Several prominent scholars suggest that investigations of human information behavior or “information needs, seeking, and uses” rarely measure how received information is applied or its effects on the recipient, that is, its outcomes. This article explores this assertion via systematic analysis of studies published in journals between 1950 and 2012. Five time periods and four journals were sampled, including 1,391 journal articles, 915 of which were empirical studies. Based on these samples, the percentage of studies of information outcomes climbed from zero in the 1950s and 1960s, to 8% in recent research reports. The barriers to studying information outcomes and possible future research on this topic are explored.

Abstract Why authors cite particular documents has been the subject of both speculation and empirical investigation for decades. This article provides a short history of attempts to understand citation motivations and reports a replication of earlier surveys measuring reasons for citations. Comparisons are made among various types of scholars. The present study identified six highly cited articles in the topic area of bibliometrics and surveyed all of the locatable authors who cited those works (n=112). It was thought that bibliometricians, given that this is their area of expertise, might have a heightened level of awareness of their own citation practices, and hence a different pattern of responses. Several reasons indicated by the 56% of the sample who identified themselves as bibliometricians differed in statistically significant ways from nonbibliometricians, and also from earlier samples of scholars in Communication and Psychology. By far the most common reason for citing a document is that it represents a genre. A factor analysis shows that 20 motivations, clustered in seven factors, can represent the most common motivations for citation. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of recent debates about the role of social factors in citation. Alternative methods for investigating citation behavior are discussed.

Abstract Although a number of investigations have been conducted on the information behavior of family historians, we know little about the degree to which they systematically collect information on the causes of death and major illnesses of ancestors. Such information, if reliable and accessible, could be useful to family physicians, the families themselves, and to epidemiologists. This article presents findings from a two‐stage study of amateur genealogists in the USA. An initial state‐wide telephone survey of 901 households was followed by in‐depth interviews with a national sample of 23 family historians. Over half of the responding households in the general survey reported that someone in their family collects ancestral medical data; this practice appears to be more common among respondents who are women, older persons, and those with higher incomes. In‐depth interviews revealed that this information is commonly collected by family historians, and typically comes from death certificates, secondarily from obituaries, and thirdly from word‐of‐mouth or family records; most of these respondents collected health information for reasons of surveillance of their own health risks. Social‐networking approaches to encourage gathering of family data could aid in increased awareness and surveillance of health risks. Implications for health information seeking and applicable theories are discussed.

Abstract The diffusion of the Internet has radically expanded the readily available sources for information of all types. Information that was once obtained second‐hand from friends and acquaintances—the traditional “two‐step flow”—is now found easily through the Internet. The authors make use of survey data to explore this thesis in regards to information sources about genetic testing and the influence of the Internet on the information seeking behaviors of the public. A telephone survey of a random sample of 882 adults asked them about their knowledge of, concerns about, and interest in genetic testing. Respondents were most likely to first turn to the Internet for information about cancer genetics, second to public libraries, and third to medical doctors. Overall, doctors were the most likely source to be consulted when second and third choices are considered. Age, income, and self‐reported understanding of genetics are shown to be predictors of whether someone goes to medical professionals for advice, rather than to the Internet or public library. The results raise questions about the apparent tendency of the public to regard the Internet as the best source of information on complex topics like genetics, for which it may be ill‐suited.

Authors' motivations for citing documents are addressed through a literature review and an empirical study. Replicating an investigation in psychology, the works of two highly-cited authors in the discipline of communication were identified, and all of the authors who cited them during the period 1995–1997 were surveyed. The instrument posed 32 questions about why a certain document was cited, plus questions about the citer's relationship to the cited author and document. Most findings were similar to the psychology study, including a tendency to cite “concept markers” representing a genre of work. Authors in communication were more likely to have an interpersonal connection to cited authors, and to cite literature reviews—their most common reason for citation. Three types of judgments about cited works were found to best predict citation: (1) that the work was novel, well-known, and a concept-marker; (2) that citing it might promote the authority of one's own work; and (3) that the work deserved criticism. Suggestions are made for further research, especially regarding the anomalous role of creativity in cited works.

“Videotex” was an early incarnation of what have been more recently called “end-user information services.” This article considers the origins and historical development of videotex over three decades, comparing various nationally sponsored and private systems in Europe and North America, and discussing reasons given for the “failure” of videotex. The influence of nontechnical factors on videotex and perceptions of critical problems and acceptable solutions are described. According to this interpretation, the development of videotex faced four “bottlenecks” at once: the determination of transmission channels; the choice of a display device; agreement on coding standards; and the marketing of the resulting services. In how it accommodated these problems, videotex provides an example of how social, political, and economic elements are inseparable from technical constraints in the development of new information technologies. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

As electronic text files increase in number and diversity, the problem of devising a more effective information retrieval interface grows more important. Future designs may draw upon cognitive theories at categorization and metaphor to understand how users interact with text—both paper and electronic. Relevant literature in cognitive psychology and information science suggests the importance of the user's physical environment in thinking about abstract entities, such as categories of documents. Empirical studies have established a basis for understanding how we think about, file, remember, and locate text. Results from a study of 20 historians—an exemplary group in terms of their close studies of texts and the broad scope of their inquiries—imply the importance of metaphors for storage and retrieval of documents. The study found that metaphors and subjective categories were frequently applied to documents collected and created by these scholars. Two physical factors—spatial configuration and document form—were often considered before topic in determining document storage locations in the office. Developers of information systems should consider qualitative aspects of cognition in their designs. System developers might also consider segmenting the audience for computer interfaces, as well as designing generic tools that apply to all users. © 1991 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

We report on a two-year project funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a set of microcomputer-based training and assistance programs to support end user access to the Energy Database on the DOE information retrieval systems. We studied the information needs and information-seeking habits of energy researchers and then designed a set of programs tailored to their skill levels and needs. The software was developed in several iterations, with laboratory testing after each cycle. We learned that it was possible to construct a 10- to 15-minute instructional program and an automated assistance program that would allow most of the experimental users to conduct a reasonable search. However, the searches tended to be overly complex and problems with term selection remain. We discuss the issues in development, evaluation, and the study of user behavior in designing an interface tailored to a special population. © 1989 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The project Online Access to Knowledge (OAK) has developed a computer intermediary for selected users of the Department of Energy's DOE/RECON and BASIS online information retrieval systems. Its purpose is to enable people who have little or no training or experience in bibliographic searching to conduct their own searches, without the assistance of a trained librarian, hence permitting the user to work in both a place and time of his or her choosing. The purpose of this article is to report on the design and the rationale for the design. OAK software consists of both a tutorial and an assistance program. The latter does not employ a command language, hence obviates the need for a searcher to learn the formal language usually associated with an online database search service. It is central to our approach that this system does not supplant the user's ultimate primacy in knowing what he or she is looking for, nor in judging the results. © 1989 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This paper explores an important problem in information retrieval: that of rapidly increasing amounts of full-text storage that is difficult to file and retrieve effectively. The author suggests that a possible avenue for improving full-text retrieval would include in-depth studies of the ways in which individual users cope with large amounts of written information, stored chiefly on paper in their offices. Relevant literature in cognitive psychology is reviewed and some recent and continuing studies are described that have used anthropological methods to approach this problem. It is argued that historians are a good group to study, due to their reliance on the examination and processing of texts, and the broad scope of their inquiries. Examinations of the ways in which this one group of information workers categorize documents could lead us to a better understanding of human problems in processing and retrieving textual information.

With the increasing number of information retrieval systems and databases available and the increasing demand of end users to utilize the systems, a need exists for improved interfaces and improved training mechanisms. This paper reports on a project to develop an integrated online instruction and assistance system to be used as a “front end” to the U.S. Department of Energy's RECON retrieval system. The conceptual framework for the interface design is based on individual characteristics of its current and prospective users, predominantly scientists conducting energy research. We are building a prototype based on information gained from interviews with scientists using the system (either directly or through a search intermediary) and interviews with search intermediaries. The paper reports on research in progress, including the results of the interviews and the preliminary design of the interface. The conference presentation will include a fuller description of the interface than can be specified here.

Abstract Scientific publishing has evolved over three centuries of technological change. It now faces problems that include rapid growth, literature scatter, increasing costs, and excessive delays in publication. This article examines technical solutions to increasing delays and costs and explores new ways of disseminating research information. Noting developments in computer networking and microcomputer applications, the author contends that the widespread use of personal computers will accelerate the development of electronic publishing.