Information Search Process Theory

Kuhlthau, C.C. (2025). Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services.
30^th Anniversary Edition, Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited
Chapters: 3, 4, 5, 11

Abstract
The Information Search Process (ISP) is a six stage model of the users’ holistic experience in the process of information seeking.  The ISP model, based on two decades of empirical research, identifies three realms of experience: the affective (feelings), the cognitive (thoughts) and the physical (actions) common to each stage.  Central to the ISP is the notion that uncertainty, both affective and cognitive, increases and decreases in the process of information seeking.  A principle of uncertainty for information seeking is proposed that states that information commonly increases uncertainty in the early stages of the search process. Increased uncertainty indicates a zone of intervention for intermediaries and system designers.

Model of the Information Search Process (ISP)

The Information Search Process (ISP) presents a holistic view of information seeking from the user’s perspective in six stages: task initiation, selection, exploration, focus formulation, collection and presentation.  The six stage model of the ISP incorporates three realms of experience: the affective (feelings) the cognitive (thoughts) and the physical (actions) common to each stage (1).  The ISP reveals information seeking as a process of construction influenced by Kelly’s personal construct theory (2) with information increasing uncertainty in the early stages of the ISP.