information and information sources in a task context: method and results the swedish school of...

Information and Information Sources in a Task Context:

Method and Results

The Swedish School of Library and Information Studies

Katriina Byström,

The research questions considered

… the relationship between information types and information sources

… the relationship between task complexityand information types

… the relationship between task complexityand information sources

Sorting the concepts out ... Perceived task complexity

a priori determinability of information inputs, processing and outputs

automatic information processing tasksnormal information processing tasksdecision tasks

Information types acquired information need - information types needed to acquire task information / domain information / task-solving

information

Information sources used information seeking - sources consulted documentary sources / people as sources / visits as sources internal / external to the work organisation

Method I: Participants and data

Participants Municipal

administrators, whose duty was to prepare matters for the decision-making organs

39 participants long experience

Data main data:

78 task diaries with subsequent interviews

additional data:e-mail questionnaire for background information about the participantsobservation and guideline documents for information about the organizations

MethodII:

Task diary

MethodIII:

Task diary

MethodIV:

Complexity form

Results: Information types & sources

Info types/Source type

Noinformation

task n=16source n=20

Taskinformation

task n=34source n=187

Task &domain

informationtask n=22

source n=222

Task, domain &task-solvinginformation

task n=6source n=79

Peopleint. sourcesuse/task

10 %0 %0.1

57 %71 %3.2

62 %77 %6.2

71 %80 %9.3

Doc. sourcesint. sourcesuse/task

90 %100 %

1.1

41 %97 %2.3

33 %88 %3.4

25 %85 %3.3

Visitsuse/task

0 %0

2 %0.1

5 %0.5

4 %0.5

Totalint. sourcesuse/task

100 %90 %1.3

100 %81 %5.5

100 %77 %10.1

100 %78 %13.2

Results: People as information sources

Info types/Source type

Noinformation

task n=16source n=20

Taskinformation

task n=34source n=187

Task &domain

informationtask n=22

source n=222

Task, domain &task-solvinginformation

task n=16source n=79

Peopleconcernedint. sourcesuse/task

10 %0 %0.1

18 %15 %1.0

12 %31 %1.2

6 %0 %0.8

Expertsint. sourcesuse/task

0 %0 %

0

27 %94 %1.5

30 %80 %3.0

40 %94 %5.1

Meetingsint. sourcesuse/task

0 %0 %

0

12 %87 %0.7

20 %100 %

2.1

25 %80 %3.3

Results: Documentary sources

Info types/Source type

Noinformation

task n=16source n=20

Taskinformation

task n=34source n=187

Task &domain

informationtask n=22

source n=222

Task, domain &task-solvinginformation

task n=6source n=79

Literatureint. sourcesuse/task

0 %0 %

0

2 %67 %0.1

14 %90 %1.4

9 %86 %1.2

Official doc.sint. sourcesuse/task

90 %100 %

1.1

35 %99 %1.9

17 %84 %1.7

15 %83 %2.0

Registersuse/task

0 %0

4 %0.3

2 %0.2

1 %0.2

Results: Information & task complexityTask complexity/

Informationtypes

Automatic ...taskstask n=26

Normal ... taskstask n=35

Decision taskstask n=17

No informationacquired 54 % 6 % 0 %

Task information38 % 57 % 21 %

Task & domaininformation

8 % 31 % 47 %

Task, domain &task-solvinginformation

0 % 6 % 32 %

Total 100 % 100 % 100 %

Results: Effects of task complexityTasks with acquisition of

task informationTasks with acquisition of

task and domain informationEffects ofperceived task

complexityon

Autom. ... taskstask n = 10

source n = 36

Normal ... taskstask n = 20

source n = 133

Normal ... taskstask n = 11

source n = 144

Decision taskstask n = 9

source n = 78Share of tasks- anticipated- acquired

88 %38 %

60 %57 %

31 %31 %

56 %47 %

Sources / task 3.6 6.7 13.1 8.7

Source int. 81 % 78 % 83 % 81 %

Typical source POD POD / EWO EWO EWO

Source type- people- documentary- visits

44 %50 %6 %

58 %41 %1 %

60 %36 %4 %

69 %27 %4 %

Tasks /Characteristics

TypicalAutomatic...task

TypicalNormal...task

TypicalDecision task

Taskcomplexity

Process familiar,no considerations

Process largelyfamiliar

Process largelyunfamiliar

Ambition moderate level high level high level

Subjectexpertise

very good good fairly good

Taskfrequency

almost daily less than monthly less than monthly

Informationneeded

task information,if any

task information(+domain info)

task and domaininformation

Informationsources used

few; only internaldocuments

many; ofteninternal expertsand documents

many; mostlyinternal experts

Duration about ½ hour at most a day several days

Taskcomplexityalterations

no alteration unlikely to alter likely to alter

Conclusions I: Information types and information sources

As soon as information acquisition requires an effort people as sources become more popular than documentary sources.

The more information types are acquired, the more sources are used.

The more information types are acquired, the greater the use of people as sources.

Conclusions I: ...

The more information types are acquired, the greater the share of general-purpose sources and the smaller the share of task-oriented sources.

The more information types are acquired, the greater the use of people internal to the organisation and the greater the use of external documentary sources.

Conclusions II: Effects of task complexity

The more complex a task is perceived, the more probable the acquisition of multiple information types is (in the following combinations: first task information, then task and domain information, and finally all task, domain and task-solving information)

Increasing task complexity fosters the use of people as information sources.

An evolving model

The results indicate that the need for different types of information primarily determines what types of information sources are consulted. Task complexity mainly affects the types of information needed to acquire, but simultaneously creates a preference for certain type of sources.

TC IT IS