Diagnostic Interview. Jennifer Williams. Emporia State University

Transcription

1 Diagnostic Interview Jennifer Williams Emporia State University

2 Diagnostic Interview I interviewed Shane, who recently embarked on an informational search to look for another car. He was in need of making his one-car family into a two-car family to help accommodate the work schedules of him and his wife. The interviewee had already gone through the experience of purchasing a car several years back, so he had some prior knowledge of this task. The interviewee has ample experience with information gathering from his job as a pilot and flight instructor. His job requires that he gather information from journals, the internet, books, and surveys and then implement what is learned into projects or real life situations on a daily basis. In Jannica Heinstrom s (2000) article, The Impact of Personality and Approaches to Learning on Information Behavior, it is stated that the understanding of the connection between personality and information seeking can ease the understanding of the different seeking behaviors (p. 2). Heinstrom discusses five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Upon observation of the interviewee I would categorize the interviewee as a conscientious personality type due to his organized approach throughout the search and his focused goal of meeting the set requirements wanted in a car within a fixed price range. Often the conscientious type is of a strategic learning style. In the case of the interviewee, I would agree. He appeared to have organized his information well with files and databases, managed his time between a fulltime job and this search, as well as staying focused on his car requirements throughout. Further looking at the interviewee s personality I placed him to be an ESTJ based on the Myers-Briggs instrument for personality assessment (Webb, 1990, p. 35). Each letter stands for

3 a certain personality trait: e is extrovert, s sensor, t thinker, and j judger. I concluded he is an extravert based on the ease and openness I sensed in talking with him about this experience, also a high level of eye contact, and a relaxed and confident demeanor he portrayed. He is a sensor because facts were very important to him and he wanted to collect those before any decisions were made. The interviewee showed tendencies to be a thinker rather than a feeler due to his objective approach and matter-of-fact, direct answers. Finally, the interviewee was observed to be a judger because of his appreciation of an orderly life, which is one of the reasons this search began: his wife and him needed to accommodate their changing works schedules and only having one car would be challenging to carry off without disrupting their entire schedule, which they did not want to do. Because of my observations with his personality I predicted that this search was going to be orderly, thorough, and factual in nature not being swayed by emotions. The interviewee s search process for a car was analyzed using Kuhlthau s (2004) information search process (ISP). Kuhlthau uses a theory based from George Kelly s phases of construction (Kulthau, 2004, p. 37). This lends a constructivist view of learning, which offers insight into what the user experiences, is particularly valuable way to understand information seeking from the user s perspective. (Kulthau, 2004, p. 14). A constructivist theory is based on the ideas that people create their own meaning upon their own world and this involves the entire person, including their feelings, thinking, and actions. (Kulthau, 2004, p. 14). The information search process, outlined by Kuhlthau (2004) includes a six-stage model: initiation, selecting a topic, exploration, formulation, collection, and presentation. Along with these six steps, Kelly identified feelings that typically were associated throughout each step of

4 the process: uncertainty, optimism, confusion, clarity, confidence, relief, satisfaction or dissatisfaction. (Kuhlthau, 2004, p ). Neutral questioning was used throughout the interview to guide the interviewee in explaining their thinking and process. Dervin and Dewdney (1986) coined the term neutral questioning as a strategy that helps an information professional understand the other person s point of view. Neutral questions provide users with control with the freedom to unfold their story in a human way (Dervin & Dewdney, 1986, p. 509). This technique also helps eliminate assumptions being made and gives the person time to explain their thinking. The following are some examples of the neutral questions asked: Tell me why this search for a car arose? What were you looking to know about the car? Once you collected information how is this going to be organized and used in your search? The interviewer s observations and answers from the neutral questions asked of the interviewee conclude that he did indeed follow the six-stage model and had very similar feelings associated with the steps, with only the first step s feelings being different than those outlined by the model. Model Initiation The first stage of the information process is initiation. Initiation occurs when a person recognizes the need for information to address an assignment, problem, or curiosity. Along with this stage are associated feelings of uncertainty (Kulthau, 2004, p. 44). In the case of the interviewee his family had been a one-car family for almost three years. He recognized that it was time to own another car; thus this need prompted his search. When he initially talked about buying a car he did not feel uncertain or apprehensive as the model would suggest. The

5 interviewee was instead excited to begin the process. The first stage began with a dialogue between the interviewee and his wife. The two prepared for the decision of selecting a topic by discussing what need their family had now, what needs they would have in the near future, and any must-have options such as four doors and automatic locks. As Kuhlthau (2004) stated discussing the topic was an important strategy in the early stages of the process (p. 43). Topic Selection The second step is topic selection, which is when a general topic is selected for further investigation. Feelings that are associated with these steps include continued feelings of uncertainty, which will often move to optimism when a final selection has been made (Kulthau, 2004, p. 46). In the interviewee s case he outlined some basic needs through discussion, and then narrowed down that the search would focus on four-door sport utility vehicles. At this point he still felt excited and, as the model points out, optimistic that his selection had been made and he was ready for the search to begin. Exploration The third step is exploration. This step is where the information seeker is becoming informed on the chosen topic and begins to form a focus from all the material discovered. Often confusion and doubt are feelings that parallel this step in the process (Kulthau, 2004, p. 47). For the interviewee, up until this point only discussion between him and his wife had occurred. No researching or outside people had been consulted. However, at this third stage of exploration his search began in earnest using these specified criteria: minimum model year that it could not be older than, maximum number of miles driven, price, four doors, sport utility vehicle, and power

6 locks and windows. He began to search for available inventory in the area using Craigslist, the local paper, and websites of local dealerships to find potential matches to their needs. The search required patience and commitment. The interviewee had no deadline, which was helpful because inventory matching their needs and price was not quick in coming. Frustration and doubt about actually finding something did set in. As the model suggested, when a searcher finds information that is inconsistent or does not fit with their held ideas it can produce doubt, uncertainty, and confusion (Kulthau, 2004, p. 47). Formulation The fourth step of formulation is where the information has been gathered and a focus is pinpointed. The feelings of uncertainty lessen during this time and are replaced with confidence and optimism. This step is often seen as a turning point in the information search (Kulthau, 2004, p. 48). For the interviewee, after a period of time a vehicle meeting the criteria showed up on Craigslist. This gave him a specific car to investigate. The interviewee now needed to collet detailed information on that particular vehicle s make and model. Focus formulation, the fourth stage, is for many the turning point of the search process, when feelings of uncertainty diminish and confidence increases (Kulthau, 2004, p. 48). As the model predicts, a feeling of optimism occurred because he felt his patience might have finally turned up a successful match. Information Collection As Kuhlthau (2004) states, the user with a clearer sense of direction, can specify the need for relevant, focused information and systems, thereby facilitating a comprehensive search of all available resources (pg. 49). This is the idea of the fifth stage; information collection

7 where an increase in interest and continued optimism are often feelings related to this step (Kulthau, 2004, p. 49). Once the focus has been established the searcher must extend the information and begin to find how it supports their thinking. The interviewee extended his information search by using online blogs, consumer reviews, and professional articles from automotive journals to help aid in his evaluation of the particular vehicle he had found. He then took that information and processed his thoughts about the findings. His actions of gathering information to support his focus, the interviewee s feeling of confidence, and his increased interest parallels the model. Closure The final stage in the information process is closure. This often produces feelings of relief because the search is being concluded and the searcher is now ready to apply the information in some form (Kulthau, 2004, p. 50). For the interviewee, he felt relief after looking at a variety of sources that supported the sport utility vehicle investment; purchasing that car would be a good buy for his family. He experienced a huge sense of relief because his decision had been made, and he no longer had to look for information. The time had come to act and buy. Again, the information model is in accordance with the interviewee s experience and feelings of this stage. Overall, the interviewee s search appeared to be comprehensive, organized, and well thought out. However, it might have been more productive to have consulted the help of a dealership. Although he had no problem narrowing down and specifying what he wanted, his greatest hurdle was in finding available inventory to match his criteria. The family had to wait months for this to happen. Perhaps with the help of a dealership, the interviewee s search could

8 have been widened to a larger area. The interviewee felt limited to just looking in his immediate vicinity for the fact that it would be easier on him. The dealership might also have been able to continuously search for new inventory matching the search criteria. The interviewee works fulltime, so he was limited on the amount of time he could devote to looking at what was available. A dealership is in the business of matching cars with buyers, and they can look multiple times a day for anything new. Kuhlthau s (2004) information search process provided an excellent tool to analyze the interviewee s search for a car. The interviewee fell in line with the six-steps of the information model and concurred with most of the aligning feelings outlined by Kelly (Kulthau, 2004, p. 44). The biggest difference occurred at the initial stage where the interviewee felt excited to start the process, though he was not uncertain or apprehensive as the model outlines.

9 Resources Dervin, B. & Dewdney, P. (1986). Neutral questioning: a new approach to the reference interview. Reference Quarterly, 25(4), Heinstrom, J. (2000). The impact of personality and approaches to learning on information behaviour. Information Research, 5(3). Kuhlthau, C. (2004). Seeking meaning. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimted. Webb, B. (1990). Type-casting life with myers-briggs. Library Journal,