Information seeking

Since the late 1990s a body of research on how casual users interact with internet search engines has been forming, but the topic is far from fully understood.

Much library and information science (LIS) research has focused on the information-seeking practices of practitioners within various fields of professional work.

Studies have been carried out into the information-seeking behaviors of librarians,[1] academics,[2] medical professionals,[3] engineers,[4] lawyers[5][6] and mini-publics[7](among others).

The authors proposed an analytic model of professionals' information seeking behaviour, intended to be generalizable across the professions, thus providing a platform for future research in the area.

Recent studies in this topic address the concept of information-gathering that "provides a broader perspective that adheres better to professionals' work-related reality and desired skills.

Information seeking has been found to be linked to a variety of interpersonal communication behaviors beyond question-asking, to include strategies such as candidate answers.