Social Information Seeking (eBook)

​Chirag Shah is Associate Professor of Information and Computer Science at Rutgers University. His research interests include studies of interactive information retrieval/seeking, especially those involving social and collaborative aspects. He has published extensively on these topics, and received several grants and awards for his work. His research falls under and uniquely connects computer science, data science, and information science.

Foreword 7
References 9
Preface 10
Acknowledgments 12
Contents 14
List of Figures 18
List of Tables 21
Acronyms 22
Part I Foundation 24
1 Introduction 25
1.1 Introduction 25
1.2 Defining and Situating SIS 27
1.3 SIS Activities and Applications 29
1.4 Relation to CIS and Previous Works 30
1.5 Organization of This Book 31
References 33
2 Information Seeking 35
2.1 Introduction 35
2.2 Foundational Models 37
2.2.1 Dervin 37
2.2.2 Belkin 38
2.2.3 Ellis 39
2.2.4 Wilson 39
2.2.5 Kuhlthau 40
2.2.6 Westbrook 41
2.2.7 Marchionini 42
2.3 Models Built on Foundational Models 43
2.3.1 Expanded ISP 44
2.3.2 Information Seeking and Communication 45
2.3.3 Mediated Information Retrieval 45
2.3.4 Emerging Concepts: Sense-Making and Multi-Session IR 46
2.4 Summary 48
References 48
3 Social Media and Social Networking 50
3.1 Introduction 50
3.2 Social Media 51
3.3 Social Networking 53
3.4 Privacy 54
3.5 Identity Construction and Making Impressions 55
3.6 Communication via Social Media Platforms 56
3.7 Social Capital 57
3.8 Knowledge Sharing 58
3.9 Access and Digital Inequality 59
3.10 Summary 60
References 61
Part II Social Dimension of Information Seeking 64
4 Online Question-Answering (Q& A)
4.1 Introduction 65
4.2 Types of Online Q& A
4.2.1 Community Q& A (CQA)
4.2.2 Collaborative Q& A
4.2.3 Expert-Based Q& A
4.2.4 Social Q& A (SQA)
4.3 Comparing Various Q& A Models
4.4 Content in Online Q& A
4.4.1 Questions 80
4.4.2 Answers 81
4.5 Users in Online Q& A
4.5.1 Askers 83
4.5.2 Answerers 84
4.5.3 Balance of Askers-Answerers 86
4.5.4 Special Users 88
4.6 Summary 90
References 91
5 Social Search 95
5.1 Introduction 95
5.2 Defining Social Search 96
5.3 Social Search Theories 98
5.3.1 An Early Model 98
5.3.2 Information-Driven Motivation 99
5.3.3 Cognitive Motivation 100
5.3.4 Collaborative Search 101
5.4 Social Search Technology 103
5.4.1 Statistical Analyses 104
5.4.2 Social Annotations and Bookmarking 105
5.5 Co-browsing or Collaborative Navigation 106
5.6 Summary 108
References 108
Part III Collaborative Dimension of Information Seeking 111
6 Collaborative Information Seeking 112
6.1 Introduction 112
6.1.1 Collaboration to Help Information Seeking 113
6.1.2 Information Seeking to Help Collaboration 113
6.2 Defining and Situating Collaboration 114
6.2.1 Terms and Terminology Concerning Collaboration 115
6.2.2 Limitations of Collaboration 116
6.2.3 Collaboration in the Context of Information-Intensive Tasks 118
6.3 Collaborative Information Seeking in Context 119
6.3.1 Collaborative Information Retrieval (CIR)and Co-search 123
6.4 Frameworks and Models for CIS 125
6.4.1 Space and Time Aspects of CIS 125
6.4.2 Control, Communication, and Awareness in a CIS Environment 126
6.4.2.1 Control 126
6.4.2.2 Communication 127
6.4.2.3 Awareness 128
6.4.3 Materializing Control, Communication, and Awareness 129
6.4.4 Nature and Level of Mediation 130
6.4.4.1 System/Algorithmically Mediated Collaboration 130
6.4.4.2 User/Interface-Mediated Collaboration 131
6.5 Summary 131
References 132
7 Social and Collaborative Information Seeking 136
7.1 Introduction 136
7.2 Background 138
7.3 Current State of SCIS Research 141
7.4 Research and Development Trajectory for SCIS 142
7.4.1 Methodological Issues and Challenges 142
7.4.2 Studying SCIS in Specific Domains 143
7.4.2.1 SCIS Support for Education 144
7.4.2.2 SCIS Support for Health Information Seeking 144
7.4.2.3 SCIS Support for Cross-Language Information Retrieval 145
7.4.2.4 SCIS Support for E-Discovery 145
7.4.2.5 SCIS Support for Other Domains 145
7.4.2.6 Cross-Disciplinary Research 146
7.5 Summary 146
References 147
Part IV Current State and Future Directions 150
8 SIS in Research and Practice 151
8.1 Introduction 151
8.2 Studying SIS 152
8.2.1 Direct Observation 152
8.2.2 Interviews 153
8.2.3 Content Analysis 154
8.2.4 Mixed Methods 155
8.3 Evaluating SIS 155
8.3.1 Evaluating Usability with User Studies 156
8.3.2 System-Based Training-Testing 157
8.3.3 Qualitative Evaluation 157
8.3.4 Task- or Application-Based Evaluation 158
8.4 SIS Products and Services 158
8.4.1 Face-to-Face Communication 159
8.4.2 Computer-Mediated Communication 160
8.4.3 Peer-Driven Services 160
8.4.4 Expert-Driven Services 161
8.4.5 Social Live Streaming Services 162
8.5 Summary 163
References 164
9 Conclusion 167
9.1 Introduction 167
9.2 Synthesis Frameworks with Social and CollaborativeDimensions 168
9.2.1 Intent 169
9.2.2 Activeness 172
9.2.3 Concurrency (Time) 172
9.2.4 Location (Space) 172
9.2.5 Role/Mediation of System and User 172
9.2.6 Level of Awareness 173
9.2.7 Level of Interaction 173
9.2.8 Amount of Communication 173
9.2.9 User Roles 174
9.2.10 Strength of the Connection 174
9.2.11 Balance of Benefits 174
9.2.12 Usage of Information 175
9.3 Opportunities and Challenges in SIS 175
9.3.1 Theoretical Issues 175
9.3.2 Experimental and Practical Issues 179
References 181
A Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) 183
A.1 Social Presence Theory 183
A.2 Media Richness Theory 184
A.3 Social Information Processing (SIP) Theory 185
A.4 Social Identification/De-Individuation (SIDE) Theory 186
A.5 Hyperpersonal Communication Model 186
A.6 Summary 187
References 187
Glossary 189
Index 193