Information and information sources in tasks of varying complexity

Abstract

This article presents the research findings of a study on task complexity and information-seeking activities in real-life work tasks. The focus was on perceived task complexity, which was determined according to the task performers' prior knowledge about the task ahead. This view on task complexity is closely related to research considering task uncertainty and analyzability. Information-seeking activities considered were a need to acquire different types of information and the subsequent use of different types of sources. The research data were mainly collected by (1) self-recorded journals that were filled out by municipal administrators in the course of performing their ordinary work duties (altogether 78 task diaries), and (2) subsequent interviews. The results indicated that there is a relatively strong relationship between types of information and types of sources. The effects of task complexity made experts more attractive as a source than other people and all types of documentary sources.

Expectancy‐value beliefs and information needs as motivators for task‐based information seeking

“…Since the main emphasis is placed on the analysis of the potential of the expectancy-value theories, the review of the constructs of task-based information need had to be concise, due to space restrictions alone. For the same reason, only the key studies of task-based information need (e.g., Byström, 1999;2002) can be discussed in more detail. Second, since the constructs of expectancy-value and taskbased information need have been developed in different research fields and they draw on different terminologies, no attempts were made to compare the individual components of expectancy-value (e.g., instrumentality) and the task-based information need (e.g., necessity to acquire information) in order to identify the degree to which they match.…”

What Can Searching Behavior Tell Us About the Difficulty of Information Tasks? A Study of Web Navigation

“…Many studies have focused on achieving a better understanding of tasks and their characteristics (Byström, 2002;Algon, 1997;Byström & Jarvelin 1995, Kuhlthau 1992). …”

“…In the field of information studies, the relationship between task complexity (difficulty) and information seeking has been investigated by several resea rchers (Kim, 2006;Kim & Rieh, 2005;Bell & Ruthven, 2004;Byström, 2002;Vakkari, 1999;Byström & Järvelin, 1995;Saracevic & Kantor, 1988). The prevailing perspective on complexity was as a person-task interaction.…”

Methods for Evaluating Interactive Information Retrieval Systems with Users

“…However, these studies are not always driven by system concerns. Example studies are Byström [43], Ford et al [99], Kellar et al [163], and Kim and Allen [171].…”

“…Vakkari [279] provides an overview of task-based information searching. Byström [43,44,45] has conducted a large number of studies investigating task complexity and how tasks can be defined, measured and studied. In particular, Byström and Hansen [44] distinguish among work tasks, information seeking tasks, and information retrieval tasks.…”