What is enough? Satisficing information needs

Purpose - This paper seeks to understand how users know when to stop searching for more information when the information space is so saturated that there is no certainty that the relevant information has been identified.Design methodology approach - Faculty, undergraduate and graduate students parti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of documentation 2007-01, Vol.63 (1), p.74-89
Main Authors: Prabha, Chandra, Silipigni Connaway, Lynn, Olszewski, Lawrence, Jenkins, Lillie R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic libraries
Actors
Behavior
Behavioral Science Research
Behavioral Sciences
College students
Consumer behaviour
Coping
Cost benefit analysis
Decision making
Individual Characteristics
Individual Differences
Information literacy
Information Needs
Information retrieval
Information Science Education
Information Seeking
Information seeking behavior
Information seeking behaviour
Information sources
Information work
Libraries
Library and information science
Library resources
Preferences
Resistance (Psychology)
Role Theory
Social Behavior
Social Environment
Social Life
Social life & customs
User studies
Users (Information)
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Summary:Purpose - This paper seeks to understand how users know when to stop searching for more information when the information space is so saturated that there is no certainty that the relevant information has been identified.Design methodology approach - Faculty, undergraduate and graduate students participated in focus group interviews to investigate what leads them to satisfice their information needs.Findings - Academic library users describe both qualitative and quantitative criteria, which lead them to make rational choices determining when "enough" information satisfices their need. The situational context of both the participants' specific information need and their role in academic society affects every stage of their search - from the selection of the first resource, to ongoing search strategies, to decisions on how much information is enough.Originality value - These findings broaden the scope of earlier user research, which tends to focus on the more static views of habitual information-seeking and -searching behavior, by applying theoretical frameworks for a richer understanding of the users' experiences.
ISSN:0022-0418
1758-7379
DOI:10.1108/00220410710723894