[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Kuhlthau, C.C. (2025). Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services.<\/em><\/a> [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”10px|10px|10px|10px|false|false” border_width_all=”2px” border_color_all=”#00ad00″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Uncertainty is a cognitive state that commonly causes affective symptoms of anxiety and lack of confidence.\u00a0 Uncertainty and anxiety can be expected in the early stages of the ISP.\u00a0 The affective symptoms of uncertainty, confusion and frustration are associated with vague, unclear thought about a topic or question.\u00a0 As knowledge states shift to more clearly focused thoughts, a parallel shift occurs in feelings of increased confidence.\u00a0 Uncertainty due to a lack of understanding, a gap in meaning, or a limited construct initiates the process of information seeking.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The principle is expanded by six corollaries: process corollary, formulation corollary, redundancy corollary, mood corollary, prediction corollary, and interest corollary. (8*)<\/p>\n Process Corollary<\/strong> Formulation Corollary<\/strong> Redundancy Corollary<\/strong> Mood Corollary<\/strong> Prediction Corollary<\/strong> Interest Corollary<\/strong> Information searching is traditionally portrayed as a systematic, orderly, and rational procedure rather than the uncertain, confusing process that users commonly experience.\u00a0After the search is completed, the topic understood, and the problem solved, a person may look back and deny the chaos and confusion that was actually experienced in the process. A gap exists between users\u2019 expectations in information use and search design.<\/p>\n The ISP considers uncertainty as natural and essential for constructing personal knowledge in the process of information seeking rather than regarding the reduction of uncertainty as the primary objective of information seeking. Uncertainty is a concept that offers insight into the user\u2019s quest for meaning within the ISP. If uncertainty is viewed as a sign of the beginning of innovation and creativity, the goal of library and information services shifts from reducing uncertainty to supporting the user\u2019s constructive process. Increased uncertainty in the ISP indicates a need for intervention that enables the person to move on to further construction and understanding. Uncertainty in the ISP indicates a zone of intervention in the ISP for information intermediaries (9*).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
30th <\/em>Anniversary Edition, <\/em>Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited<\/a>
Chapters: 6, 11<\/em><\/p>\nSix Corollaries of the Principle of Uncertainty<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The process of information seeking involves construction in which the person actively pursues understanding and meaning from the information encountered over a period of time.\u00a0The process is commonly experienced in a series of thoughts and feelings that shift from vague and anxious to clear and confident, as the search progresses.<\/p>\n
Formulation is thinking, developing an understanding and extending and defining a topic from the information encountered in the early stages of a search.\u00a0The formulation of a focus or a guiding idea is a critical, pivotal point in the ISP when a general topic becomes clearer and a particular perspective is formed as the person moves from uncertainty to understanding.<\/p>\n
The interplay of seeking what is expected or redundant and encountering what is unexpected or unique results in an underlying tension of the ISP. Redundant information fits into what the user already knows and is readily recognized as being relevant or not.\u00a0Unique information is new and extends knowledge and does not match the person\u2019s constructs requiring reconstruction to be recognized as useful.\u00a0Too much redundant information leads to boredom, whereas too much unique information causes anxiety.\u00a0 The lack of redundancy in the early stages of the ISP may be an underlying cause of anxiety related to uncertainty. Uncertainty may decrease as redundancy increases.<\/p>\n
Mood, a stance or attitude that the person assumes, opens or closes the range of possibilities in a search.\u00a0According to Kelly, an invitational mood leads to expansive, exploratory actions, whereas an indicative mood fosters conclusive actions that lead to closure.\u00a0The person\u2019s mood is likely to shift during the ISP.\u00a0An invitational mood may be helpful in the early stages and an indicative mood in the later stages. A person in an invitational mood would tend to take more expansive, exploratory actions, while a user in an indicative mood prefers conclusive actions that lead to closure.<\/p>\n
The ISP is a series of personal choices based on the person\u2019s predictions of what will happen if a particular action is taken.\u00a0People make predictions derived from constructs built on past experience about what sources, information and strategies will be relevant and effective. These predictions lead to the choices they make in the stages of the ISP.\u00a0People develop expectations and make predictions about the sources used or not used, the sequence of source use, and the information selected from the sources as relevant or irrelevant.\u00a0Relevance is not absolute or constant but varies considerably from person to person.<\/p>\n
Interest increases as the exploratory inquiry leads to formulation in the ISP.\u00a0Motivation and intellectual engagement intensify along with construction.\u00a0Personal interest may be expected to increase as uncertainty decreases. The person\u2019s interest and motivation grows as the search progresses.\u00a0Interest is higher in later stages after the person has formed a focus and has enough understanding of the topic to become intellectually engaged.<\/p>\nImplications of ISP for Information Services and Systems<\/strong><\/h2>\n