Information Seeking Behaviors

1. Tutoring & The Research Process

2. Stokely Klasovsky
Kent State Writing Center

3. Your Process
Research Process Exercise

4. What is research?
• Research is about discovery, actively
evaluating concepts, and developing new
ideas; it involves the synthesis and integration
of existing information to draw new
conclusions and develop original ideas.

5. “Information Seeking Behaviors”

6. Dervin’s Sense Making Model

7. Bates’s Berrypicking Model

8. Puzzle Wheel

9. Smith’s Optimally Productive
Conception of Writing

10. Your Visual Representation
Research Process Exercise

11. Spink’s Information Behavior
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/692304330

12. Information Behavior Sub-processes
• Consists of six inter-related behaviors
• Developed from a number of research areas:
– Cognitive science
– Psychology
– Biology

13. Information Seeking

14. Sense Making

15. Information Foraging

16. Information Searching

17. Information Organizing

18. Information Using

19. Research Analysis for Tutors

20. Information Seeking
• Assignment awareness & analysis
• Expressing what they don’t understand
• Acknowledging that what they already know is
insufficent

21. Sense Making
• Topic Narrowing
• Thesis Development
• Engaging Interest

22. Information Foraging
• Where to look?
• Research Databases? Reference Texts? Kent-
Link? Ohio-Link?
• Google? Wikipedia?
• Reference Desk?
http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10078
• Reference desk for writing questions?

23. Information Searching
• Navigating Sources
• Boolean Operators
• Evaluating Information
http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10078

24. Information Organizing
• Outlining/Structuring
• Determining which information is useful
• Classical/Toulmin/Rogerian Arguments?
• Simply why this first and that second?

25. Information Using
• Writing the paper
• Assembling the bibliography
• Integrating quotations
• Using synthesis words

26. Mapping Your Research
Research Process Exercise
• Information Seeking
• Sense Making
• Information Foraging
• Information Searching
• Information Organizing
• Information Using

27. • Student Handbook

28. Thank You! (and thank you, Dr. Spink)