مدل چرخه ای از جستجوی اطلاعات در محیط های لینک دار: نقش اهداف، خوداثربخشی و انگیزش درونی

To examine the emergent properties of information seeking in hyperlinked environments, in this paper we developed a cyclic model. Using this model as a framework, the relationships among perceived goal difficulty, goal success, and self-efficacy were examined. Self-efficacy was conceptualized as a mediating mechanism and intrinsic motivation (IM) in the task was examined as a moderator. Data were collected as repeated measures over 20 cycles during an hour-long session of information seeking when students were given that task of designing a travel plan for a trip to China. The findings suggest that success in meeting information goals in one cycle resulted in an increase in self-efficacy, which in turn reduced the perceived difficulty of information goals in the upcoming cycle. At the same time, self-efficacy from previous cycles seemed to provide the impetus for formulating more challenging information goals in subsequent cycles. Besides this dual role of self-efficacy, the moderating role of IM was also evident. For participants relatively high in baseline IM for the task, the link between self-efficacy and goal success was weaker. However, for participants with relatively low levels of baseline IM for the task, goal success has a stronger effect on self-efficacy.

Hyperlinked information environments provide various avenues for information search. While some links lead to the information sought by the computer user, other links lead the user down paths that are not profitable. With the emergence of search engines, such as Google, searching and browsing for information through this method of trial and error is becoming the norm. Despite the increasing popularity of information seeking in hyperlinked environments, our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying this critical activity is limited. While researchers from different disciplines have noted that information seeking should be studied over a number of cycles (Debowski et al., 2001; Fredin and David, 1998), few studies have rigorously addressed the cyclic aspects of search behavior. Even when longitudinal designs have been employed (e.g., Debowski et al., 2001), the number of cycles has been limited. To address this gap, first we begin by developing a general cyclic model of information seeking. Second, we apply this general model to a specific research question: how does self-efficacy affect perceived difficulty of goals during an information-seeking session. Third, we address the above research question using cyclic data generated over multiple cycles in a laboratory study.

In summary, a model of information seeking was developed and relationships among goal setting, goal evaluation and confidence were tested using this model. Participants exhibited agility in adjusting the level of difficulty of information goals “on-the-fly.” Interestingly, goal success from the previous cycle did not directly affect goal setting on the next cycle, but operated indirectly through confidence. This path between goal success and confidence was quite robust and it remained significant even after accounting for the moderating role of IM for the task. The ISC model presented in this study seemed to capture the dynamic shifts in goal states and some related psychological constructs that are engaged during information seeking. The major theoretical contribution of the model is the integration of relevant theories advanced by other scholars and an empirical test of the overarching framework of the cyclical nature of information seeking. Many of the methodological challenges of the data were handled with multilevel analysis. The utility of the model can be determined only with further replications in other content domains, for other tasks, and for other goal setting and goal evaluation criteria.