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:	eng
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