend to seek out information from “active” sources such as interpersonal connections, print media and the internet while less health conscious people derive health information from “passive” sources such as radio and television (Dutta-Bergman, 2004, p. 285).

In addition, Johnson and Meishke (1993) devised a Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking and argued that a person’s demographics, their direct experience with the illness, the salience of the information they are receiving and their beliefs about their self-efficacy provide motivation and affect how they view the information they are seeking. These factors are then mediated by the factors surrounding the carrier of the information (including the characteristics of the carrier and the utility of the information) to predict a person’s information-seeking actions (DeLorme et. al, 2011, p. 769).


 * Political Communication **

The concept of information-seeking can also be found within political communication studies. It is often associated with mass media consumption for information-seeking purposes. For instance, information-seeking is studied in relation to political advertisements and how they affect a person’s desire for more information (it is argued that the politically aware seek out less information based on these ads) (Valentino et al, 2004, p. 351).

In addition, information-seeking has also been studied in the context of news viewing. Information-seeking habits tendencies a major motivator for people to look for political information via both television and the Internet (Brubaker, 2010, p. 305). Information-seeking has also been contrasted with the concept of information avoiding in relation to the news. While half the U.S. population actively seeks out information through the news, the other half tends to avoid it (Ksiazek et al, 2010, p. 551).

Written by Heather Zupancic (August 2012).

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 * References**

Bell, R. A., & Buerkel-Rothfuss, N. L. (1990). S(he) loves me, s(he) loves me not: Predictors of relational information-seeking in courtship and beyond. //Communication Quarterly, 38//(1), 64-82.

Berger, C. R., & Calabrese, R. J. (1975). Some explorations in initial interaction and beyond: Toward a theory of interpersonal communication. //Human Communication Research//, 199-112.

Brashers, D. E., Goldsmith, D. J., & Hsieh, E. (2002). Information seeking and avoiding in health contexts. //Human Communication Research//, 28(2), 258.

Brubaker, J. (2010). Internet and television are not substitutes for seeking political information. //Communication Research Reports, 27//(4), 298-309. doi:10.1080/08824096.2010.518906

Case, D. O. (2002). //Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs and behavior.// San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Crockett, W. H. (1955) Emergent leadership in small decision-making groups. //The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51//(3). 378-383.

DeLorme, D. E., Huh, J., & Reid, L. N. (2011). Source selection in prescription drug information seeking and influencing factors: Applying the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking in an American context. //Journal Of Health Communication, 16//(7), 766-787. doi:10.1080/10810730.2011.561914

Dutta-Bergman, M. J. (2004). Primary sources of health information: Comparisons in the domain of health attitudes, health cognitions, and health behaviors. //Health Communication, 16//(3), 273-288.

Forward, G. L. (1999). Encountering the nonprofit organization: Clergy uncertainty and information- seeking during organizational entry. //Journal Of Communication & Religion, 22//(2), 190-213.

Griffin, E. (2011). //Communication theory: A first look.// Columbus, OH: McGraw Hill.

Harnack, R. V. (1953). Problems in measuring discussion process. //Journal of Communication, 3//(1). 13-16.

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Johnson, J., & Meischke, H. (1993). A comprehensive model of cancer-related information seeking applied to magazines. Human //Communication Research, 19//. 343-367.

Klein, J. (1956). //The study of groups.// London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd.

Ksiazek, T. B., Malthouse, E. C., & Webster, J. G. (2010). News-seekers and avoiders: Exploring patterns of total news consumption across media and the relationship to civic participation. //Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54//(4), 551-568. doi:10.1080/08838151.2010.519808

Longo, D. R., Ge, B., Radina, M., Greiner, A., Williams, C. D., Longo, G. S., & Salas-Lopez, D. (2009). Understanding breast-cancer patients' perceptions: Health information-seeking behaviour and passive information receipt. //Journal Of Communication In Healthcare, 2//(2), 184-206.

Peters, J. D. (1988). Information: Notes toward a critical history. //Journal of Communication Inquiry, 12//. 9-23.

Ramirez Jr., A., Walther, J. B., Burgoon, J. K., & Sunnafrank, M. (2002). Information-seeking strategies, uncertainty, and computer-mediated communication. //Human Communication Research, 28//(2), 213.

Robertson T. W. & Hingston, E. P. (1869). //Artemis Ward’s panorama.// NY: G. W. Carleton.

Schulz-Hardt, S., Frey, D., Lüthgens, C., & Moscovici, S. (2000). Biased information search in group decision making. //Journal Of Personality & Social Psychology, 78//(4), 655-669. doi:10.10370022-3514.78.4.655

Seek. (2012). In //Oxford English Dictionary Online//. Retrieved from [|http://dictionary.oed.com]

Thompson, N., Bevan, J., & Sparks, L. (2012). Healthcare reform information-seeking: Relationships with uncertainty, uncertainty discrepancy, and health self-efficacy. //Journal Of Communication In Healthcare, 5//(1), 56-66. doi:10.1179/1753807611Y.0000000016

Tustin, N. (2010). The Role of Patient Satisfaction in Online Health Information Seeking. //Journal Of Health Communication, 15//(1), 3-17. doi:10.1080/10810730903465491

Valentino, N. A., Hutchings, V. L., & Williams, D. (2004). The Impact of political advertising on knowledge, Internet information seeking, and candidate preference. //Journal Of Communication, 54//(2), 337-354.