Information Need: A Theory Connecting Information Search to Knowledge Formation

摘要

For some time, technical communicators have analyzed who will use their material. Such user analysis has evolved from demographic data and focus groups to individual user analysis. Techniques have moved from guesswork and surveys to interviews to speculation about the user's cognitive processes. Recently, user analysis has turned toward studying in more detail what the user wants to know. Research from information science has enabled technical communicators to examine that need. For example, information behavior researchers have examined user reaction to both an information system and the results such a system produces.