Reports of the demise of the 'user' have been greatlyexaggerated: Dervin's Sense-Making and themethodological resuscitation of the user -- lookingbackwards, looking forward

摘要

In 2003, an ASIST panel (Rosenbaum, Davenport, Lieuvrouw, Day, 2003)rnpronounced the "death of the user" suggesting that new technologiesrnundermine a concept that was already weak in ability to account for agency inrninformation seeking and use. This panel challenges that pronouncement byrnaddressing how methodological approaches have created users in differentrnmanifestations -- emotional, cognitive, physical, and social -- elusive andrncapricious, dead or almost so, overly demanding, disinterested, individualistic,rnmaterialistic, culture-bound, active, passive.... Panelists zero in on how theyrnhave used and struggled with Dervin's Sense-Making Methodology (Dervin &rnForeman-Wernet, 2003) in attempts to conduct parsimonious, heuristic, andrnuseful user studies and to introduce a strong user-orientation into LISrnpedagogy and practice. Starting with the seminal Dervin & Nilan (1986) ARISTrnreview of information seeking and use studies, Dervin's Sense-Making hasrnbeen pointed to as sparking the turn toward user-oriented studies ofrninformation seeking and use (e.g., Savolainen, 1993). Sense-Making has beenrnmuch quoted and misquoted, praised and criticized, implemented and coopted.rnThis panel will look backwards and forward using Sense-Making as anrnexemplar and foil for considering the ways philosophies that drivernmethodologies and methods that implement them enlarge or diminish ourrnconceptions of the user.