Information Search Strategies Research Articles

Retraction: An Assessment of the Relation Between Analysts' Earnings Forecast Accuracy, Motivational Incentives and Cognitive Information Search Strategy

Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Citation James E. Hunton, Ruth Ann McEwen; Retraction: An Assessment of the Relation Between Analysts' Earnings Forecast Accuracy, Motivational Incentives and Cognitive Information Search Strategy. The Accounting Review 1 July 2015; 90 (4): 1717. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-10450 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe Accounting Review Search Advanced Search

Non-technical skills for managing risk and performance in financial trading

Recent large-scale failures in financial institutions have been found to be caused, in-part, by human factors-related issues in financial trading. In other environments where risk management and performance are intertwined, a human factors approach is often adopted to understand how the ‘non-technical skills (NTS)’ (leadership (LD), decision-making (DM), situation awareness (SA), teamwork) of organisational actors influence outcomes. Yet, to date, there has been minimal application of human factors research in financial trading. This study (i) identifies ‘real-world’ (i.e. non-laboratory) research studies investigating the NTS important for performance in financial trading, (ii) examines and synthesises data on the NTS found to underpin good or poor performance and (iii) considers the quality and coverage of research investigating NTS in financial trading, and identifies potential areas for future research. Nineteen studies were identified through a systematic literature search and then content-analysed for associations between NTS and performance in financial trading. The review found a range of decision-making (e.g. heuristics and biases, intuitive DM, emotional regulation) and LD skills (e.g. setting standards, monitoring behaviour, encouraging speaking-up) to have been identified as important for managing risk and performance in financial trading environments. Furthermore, SA (e.g. information search and assessment strategies, vigilance, identifying ‘noise’ data) and teamwork (e.g. avoiding ‘role’ conflict, communication between traders) were found to be important, yet remain less explored within the literature, and should be the focus of future research. NTS appear essential for effective risk management within the financial sector, yet further field research is required to examine the context-relevant behaviours that underpin safe activity. This will facilitate the development of evidence-based systems for assessing and training NTS competencies.

Exploring the structural relationships between high school students’ Internet-specific epistemic beliefs and their utilization of online academic help seeking

The purpose of this study was to examine the structural relationships between the Internet-specific epistemic beliefs (ISEB) and the online academic help seeking (OAHS) of high school students in Taiwan. Data were collected from 342 Taiwanese high school students by utilizing two self-report instruments: the ISEB survey (including Uncertainty, Complexity and Self-Source of Internet-based knowledge as well as Justification for Internet-based knowing) and the OAHS questionnaire (containing Information Search, Formal Query and Informal Query in online information searching contexts). The results of the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) as well as the alpha values indicated that both the ISEB and OAHS instruments possessed adequate validity and reliability. The path analyses with structural equation modeling (SEM) further verified that students’ ISEB were related to their behaviors of online help seeking while undertaking academic tasks on the Internet. It is reported that students with naïve beliefs regarding Uncertainty, Complexity and Self-Source of Internet-based knowledge intended to conduct online information help seeking strategies (Uncertainty: Formal Query, Informal Query; Complexity: Information Search, Formal Query, Informal Query; Self-Source: Informal Query). For example, students with naïve beliefs in Uncertainty of Internet-based knowledge had a higher tendency to use help seeking relating to Formal Query and Informal Query. However, students who believed that course-related content on the Internet should be evaluated through different aspects of other sources (i.e., sophisticated beliefs regarding Justification for Internet-based knowing) were more likely to use Information Search and Informal Query online help seeking strategies.

Information behaviour and the search strategy

AbstractThe contribution deals with theories about information seeking behaviour. The process of obtaining information is described. Special attention goes to information search strategies and tactics or skills. Models and search strategies according to the organization of information are described. In the end, the necessity of integration of a modern school library into the education process is emphasized with consideration to its users' needs.

Popularization of Print Media through “Village Library” at Village Level: An Efficient Tool to Enhance the Productivity

Agricultural technology is moving so quickly, and in so many directions, that it has become challenging to even pay attention—we are victims of “next new thing” fatigue. The parade of new technologies and scientific breakthroughs is relentless and is unfolding on many fronts. Almost any advance is advocated as a breakthrough, and the list of “next big thing” goes on adding one after the other. Yet some technologies do in fact have the potential to disrupt the status quo, alter the way people live and work, rearrange value pools and lead to entirely new products and services. Public agricultural extension systems often fail due to inadequate consultation of farmers about their information needs and poor understanding of their information search strategies. The present study intends to identify various agricultural magazines as sources for technology access through village library to farmers, with the socio-economic characteristics. A proportionate sample of 120 respondents was selected at random and the data were collected with the help of a pre-tested and validated questionnaire and were analyzed by using computer software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results reveal that more than 65 per cent farmers who were youth had a quest for new technological interventions, local language was preferred more owing to low qualification levels.

Measuring Product Type with Dynamics of Online Product Review Variances: A Theoretical Model and the Empirical Applications

A significant body of literature in information systems, marketing, and economics has shown the important implication of the distinction between experience products and search products (“product type”) on consumer information search, marketplace design, and firm strategy. However, how to empirically measure product types remains a challenge, and this challenge is further complicated by the growth of online commerce and the increasing availability of online reviews that have transformed the nature of many products and altered the traditional perception of these products. The objective of this research is to propose an online product review-based measure that could accurately reflect consumers’ perception of a product, as search or experience dominated product. Based on the definitions of search and experience products — whether information can be easily transferred or not — we propose a data-driven method that can be used to infer product type from statistical analyses of online product reviews. Our theoretical analyses indicate that the variance of the ratings should decrease as more consumers rate a pure search product; for experience products however, the variance of the ratings may remain constant or increase depending on the importance of the experience attributes in determining consumer utility. We demonstrate the empirical applications of this approach at the category, product, and attribute levels using product reviews data from Amazon.com, Yelp.com, and Ctrip.com, respectively. In addition, a user study conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk shows our review-based measure to outperform Nelson’s (1970) product classification, which historically has been the standard in determining product type. Overall, this new measure provides an easy to implement, less subjective and more accurate measure of product type. Therefore, researchers and practitioners can use this measure to better understand how consumers perceive products and to design strategies accordingly.

Epistemic Beliefs, Online Search Strategies, and Behavioral Patterns While Exploring Socioscientific Issues

Online information searching tasks are usually implemented in a technology-enhanced science curriculum or merged in an inquiry-based science curriculum. The purpose of this study was to examine the role students’ different levels of scientific epistemic beliefs (SEBs) play in their online information searching strategies and behaviors. Based on the measurement of an SEB survey, 42 undergraduate and graduate students in Taiwan were recruited from a pool of 240 students and were divided into sophisticated and naive SEB groups. The students’ self-perceived online searching strategies were evaluated by the Online Information Searching Strategies Inventory, and their search behaviors were recorded by screen-capture videos. A sequential analysis was further used to analyze the students’ searching behavioral patterns. The results showed that those students with more sophisticated SEBs tended to employ more advanced online searching strategies and to demonstrate a more metacognitive searching pattern.

Understanding Family Health Information Seeking: A Test of the Theory of Motivated Information Management

Although a family health history can be used to assess disease risk and increase health prevention behaviors, research suggests that few people have collected family health information. Guided by the Theory of Motivated Information Management, this study seeks to understand the barriers to and facilitators of interpersonal information seeking about family health history. Individuals who were engaged to be married (N = 306) were surveyed online and in person to understand how factors such as uncertainty, expectations for an information search, efficacy, and anxiety influence decisions and strategies for obtaining family health histories. The results supported the Theory of Motivated Information Management by demonstrating that individuals who experienced uncertainty discrepancies regarding family heath history had greater intention to seek information from family members when anxiety was low, outcome expectancy was high, and communication efficacy was positive. Although raising uncertainty about family health history may be an effective tool for health communicators to increase communication among family members, low-anxiety situations may be optimal for information seeking. Health communication messages must also build confidence in people's ability to communicate with family to obtain the needed health information.

A Drug Information Center Module to Train Pharmacy Students in Evidence-based Practice

To use a drug information center training module to teach evidence-based medicine to pharmacy students and to assess their satisfaction with the experience. During the 5-week module, students were taught how to develop information search strategies and to conduct critical analysis of scientific papers. The instructors developed activities based on past requests received by the university's Drug Information Center. The complexity of the assignments increased throughout the module. One hundred twenty-one students were trained between August 2009 and July 2010. Sixty-seven (55.4%) completed a voluntary assessment form at the completion of the 5-week module. Students' feedback was positive, with 11 students suggesting that the module be integrated into the undergraduate curriculum. The most frequently (52.2%) mentioned area of dissatisfaction was with the performance of computers in the computer laboratory. The drug information center training module was an effective tool for teaching evidence-based medicine to pharmacy students. Additional research is needed to determine whether graduates are able to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the module to the pharmacy practice setting.

Millennial wine consumers: Risk perception and information search

Marketing managers in the US have long been concerned with how to reach young consumers most effectively and how to present important information. This research demonstrates how the information search and risk reduction strategies of Millennials differ from older consumers. Findings from a survey sample of 409 US consumers suggest that if unsure about making a wine selection, Millennials are more apt to seek information from friend/family and shelf talkers than elders. Elders were more willing to ask questions of store personnel and wine stewards. While brand is very important to both groups, Millennials rely less on geographical cues such as region of origin to determine wine quality and pay more attention to medals won, label imagery, and alcohol content. The differences in the importance of and usage of these various information sources are helpful for wineries to prioritize their marketing appeals to the Millennial segment.

Age and self-relevance effects on information search during decision making.

We investigated how information search strategies used to support decision making were influenced by self-related implications of the task to the individual. Consistent with the notion of selective engagement, we hypothesized that increased self-relevance would result in more adaptive search behaviors and that this effect would be stronger in older adults than in younger adults. We examined search behaviors in 79 younger and 81 older adults using a process-tracing procedure with 2 different decision tasks. The impact of motivation (i.e., self-related task implications) was examined by manipulating social accountability and the age-related relevance of the task. Although age differences in search strategies were not great, older adults were more likely than younger adults to use simpler strategies in contexts with minimal self-implications. Contrary to expectations, young and old alike were more likely to use noncompensatory than compensatory strategies, even when engaged in systematic search, with education being the most important determinant of search behavior. The results support the notion that older adults are adaptive decision makers and that factors other than age may be more important determinants of performance in situations where knowledge can be used to support performance.

The effect of recommendation systems on Internet‐based learning for different learners: A data mining analysis

AbstractA general challenge facing Internet‐based learners is how to identify information objects which are helpful in expanding their understanding of important information in a domain. Recommendation systems may assist learners in identifying potentially helpful information objects. However, the recent literature mainly focuses on the technical performance, rather than on how recommendations support searching in educational contexts. This study thus investigates how recommendation systems may influence the searching behaviors and strategies of different learners, when they are used with a mind map. The results suggested two main different searching behavioral patterns, namely focused searchers and broad searchers. It is found that the recommendations may influence the searching behaviors of the two types of searchers in different ways. For the focused searchers, the recommendations may support these searchers to expand their keywords to explore the domain. Regarding the broad searchers, they did not rely on the computer recommendations. However, the mind map interface applied along with the recommendations may support them in monitoring their searching processes. Online Information Searching Strategies Inventory (OISSI) was applied to examine the participants' perceptions of how students applied information searching strategies. The results of OISSI support that both types of searchers perceived a higher level of searching strategies when they search with the recommendation system and mind maps.

Informing destination recommender systems design and evaluation through quantitative research

PurposeDestination recommender systems need to become truly human‐centric in their design and functionality. This requires a profound understanding of human interactions with technology as well as human behavior related to information search and decision‐making in the context of travel and tourism. This paper seeks to review relevant theories that can support the development and evaluation of destination recommender systems and to discuss how quantitative research can inform such theory building and testing.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of information search and decision‐making literatures, a framework for the development of destination recommender systems is proposed and the implications for the design and evaluation of human‐centric recommender systems are discussed.FindingsA variety of factors that influence the information search and processing strategies that influence interactions with a destination recommender system are identified. This reveals a great need for data‐driven models to inform recommender system processes.Originality/valueThe proposed framework provides a basis for future research and development in the area of destination recommender systems. The paper concludes that the success of a specific destination recommender system will depend largely on its ability to anticipate and respond creatively to transformations in the personal and situational needs of its users. Such system intelligence needs to be based on empirical data analyzed with sophisticated quantitative methods. The importance of recommender systems in tourism marketing is also discussed.

An Empirical Taxonomy of Tourist Information Search Strategies

An empirical taxonomy of tourists’ information search strategies is developed based on a survey of a large sample of tourists. The taxonomy reveals five different information search strategies. Each search strategy consists of the combination of individual information sources used by tourists in pre-trip planning. The five information search strategies are related to select tourist demographic characteristics, trip activities, accommodation choices, and general media preferences. The results indicate a multivariate relationship between tourist demographics and information search strategies. Furthermore, information search strategies are related to tourists’ preferred trip activities and choice of accommodations. Implications of the taxonomy for tourism marketing and research are discussed.

Information Search Behaviors of Indian Farmers: Implications for Extension Services

Purpose: In India, a national survey conducted in 2003 showed that only 40% of farmers accessed extension. But little is known of the characteristics of farmers who did not access extension. However, this understanding is needed in order to target approaches to farmers, who differ in their access and use of information, that is their information search behaviors. The main objective of this paper is to segment farmers from this survey based on their information search behaviors and identify the factors that determine farmers' information search behaviors. Design/methodology/approach: Cluster analysis is applied to the number of sources accessed and frequency of source used, to define farmers' information search behaviors. Findings: The four groups that emerged are: ‘no search’, ‘low search’, ‘moderate search’ and ‘high search’. Sixty percent of farmers had no search behavior, which means they had not accessed any extension that year. By state, the largest group of these farmers was in Rajasthan. By comparison, the largest group of high searchers was in Kerala. Using Rajasthan and Kerala as case studies, these search behaviors differ by landholding size and education. ‘No search’ farmers had the smallest landholdings, lowest education, used fewer inputs and relied on groundwater for irrigation. By comparison, ‘high search’ farmers had the largest landholdings, most education, used more inputs and irrigated using canals. Practical implications: The difference in search behaviors between the case study states, and within the states, shows that targeted extension approaches are needed to reach different farmers, particularly the no, low and moderate search groups, with programs customized to address their context-specific information needs. Originality/value: Using information search strategy as the basis for analysis, this paper provides additional evidence of the need to consider the context-specific situations of farmers when designing extension services.

University students' online information searching strategies in different search contexts

<span>This study investigates the role of search context played in university students' online information searching strategies. A total of 304 university students in Taiwan were surveyed with questionnaires in which two search contexts were defined as searching for learning, and searching for daily life information. Students' online search strategies were evaluated by the "Online Information Searching Strategy Inventory" (Tsai, 2009b). The results of paired t-tests indicated that university students' online search strategies utilised for searching daily life information were significantly better than those utilised for learning activities, especially in behavioural and metacognitive strategies. This study also drew a subsample of 20 students from the participants for in-depth interviews, to explore further the reasons for these findings. We suggest that educators need to pay more attention to helping students develop online search strategies for academic activities. In addition, only female students' metacognitive strategies were significantly different between search contexts. There may be an effect of the interaction between search context and gender on students' online searching strategies. Based on the above, suggestions are provided for future design and implementation of online information searching activities.</span>

The Effectiveness of Electronic Information Search Practices of Secondary School Students in a Singapore Science Education Context

The Internet is a complex repository containing a huge maze of information from a variety of sources. It has become a common fixture in school nowadays. Whether to use technologies such as the Internet to advance teaching in schools is not the issue since technology is already pervasively in use. Rather it is how to effectively capitalize upon technology and harness fully the new opportunities created for learning with the Internet to facilitate greater learning gains. Though in Singapore, Internet access is easily available and prevalent, be it in schools or at homes, this cannot be assumed to mean that effective use of the learning affordances of the Internet is being accomplished. This study attempted to investigate the Internet information search literacy skills of secondary school students in Singapore. The general information search techniques and strategies that were adopted by students during their information seeking interactions with the Internet were examined. It was found that students generally lacked robust Internet information searching skills and require instructional mediation in enhancing these critical skills essential for the electronic information-rich age that is now prevalent.

Epinome: a visual-analytics workbench for epidemiology data.

Early detection and rapid response to infectious-disease outbreaks rely on effective decision making based on information from disparate sources. To improve decision-making in outbreak detection and response, it's important to understand how public health practitioners seek relevant information. Epinome, a user-centric visual-analytics system, supports research on decision-making in public health, particularly evaluation of information search strategies. Epinome facilitates investigation of scripted high-fidelity large-scale simulated disease outbreaks. Its dynamic environment seamlessly evolves and adapts as the user's tasks and focus change. This video shows how the Epinome system facilitates interactive simulations of disease outbreaks.

Relevance-Driven Information Search in “Pseudodiagnostic” Reasoning

When faced with two competing hypotheses, people sometimes prefer to look at multiple sources of information in support of one hypothesis rather than to establish the diagnostic value of a single piece of information for the two hypotheses. This is termed pseudodiagnostic reasoning and has often been understood to reflect, among other things, poor information search strategies. Past research suggests that diagnostic reasoning may be more easily fostered when participants seek data to help in the selection of one of two competing courses of action as opposed to situations where they seek data to help infer which of two competing hypotheses is true. In the experiment reported here, we provide the first empirical evidence demonstrating that manipulating the relevance of the feature for which participants initially receive information determines whether they will make a nominally diagnostic or pseudodiagnostic selection. The discussion of these findings focuses on implications for the ability to engage in diagnostic hypothesis testing.

Information search and decision making: Effects of age and complexity on strategy use.

The impact of task complexity on information search strategy and decision quality was examined in a sample of 135 young, middle-aged, and older adults. We were particularly interested in the competing roles of fluid cognitive ability and domain knowledge and experience, with the former being a negative influence and the latter being a positive influence on older adults' performance. Participants utilized 2 decision matrices, which varied in complexity, regarding a consumer purchase. Using process tracing software and an algorithm developed to assess decision strategy, we recorded search behavior, strategy selection, and final decision. Contrary to expectations, older adults were not more likely than the younger age groups to engage in information-minimizing search behaviors in response to increases in task complexity. Similarly, adults of all ages used comparable decision strategies and adapted their strategies to the demands of the task. We also examined decision outcomes in relation to participants' preferences. Overall, it seems that older adults utilize simpler sets of information primarily reflecting the most valued attributes in making their choice. The results of this study suggest that older adults are adaptive in their approach to decision making and that this ability may benefit from accrued knowledge and experience.