Abstract:
This paper reports on ongoing doctoral research into how, in an information-rich
environment, workers assess they have enough information to complete the task at hand.
While human information behaviour researchers are beginning to explore the concept of
enough information, the subtleties that shape this assessment remain under-researched.
This exploratory research took a naturalistic orientation to investigate the phenomenon of
enough information from a user perspective. The research was designed as a multiple case
study, with semi-structured interviews the data gathering technique. A first interview
explored the nature of the context in which participants worked. A second joint interview
focused on how participants sought information and assessed they had enough. Research
participants were public sector policy and research workers in Australia, engaged in real
information seeking activity.
Inductive data analysis is being conducted and the paper reports on themes emerging from
early analysis of the data.
These themes include the paradoxical role of deadlines in assessing
enough information and the strong contextual influences experienced by participants.
