{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]],"date-time":"2025-10-20T16:49:02Z","timestamp":1760978942617,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2003,8,1]],"date-time":"2003-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1059696000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2003,8,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Information seeking does not occur in a vacuum but invariably is motivated by some wider task. It is well accepted that to understand information seeking we must understand the task context within which it takes place. Writing is amongst the most common tasks within which information seeking is embedded. This paper considers how writing can be understood in order to account for embedded information seeking. Following Sharples, the paper treats writing as a design activity and explore parallels between the psychology of design and information seeking. Significant parallels can be found and ideas from the psychology of design offer explanations for a number of information seeking phenomena. Next, a design\u2010oriented representation of writing tasks as a means of providing an account of phenomena such as information seeking uncertainty and focus refinement is developed. The paper illustrates the representation with scenarios describing the work of newspaper journalists.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1108\/00220410310485712","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2003,7,2]],"date-time":"2003-07-02T19:34:45Z","timestamp":1057174485000},"page":"430-453","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":44,"title":["Information seeking in the context of writing"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"59","author":[{"given":"Simon","family":"Attfield","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ann","family":"Blandford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"John","family":"Dowell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b1","unstructured":"Akin, O. (1986), Psychology of Architectural Design, Pion, London."},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Attfield, S.J. and Dowell, J. (2003a), \u201cInformation seeking and use by newspaper journalists\u201d, Journal of Documentation, Vol. 59 No. 2, pp. 187\u2010204.","DOI":"10.1108\/00220410310463860"},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b3","unstructured":"Attfield, S.J. and Dowell, J. (2003b), A Study of Information Seeking and Information Use Behaviours of Newspaper Journalists, Departmental Research Note, RN\/02\/29, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London."},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Belkin, N.J., Oddy, R.N. and Brooks, H.M. (1982), \u201cASK for information retrieval (part1)\u201d, Journal of Documentation, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 61\u201071.","DOI":"10.1108\/eb026722"},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bystr\u00f6m, K. and J\u00e4rvelin, K. (1995), \u201cTask complexity affects information seeking and use\u201d, Information Processing & Management, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 191\u2010213.","DOI":"10.1016\/0306-4573(95)80035-R"},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b6","unstructured":"Darke, J. (1978), \u201cThe primary generator and the design process\u201d, in Rogers, W.E. and Ittelson, W.H. (Eds), New Directions in Environmental Design Research: Proceedings of EDRA 9, EDRA, Washington, DC."},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b7","unstructured":"Eastman, C.M. (1970), \u201cOn the analysis of the intuitive design process\u201d, in Moore, G.T. (Ed.), Emerging Methods in Environmental Design and Planning, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA."},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ellis, D. and Haugan, M. (1997), \u201cModelling the information seeking patterns of engineers and research scientists in an industrial environment\u201d, Journal of Documentation, Vol. 53 No. 4, pp. 384\u2010403.","DOI":"10.1108\/EUM0000000007204"},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Goel, V. and Pirolli, P. (1992), \u201cThe structure of design problem spaces\u201d, Cognitive Science, Vol. 16, pp. 395\u2010429.","DOI":"10.1207\/s15516709cog1603_3"},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b10","unstructured":"Ingwersen, P. (1992), Information Retrieval Interaction, Taylor Graham, London."},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kuhlthau, C.C. (1993), \u201cA principle of uncertainty for information seeking\u201d, Journal of Documentation, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 339\u201055.","DOI":"10.1108\/eb026918"},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kuhlthau, C.C. 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(1998), \u201cGrowth of theories on information seeking: an analysis of growth of a theoretical research program on the relation between task complexity and information seeking\u201d, Information Processing and Management, Vol. 34 No. 3\/4, pp. 361\u201082.","DOI":"10.1016\/S0306-4573(97)00074-5"},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vakkari, P. (1999), \u201cTask complexity, problem structure and information actions: integrating studies on information seeking and retrieval\u201d, Information Processing and Management, Vol. 35, pp. 819\u201037.","DOI":"10.1016\/S0306-4573(99)00028-X"},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b29","unstructured":"Vakkari, P. (2000a), \u201cCognition and changes of search terms and tactics during task performance: a longitudinal study\u201d, in Proceedings of the RIAO 2000 Conference, CID, Paris, pp. 894\u2010907."},{"key":"key2022031820201115700_b30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vakkari, P. 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