Section Ten

10.1 Kuhlthau, C.C. (1999). The Roles of Experience in the Information Search Process of an Early Career Information Worker: Perceptions of Uncertainty, Complexity, Construction, and Sources. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50(5), 399-412.

Within this body of research, Kuhlthau only worked with one participant. While it was beneficial for her to have worked longitudinally with the same person, the transferability of this data is debatable. It is uncertain whether all members of the participant's industry have similar reactions to uncertainty, or if the lone interviewee happens to have specific preferences that are characteristic of him as an individual. As such, it seems unwise to have focused so narrowly. Based on the intensive amount of research required for this study, I would not suggest the pool of candidates be larger than five to ten. Even those few extra people would paint a more accurate depiction of the information behavior of experts compared to novices in security analysis.

Another aspect of this article that I find troubling is the organization of the literature review. A smaller detail, perhaps, but the ease of reading is certainly important. Whether the intended reader is a current student or a practitioner in the library field, an enormous amount of reading is required to stay current. As such, literature reviews should be as succinct and clear as possible. Many times, the models discussed are familiar to the reader and they should not have to waste precious time by rereading something they are already aware of. Bulleted lists or bold key terms would certainly be a sufficient way to alert the reader as to the intended theory or model discussed and would serve as a precise refresher to one already accustomed to the literature.

One of Kuhlthau's findings that I found to be interesting is the difference of opinion between the novice and expert searcher's comfortability level when dealing with uncertainty. Prior to reading this article, I would hypothesize that the expert would be more comfortable in projects and situations filled with uncertainty. I would also suggest that the novice would be anxious and nervous in new and unfamiliar environments. However, Kuhlthau's qualitative data suggests that it is the other way around instead. Again, I am not entirely sure how much conviction can be placed in this study, as only one participant is involved; but it is still worth noting that the novice is more comfortable than the expert in unfamiliar territory.