Human Information Interaction

The Role of Cognitive Biases in scientific information behavior of postgraduate students in Kharazmi University

Sara Behimehr

Background and Aim: considering the significance of cognitive and psychological factors in human-information interaction, this study investigates the role of cognitive biases in academic information behavior of postgraduate students at Kharazmi University.
Methodology: this qualitative research used classic grounded theory as the method. The research population included all postgraduate of Kharazmi University who were at the writing up stage. Twenty-five students were chosen through a purposive convenient sampling process. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed based on the classic grounded theory coding and qualitative content analysis. Eisenberg & Berkowitz information behavior model was used as the framework.
Findings: The results showed that cognitive biases influence people's information behavior and 28 of cognitive biases were identified. Cognitive biases interfere on different six steps of Eisenberg & Berkowitz information behavior model. Biases can play a role in identifying and explaining information needs, selecting information resources, selecting information centers, using information, organizing and sharing information and evaluating the information seeking process.
Conclusions: cognitive biases can affect or be affected by other factors involved in information behavior. Failure in information access and information retrieval, information avoidance and also failure in resolving information needs are some of cognitive biases’ consequences. Cognitive biases should be studied in different contexts so that other aspects can be more thoroughly understood.

Critical Success Factors of Digital Libraries in Iran: A Qualitative Research

Sirous Alidousti

Background and Aim: Myriad of IT projects failed in recent years. Digital libraries (DLs) as the product of the usage of IT in the library organization followed a similar trend. This paper studies the critical success factors (CSFs) of DLs in the context of Iran, with special focus on the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. CSFs, in this paper, are those factors that if followed on a daily basis will result in the success of the DL.
Methods: The research approach in this paper is qualitative and the methodology is grounded theory. A non-probability snowball and theoretical sampling method was used for selection of eight DLs with their subsequent parent organizations and 29 interviewees. In addition to semi-structured deep interviews tool, direct observation by residing in the field, and field note taking were among other research tools for data gathering and analysis.
Results: Six CSFs "good leadership and management practice", "having suitable change plan", "recruiting and safeguarding expert manpower", "selecting suitable DL software", "correct selection of digital objects", and "correct organization of digital objects".
Conclusion: This research can be of value to the stakeholders who seek insights on the factors which would influence the success of digital libraries.

A Conceptual Analysis of Epistemological Pre-assumptions of Floridi’s Theory of Information Ethics

Mahdi Shaghaghi

Background and Aim: This paper aims at conceptual analysis of epistemological pre-assumptions of the theory of “Information Ethics” to provide better understanding about this macro-ethics theory and offer a critical standpoint about some of its pre-assumptions.
Methods: A documentary method and a conceptual analysis were used. This research method and approach is best suited to explore pre-assumptions of philosophical standpoints and scientific concepts.
Results: Floridi’s epistemological position in the theory of “Information Ethics” is pan-informationism. This position originates from his “Informational Realism”. He argues that the ultimate nature of knowledge is structural. Structures, rather than entities, in his view, is aPriori and primal. He uses a metaphysical concept, namely “difference”, to argue for his position. In his view, in the existence of an object, the structure of “difference” is primal to the entity of that object because without difference, entities substantially could not be recognized. By this reasoning, he argues that we can see all things as information because all structures can be translated to data clusters in a selective level of abstraction. By viewing every things as information, they gain at least a minimum right to “being” that should be respected because the first informational structure of an entity is being/not being binary.
Conclusion: The value of this research lies in the exploration and explanation of epistemological assumptions of Floridi’s information ethics theory who tried to determine all objects as information to ethically save them from damage, by metaphysical development of the concept “difference”. This article also showed that how this conceptual development is obscure because of its epistemological reductions, emphasis on mind and neglecting bodies, and technological flexibility

Analysis of the Internet search process of B.Sc. undergraduate students in Field of Water Science Engineering of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz with the model of "information seeking process" of Kuhlthau

Atousa Koochak

Background and Aim: With changes in the paradigm of information seeking field and the replacement of system-based approach by user-based one, it seems necessary to design systems to achieve Information seeking goals. This requires mutual interactions of users and systems and establishing relationships between information seeking and information retrieval. A number of models were created after the introduction of new technologies into information seeking field which present information search trends as dynamic activities and describe how to meet the users’ demands. The research attempted to investigate how the undergraduates of the Water Sciences Engineering School of Shahid Chamran University of Ahwaz searched the information on the Internet and then compare their “information seeking” behavior with Kuhlthau “information search process”.
Methods: This was an applied research using descriptive survey method. The statistical population was comprised of all undergraduates of the Water Sciences Engineering School of Shahid Chamran University of Ahwaz (N=204) out of whom 102 subjects (51 freshmen and 51 sophomores) were selected via random sampling who received questionnaires.
Results: The data analysis revealed that from the stages of Kuhlthau model, freshmen and seniors tended to ignore “beginning” and “Selection stages”. Subjects would prioritize four stages of “exploration”, “formulation”, “collection” and “presentation” while “exploration” and “collection” stages were the best stages for the intervention of librarians in the search process. Also, data analysis showed that the students used “information bases”, search engines and topic indices equally while they employed search tools such as “Title” and “N operator” more than other search tools.
Conclusion: The results revealed that the pattern used by students was comprised of 4 stages which were in contrast to kuhlthau model in both terms of the number and order of stages. In the end, a new internet search pattern used by students was recognized and presented through the results obtained from the comparisons of both groups of subjects.

Discovering and Analyzing the Intellectual Structure and Its Evolution in Core Journals of "Knowledge and Information Science" during 2004-2013

Mohamad Hassanzadeh

Purpose: This study aims to reveal the intellectual structure of Knowledge and Information Science and its evolution along with the review of journals subjective scope based on 6830 abstract in the ten core journal in the JCR 2013, over the ten years (2004-2013).
Methodology: In this research, co-word and Correspondence analysis of 150 words -selected by tf-idf weight- were done after parametric analysis. To this end, the Cosine theta index and the second-order affinity were used for the hierarchical clustering based on the average-linkage algorithm.
Findings: The results of the co-word analysis reveal 3 mature clusters and 1 immature cluster in relation to the second cluster. Furthermore, the study of journals' domain show four clusters and the time progress show two clusters in counterclockwise motion.
Conclusion: In general, the results show except cluster four all clusters have a stable state with conceptual maturity, and along with constant concepts, a conceptual metamorphosis can be seen under the influence of technological change.

Investigating the Impact of Authors’ Rank in Bibliographic Networks on Expertise Retrieval

Hashem Atapour

Background and Aim: this research investigates the impact of authors’ rank in Bibliographic networks on document-centered model of Expertise Retrieval. Its purpose is to find out what kind of authors’ ranking in bibliographic networks can improve the performance of document-centered model.
Methodology: Current research is an experimental one. To operationalize research goals, a new test collection was developed which includes 55 queries and 96375 documents. The queries were made by Iran Knowledge and Information Science PhD students, and the documents were papers indexed in the Web of Science database under Library Science and Information Science category. The queries were submitted to the database consisting of test collection documents, and then DLH13, a known IR model, were used to retrieve documents from database. The first 100 documents retrieved by DLH13 model for each query were chosen for second stage. All people names occurred in the retrieved documents were extracted, processed, and ranked in 5 different ways based on micro metrics of Social Network Analysis. The top 10 results of every method accumulated in a pool of authors. After relevance judgment on authors’ expertise, the expert finding performance of every ranking method was measured.
Findings: Results showed that performance of authors’ ranking in citation networks hadn’t significant difference with document-centered model, whereas authors’ ranking in co-authorship networks was weaker than document-centered model, and impact it negatively.
Conclusion: compared with author-based networks, citation-based networks are better evidence for individual’s expertise in different subject areas.

Analyzing the Content of Adolescents Stories in terms of Identification Dimensions, Based on Erikson, Marcia and Berzonski's theories

Azam Sanatjoo

Background and Aim: The adolescence period is one of the most important stages in the life of each individual, and the basic component of this period is identity. So far, there have been different views about this period of life. One of these is the psychosocial theory of Ericsson, which defined the crisis as "identity against the confusion of the role". In addition, other people like Marcia and Berzonsky have referred to identity and identity processing styles. Story books are tools for gaining knowledge and identity in adolescents. The purpose of this study is to examine the status of adolescence stories in terms of dimensions and identity components.
Methods: The present research is applied in terms of purpose. The method of this research is descriptive. Also, content analysis approach has been used to collect research data. The research population includes all the fiction books of the age groups D and E, which were published by the Children's and Young Children's Intellectual Development Center in the years 1390-94, which totally cover 180 story titles. .
Results: Findings show that the focus of the stories is on individual identity, family identity, group identity, and national identity. Other types of identity differ in compilation and translation stories. In general, the main characters of the stories (compilation and translation) are confused. After that, the status of the identity of the person is too late and the status of the identity is successful. The fast-paced situation also includes the least percentage of stories. Also, most of the story's main characters used the information processing style. The other dominant style of information processing by the main characters of the stories is a confused style and the least amount is devoted to the normative style. T
Conclusion: In general, according to the findings of the present research, it is completely clear that in the fiction books examined, different types of identity are not taken into account in the same way. It is certain that little and very little attention is given to other identities, negative effects and serious and irreparable damage to the formation and identity of adolescents. Also, in assessing the status of the identity of the main characters of teenage stories, the findings showed that the abundance of these characters in the field of identification is different. In the study of identity processing styles, the same characters were not found in the main characters of the stories studied.