- Problem.Statement.and.Justification ( ____ out of 10 points)
A. Is the problem established as a knowledge void or theoretical conflict?
B. Is the problem related to its antecedents?
C. Is it adequately justified?
D. Is the problem original, truly significant, of national importance?
One of the most pervasive myths about information access is the idea that anyone with a connection can find, use, and learn from all of the information existing on the Internet.(1) Certainly, Internet access provides an opportunity to search for and encounter information that can be more difficult to obtain otherwise. However, we know that online information seeking is limited by constraints such as commercial paywalls, algorithmic ranking, language, tktk, time pressure, and searching skill, among others. Researchers in information studies have studied the ways people go about their Internet searches, devising myriad models of information-seeking behavior, developing user characteristics, and identifying methods to make visible information that tends to escape the tktk of the vast majority of online information seekers.
Much of the focus of these studies has been on information literacy and user skill, with a number focusing on mechanisms to circumvent Zipf’s principle of least effort. While some of these studies have acknowledged the effects that time pressure, cognitive load, and other conditions have on psychobiological information processing, there has been little—if any—exploration of information seekers’ confidence in having retrieved the information necessary to cease the search process and turn attention to task execution or information reporting.
Behavioral scientists have studied the biases and heuristics underlying concepts such as impatience and satisficing, particularly with respect to consumer choice and judgment.(FN) George Loewenstein tktktktk, tktktkktk, tktktktk. However, these studies tend to have been limited to the consumer decision-making arena. For example, tktktk.
Of all the measures involved in consumer decision making, one relatively recent test uniquely identifies the propensity of individuals to have confidence in their impulsive “gut” responses. The three-question Cognitive Reflection Test developed by Shane Frederick is a predictor of an individual's tendency to recognize gaps in knowledge.
Given that a great proportion of online information seeking is geared toward filling information gaps, a measure that predicts one’s ability to recognize a lack of knowledge should be correlated to information-seeking behavior. If a correlation exists between, say, low CRT scores and “poor” information seeking, we will be able to apply behavioral science techniques to help people overcome the biases that constrain their information-seeking skills. Therefore, this paper proposes a study to determine whether such a correlation exists, and to uncover tktktkk.