Product Description

Looking for Information presents examples of information seeking and reviews studies of the information-seeking behavior of both general and specific social and occupational groups: scientists, engineers, social scientists, humanists, policy experts, the aged, the poor, and "the public" in general. It also discusses general research on information seeking, including basic research on human communication behavior as found in the literature of psychology, anthropology, sociology, and other disciplines.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #670294 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
"Â…an excellent, long-needed text. Nothing quite like it is availableÂ…this will become the standard work in the area..."
—T.D. Wilson, Emeritus, University of Sheffield, U.K.

"Â…an ambitious bookÂ…particularly welcome as an academic textbookÂ…a wealth of concrete examples of information seeking in everyday contextsÂ…"
—Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology

"A welcome and ambitious book that should be received with open armsÂ…clear and readableÂ…highly accessibleÂ…cannot be overlookedÂ…"
—Information Research

“…an especially useful source, assembling and framing user-centered studies…Case has performed a significant service for students and researchers…”
—Journal of the Medical Library Association

“…It should appear on reading lists and bookshelves across a number of academic fields.”
—FIRST MONDAY.com -- Review

"...an ambitious book...particularly welcome as an academic textbook...a wealth of concrete examples of information seeking in everyday contexts..." -- Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology

"...an especially useful source, assembling and framing user-centered studies...Case has performed a significant service for students and researchers..." -- Journal of the Medical Library Association

"...an excellent, long-needed text. Nothing quite like it is available...this will become the standard work in the area..." -- T.D. Wilson, Emeritus, University of Sheffield, U.K.

"...an excellent, long-needed text. Nothing quite like it is available...this will become the standard work in the area..."
T.D. Wilson, Emeritus, University of Sheffield, U.K.

"...an ambitious book...particularly welcome as an academic textbook...a wealth of concrete examples of information seeking in everyday contexts..."
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology

"A welcome and ambitious book that should be received with open arms...clear and readable...highly accessible...cannot be overlooked..."
Information Research

"...an especially useful source, assembling and framing user-centered studies...Case has performed a significant service for students and researchers..."
Journal of the Medical Library Association

"...It should appear on reading lists and bookshelves across a number of academic fields."
FIRST MONDAY.com --T.D. Wilson, Emeritus, University of Sheffield, U.K.<

"A welcome and ambitious book that should be received with open arms...clear and readable...highly accessible...cannot be overlooked..." -- Information Research

Review
"...an excellent, long-needed text. Nothing quite like it is available...this will become the standard work in the area..."
T.D. Wilson, Emeritus, University of Sheffield, U.K.

"...an ambitious book...particularly welcome as an academic textbook...a wealth of concrete examples of information seeking in everyday contexts..."
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology

"A welcome and ambitious book that should be received with open arms...clear and readable...highly accessible...cannot be overlooked..."
Information Research

"...an especially useful source, assembling and framing user-centered studies...Case has performed a significant service for students and researchers..."
Journal of the Medical Library Association

"...It should appear on reading lists and bookshelves across a number of academic fields."
FIRST MONDAY.com

From the Back Cover
Information seeking is a ubiquitous human activity. Whether gathering data for work or merely making sense of everyday life, looking for information is a basic behavior that shapes our lives. This book focuses on decades of research into how people both find and think about information related to their problems and interests. Covering a broad range of concepts and empirical studies, Looking for Information explains the major ideas, methods, and research findings from hundreds of studies of occupations, roles and demographic groups, including managers, doctors, nurses, patients, consumers, voters, scientists, engineers, scholars, journalists, lawyers, children, and the elderly. A bibliography listing more than 700 works makes this book a must for scholarly work and reference on information related behaviors.

Key Features:
 The first comprehensive review of information seeking literature to be published in several years.
 Defines key concepts, identifies trends and highlights prominent theorists and investigators.
 Illustrated with study examples, research models and typologies of investigations and methods.
 Essential reading for scholars and students in communications, information studies, management, education, and healthcare.
 Includes an appendix of questions for classroom use.

A Volume in the Library and Information Science Series

Customer Reviews

I have to disagree with a Reader from England...
I'm currently enrolled in a doctoral program in Information Science and, while this book isn't the sum total of all LIS knowledge, I've found it invaluable as a reference on Information Seeking. Few other places will you find this level of literature review laid out in such a compact way. I use it nearly every day in my studies and I'm grateful that Don Case wrote it. It's a roadmap and guidebook for my studies.

- A reader from Texas

I'd prefer a 3 1/2 for this book
As a graduate student in Library and Information Studies, I was assigned this book in one of my courses. As textbooks in this field go, Case's book is more readable than most. As mentioned by an earlier reviewer, it is an in-depth literature review, and since it is for one of the required courses which had to be taken early on, it will be a useful reference in future classes. In fact, it is a book that I will retain simply as a source of information on possible research material.

The book is well organized and frankly, is one of the nicest as far as materials and construction. The questions at the back of the book, supposedly relating to each chapter, were confusing in that there seemed to be no relationship in many instances.

The one serious complaint that I can make is the tremendous need for editing and proofreading in this edition. The book is replete with incorrect grammar, misspellings, missing words, extra words, etc. Hopefully, these will be corrected in the new edition.

Good Book
I am using it in a graduate course I am taking and have found it to be very easy to read. It does a good job of describing the various theories concerning information seeking behavior and provides decent examples.