Information Seeking Contexts

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Information Seeking Contexts
Solomon, P. (1997) Conversation In
Information-seeking Contexts a Test of an
Analytical Framework, Library and Information
Science Research, 19(3)217-248
Professor Solomon, faculty member at SILS!
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Abstract Summary
This article develops an analytical framework to
support the analysis of Conversations in
information-seeking contexts. The framework
brings together linguistic and sociolinguistic
issues These issues serve as viewpoints for
exploring how information-seeking conversations
differ from casual conversation and conversations
in restricted conversational domains.
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Abstract Summary
This article develops an analytical framework to
support the analysis of Conversations in
information-seeking contexts. The framework
brings together linguistic and sociolinguistic
issues These issues serve as viewpoints for
exploring how information-seeking conversations
differ from casual conversation and conversations
in restricted conversational domains.
Evidence
A sample of nine conversations from two
information-seeking contexts (school media center
and public library) is used to test the utility
of the analytical framework and explore possible
characteristics of information-seeking
conversations.
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Abstract Summary
This article develops an analytical framework to
support the analysis of Conversations in
information-seeking contexts. The framework
brings together linguistic and sociolinguistic
issues These issues serve as viewpoints for
exploring how information-seeking conversations
differ from casual conversation and conversations
in restricted conversational domains.
Evidence
A sample of nine conversations from two
information-seeking contexts (school media center
and public library) is used to test the utility
of the analytical framework and explore possible
characteristics of information-seeking
conversations.
Premise
Recognizing that language use, especially verbal
communication, is fundamental to this process of
negotiating or establishing the common ground
necessary to solidify an inquirers information
needs, it appears that a useful investigative
approach would involve the study of language use
in information-seeking contexts.
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Evidence
A sample of nine conversations from two
information-seeking contexts (school media center
and public library) is used to test the utility
of the analytical framework and explore possible
characteristics of information-seeking
conversations.
Premise
Recognizing that language use, especially verbal
communication, is fundamental to this process of
negotiating or establishing the common ground
necessary to solidify an inquirers information
needs, it appears that a useful investigative
approach would involve the study of language use
in information-seeking contexts.
Method
This articleinvestigates the application of
various linguistic and sociolinguistic strategies
to conversation in information-seeking contexts.
This purpose is achieved first by considering
approaches to conversational analysis with the
intent of building a framework for orienting the
analysis here. This framework is then employed
in the analysis of conversational data. Finally,
implications of such a methodology for research
and practice in information science are
considered.
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Analytical Conceptualizations
The following analytical strategies may be useful
in identifying and describing special aspects of
conversation in information-seeking contexts.
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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Vocabulary
• special terminology that differentiates common
  language and special uses
• note whether words have special meanings in the
  conversational context

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Cohesion Mechanisms
• cohesive properties of the conversation that
  might be useful in differentiating conversational
  performance
• examples substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and
  lexical cohesion (repetition and collocation)

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Coherence or Meaning Mechanisms
• the importance of exophoric (external) reference
  for coherence of a text or discourse
• Coherent conversation requires that each
  players contributions bear a rational relation
  to some goalpart of what it means for an
  utterance to be coherent is that it ought to
  have a point. (McLaughlin (1984), p. 53)
• 3 generic types of conversational goals 1)
  ideational which communicate knowledge, 2)
  textual which coordinate ideas with language to
  produce textuality, 3) interpersonal which
  involve the social and psychological needs of
  people to interact with others

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Turn Taking
• a variety of conceptualizations for the structure
  of turns in conversation
• the basic view is the notion of adjacency pair,
  where the speakers utterance creates a force for
  the response from the hearer
• utterances performed during a turn display the
  performers understanding of the previous turn
• a turn can consist of three parts instead of two
  (ie., teacher/ student)

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Turn Allocation
• which party determines the allocation of turns
  this sways the direction and meaning of
  information-seeking situations

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Overlaps
• one party seems to skip over the other partys
  turn
• in the physician/patient domain, the result of
  the doctors overlap was to limit the patients
  ability to comment on his health status

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Conversational Gaps
• conversational gaps are culturally dependant, and
  meanings change based on individual situations
• meanings of conversational gaps must be analyzed
  to identify their conversational function

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Openings
• the opening speech act can have 3 kinds of
  impacts 1) expressive for communicating an
  inquirers attitudes and feelings, 2) phatic for
  establishing a channel of communication, 3)
  informational for transmitting a question or
  request for information (Eichman, 1978, 1980)
• The opening of an exchange sets up an
  expectation that turns will be taken until the
  information has been successfully transmitted.
  (Berry, 1981, p. 131)

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Closings
• a pre-closing statement often tests is there are
  any remaining topics to be covered (Schegloff
  Sacks, 1973)
• in closing, a party may summarize their
  understanding of what will follow up the inquiry
  or a possible future course of action may be
  specified

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Frame Activation
• features such as intonation, pitch, amplitude,
  and rhythm serve as contextualization cues for
  recognition of metamessages about which frame was
  in use
• no message can be interpreted except by
  reference to a superordinate message about how
  the communication is intended (Tannen, 1984, p.
  23)

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Repairs
• repairs to mishearings, misunderstandings, or
  misinterpretations are important mechanisms that
  need to be addressed in any analysis of
  conversational behavior (Grimshaw, 1980)
• frame repairs when there is a lack of relation
  between an utterance and the topical
  macrostructure
• figure repairs where there is uncertainty as to
  how some element or character in the utterance
  fits into the larger picture
• focus repairs when it is not clearto which
  referent some predication attaches (McLaughlin,
  1984, p. 214)

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Analytical Conceptualizations

• Role Specification
• one of the distinctive aspects of information
  seeking is the requirement that the information
  specialist establish a professional relationship
  with the inquirer (Eichman, 1978, 1980)
• social or role identities shape conversations,
  they delineate what kind of conversation the
  speakers are in (Ragan, 1983, p. 157)

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Questions to Consider
Vocabulary Does vocabulary use differ across
information-seeking situations or from behavior
observed in casual conversation or other
restricted domains? Cohesion Mechanisms Are some
mechanisms for cohesion used to a greater extent
than others? Are some forms of cohesion not used
at all? Are different cohesion mechanisms
employed in different contexts? Coherence or
Meaning Mechanisms To what extent is exophoric
(external) reference used to provide meaning to
the conversation? To what extent are formal
statements of conversational goals or topic
explicitly included in the conversation? Turn
Taking Does turn taking deviate from the two pair
part? Is the pattern of turn taking influenced by
inappropriate second part responses to first part
utterances in adjacency pairs?
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Questions to Consider
Turn Allocation Are turns allocated randomly or
does one party control turn taking? Overlaps Are
overlaps evident in the conversation? Is there
any rule evident for relinquishing the floor
during overlapping situations? Are issues raised
by the party relinquishing the floor dealt with
later in the conversation or are they dropped
from consideration? Conversational Gaps Are gaps
evident in the conversations? If so, is their
presence explicitly explained in the
conversation? Openings Are openings general or
specific? If general, to what extent is the
opening narrowed or negotiated? To what extent do
openings provide explicit indications of topic or
conversational goal?
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Questions to Consider
Closings Do closings have a formulaic character
or do they serve other functions than channel
closing? Frame Activation Are frame activation
cues evident in the conversation? Do
misunderstandings appear to result from mismatch
of frames between conversational
partners? Repairs How is the need for repair
signaled? Are some repairs used more frequently
than others? Role Specification Does either party
to the conversation take any action to establish
any special role contribution to the conversation?