25.7 CONCLUSION

The categories of research presented in this chapter looked at issues related to foundational components associated with information access: users, access, and information. Other organizational structures could be equally useful in understanding the research of information access. For example, each theoretical position such as cognitive psychology, information processing, or human factors could be examined for how it is used within the context of information access. The areas that the theoretical position is applied to could be looked at for consistencies, inconsistencies, and general patterns. Another approach would be to examine methodology. Are certain methods used more frequently in certain content areas related to information access? Are they accompanied by a single theoretical framework? Is theory developed from the method? Is a new theory generated for use with a particular method? This chapter focused on reviewing information access from the point of view of content. Other methods could be used to look at processes, theories, or methodologies.

When information is structured, modeled, or defined, some of its inherent reality is lost. The map is not the place. The picture is not the person. The signature is not the signer. The social artifacts are not the reality ... and the environment requires agreement among the players about the rules and the playing field. This chapter set up a clearly defined playing field and rationally designed rules for inclusion or exclusion of information. The results are patterns of research, theory, and methods applied to solving problems in information access related to users, access, and information in LIS.

25.7.1 Summary of Information Access Research Issues from LIS

User research addresses needs, characteristics, and strategies of the user of access services in libraries and information centers. It attempts to understand cognitive, affective, and learning issues about the people who wish access to information. Current user research can be characterized in the following ways:

• User research moved from sociological to psychological foundations.
• The emphasis on groups of users changed to an emphasis on individuals.
• Quantitative, qualitative, and combinations of quantitative and qualitative research are part of user studies.
• User needs and their search processes are being combined through information-seeking research. The emphasis is on cognitive search strategies.

Access, in this chapter, is defined as the point at which the user meets the information system. It is characterized by physical, social, and technical components. Physical issues associated with access include workspace, remote access, building and facilities design, and geographic availability. Social issues include public policies and laws, cultural factors, and users' attitudes and beliefs. Technical issues include interface design, human computer interaction, and attributes of the technologies. Access research can be characterized in the following ways:

• Access research related to the use of OPACs can be applied to understanding emerging technologies such as CD-ROM, Internet, and full-text databases.
• Methods commonly used in OPAC research are surveys and questionnaires and transaction log analyses.
• Areas such as workspace use, the interaction of facilities, remote access, and geographic accessibilities could use methods and theory from human factors such as person-environment fit.
• Human-computer interaction, interface design, and evaluation research from other content areas is applied to research in the technologies of information access in libraries and information centers.
• New technologies such as CD-ROM, multimedia, and Internet demonstrate merging of features from more-established technologies. Continuing research on common issues such as front-end design, menus and commands, direct manipulation, and graphics retrieval could benefit all access technologies.

Information research examines both the structure and content of information. It looks at how to define and categorize information and the processes used to retrieve information that are not transparent to the user. Information research considers barriers and constraints related to who has access to what kinds of information at what cost. Information research can be characterized in the following ways:

• Cognitive science is a theoretical foundation for information retrieval and storage research.
• Research in information retrieval strategies that connect the user interface and the information storage system uses statistical/probabilistic and cognitive methods.
• Expert systems that provide multiple search strategies can be applied across information technologies such as CD-ROM, hypermedia, and multimedia.
• Information storage looks at both original information and information representations in all formats.
• Research on policy issues related to government and private ownership and access is a growing concern in LIS.

Longitudinal studies such as those by Dervin, Kuhlthau, and Saracevic can contribute to understanding how users, access, and information issues are an integrated process. Different theoretical foundations and methodologies can be applied to studying information access with positive results. Each provides a viewfinder on the overall process. One significant contribution to information access research would be the development of models based on theory which integrate components from various research projects. The following models have been created and perhaps could form a foundation for comparison and examination of crucial aspects of the information access process:

• Bates (1986), subject access in on-line catalogs
• Belkin (1980), anomalous states of knowledge
• Brown (1991), information-seeking behavior
• Dervin (1992), user sense making
• Fidel & Soergel (1983), conceptual framework for bibliographic retrieval
• Hert (1992), information retrieval interfaces
• Kuhlthau (1993a), information search process
• Meadow (1992), information retrieval
• Saracevic et al. (1988), information seeking and retrieval

In a wide-ranging review of literature and research, Palmquist (1992) discusses issues relevant to the impact of information technology on the individual. The emphasis on how computer-based technologies affect the individual is particularly relevant to the research of educational communication and technology (ECT). The individual's need for social experience is a critical element of education and instruction. One of the ongoing criticisms of computerization of instruction is the potential for mechanizing and dehumanizing the learner. The effect of electronic technologies in isolating individuals is reviewed by Palmquist. Topics such as electronic dating, intolerance of boredom, and computer hackers are investigated. In addition, Palmquist reviews issues of cultural shifts, the use of television to acquire synthetic culture, and dissolution of identifiable roles due to increased information access. Other areas for examination include the individual at home and the individual in the community. These social impacts of computer use on the individual can provide an arena for further discussion and evaluation in ECT research.

The social environment of the workplace has been particularly affected by information technology (Palmquist, 1992). One group of researchers sees social interactions becoming minimized due to technologies like e-mail, fax, teleconferencing, and -group-decision support systems. Other researchers see these new technologies as increasing cohesiveness and decreasing group tensions and difficult problem situations. De-skilling is a common concern among researchers looking at information technology and jobs. The quality of worklife and job satisfaction are also part of the complexity of changes that information technology is bringing. The area of instructional design and development within ECT may wish to examine these social influences on the training environment.

Palmquist (1992) concludes by indicating that the overall impact of information technologies on the individual is still primarily unknown. Many of the technologies are new and still novel. Their influences cannot be accurately assessed. There is evidence that household management may be improved by computering technology, but it also results in an increase in loneliness and lack of social integration. Information technology can both enhance and detract from job satisfaction and the overall quality of worklife. Integrating some of the questions and problems posed by Palmquist into the research of ECT could provide an added social dimension to understanding the impact of access technologies on users and their acquisition of knowledge.

Library and information science literature related to information access can also contribute specific understandings, methods, and theory for consideration by ECT researchers. The strengths of traditional LIS research for ECT to consider are: information-seeking strategies, on-line public access research methods, and information retrieval techniques. Each of these three areas has built a tradition of theory, research methodology, and ongoing findings that could be added to the existing knowledge within ECT. LIS research complements and adds to the research of ECT. Two new LIS research areas could provide relevant theory and methodology for ECT researchers: social construction of technology (Case, 1991; Pfaffenberger, 1990) and information gatekeepers (Metoyer-Duran, 1993a, 1993b, 1993c). Social construction of technology looks at the relationships between technology, principle actors, social artifacts, and the process of integrating technology into the environment. Metoyer-Duran's work on information gatekeepers demonstrates the positive effects of community and individual involvement with information in ethno-linguistically diverse communities.

There are strengths and areas for further development in LIS research about information access. Information access is an interdisciplinary and growing research area because it cuts across psychological, sociological, political, economic, and technical issues. The technicalities of information retrieval that are related to computers and mathematics cannot be separated from the social issues about who will be allowed access and at what cost. The human factor design issues of how to create effective interfaces cannot be separated from the needs, preferences, and changing strategies of the user over time and space. The effect of users with special needs and interests cannot be separated from the technological limitations created by the economic environment. The increasing number of access tools and multiple methods for accessing information cannot be separated from the instructional and educational needs of the user. The issues of information access are related and interdependent. Some researchers and research areas will focus on different pieces in greater or lesser depth, but it is important to look at larger issues and draw together the research from various areas at points in time. This chapter attempts to make the research of LIS more accessible to educational communication and technology researchers.