Brenda Dervins Sense-Making Metaphore

a major user-centered approach to information use

Hacettepe University- ANKARA-TURKEY Information Management Department November-2012

Sense Making Philosophical baseline

Basic Definitions

Ding an sich =thing in itself Knowledge/Information Knowledge Management Information Designer Situational Awareness

Basic Definitions

Ding an sich =thing in itself - Reduction and Suspension

Basic Definitions

Knowledge/Information
A reconceptualized motion from noun to verb

Sense-making takes a critical stance towards the usual meaning of the concept of information Dervin takes a critical stand on information that is conceived of as something static, ordered, isomorphic, entity-like, and external, and which is imposed on individuals as one outcome. The concept of information perceived this way is seen to be problematic because it freezes time-space and person and restricts information to that produced and used by one narrow set of sense-making strategies

Basic Definitions

Knowledge/Information
A reconceptualized motion from noun to verb

The sense making and sense unmaking that is knowledge is a verb, always an activity, embedded in time and space, moving from a history toward a horizon, made at the juncture between self and culture, society, organization. (Dervin, 1998)

Basic Definitions
Knowledge Management a new way to solve problemsa new strategic perspective influenced by a new appreciation to interrelationships, complexity, and context (Clarke, 1998).

Basic Definitions
Information Designer
It may be more productive to conceptualize human beings not as seekers and users of information but rather as information designers Individual should be seen as an entity behaving at a moment in time-space. Ultimately, designing of information is based on the dialectical dance between nouns and verbs or between rigidities and fluidities

Basic Definitions

Internal Resources: ideas, experiences, belief, emotions in a gappy situation External Resources: Advice received from an expert, web pages, newspaper articles

Basic Definitions
Situational Awareness

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation_awareness

Situational Awareness

Brenda Dervin
Unquestionably the key theorist of sense-making

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=play er_detailpage&v=foyH6eoIseQ

Sense-making was introduced to information science by Brenda Dervin in 1972 to Humancomputer interaction by PARC researchers Russell, Stefik, Pirolli and Card in 1993 to organizational studies by Karl Weick in 1995 Since the 1980s, sensemaking has significantly influenced the methodological viewpoints of information needs and seeking studies

The bounds of particular discourse communities

Primarily the field of library and information science (where applications have focussed on the study of information needs and seeking and on the match between systems and users); Various communication fields (where applications have focused on interpersonal, mass and cyberspaced communication in service, media, medical and other settings); Education (where applications have focused on user-centered pedagogy).

Sense Making
According to Dervin, sense-making can be seen as behavior, both internal (cognitive) and external (procedural), which allows the individual to construct and design his or her movement through the time space context. Sense making, as an approach, is described as a methodology disciplining the cacophony of diversity and complexity without homogenizing it. (Dervin,1998) The sense-making mandate has been focused primarily on the development of philosophical guidance for method Knowledge is reconceptualized from noun to verb.

Purpose of the Methodology

The purpose of the project, in the broadest sense, from its inception has been to make possible better design of practices and systems for communicating, whether in person or mediated, whether by voice or pen or computer. In general, sense-making may be characterized as a theoretic net, a set of assumptions and propositions, and a set of methods that have been developed to study the making of sense that people do in their everyday experiences

Purpose of the Methodology

Sense-making aims at freeing research from the implicit assumption that there is one right way to produce knowledge or to use information

The bottom-line goal of Sense making from its inception has been to find out what users audiences, customers, patients, clients, patrons, employees really think, feel, want, dream !

What is sense-making ? IB Related Concept

REDUCING UNCERTAINITY Problem Solving - Identifying Issues - Setting goals - Designing suitable courses of action Decision Making - Evaluating - Choosing among alternatives

Looking to the gap

gap gap facing gap-defining gap-bridging step-taking

When you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. Nietzsche

Gap-bridging
Gap-bridging: Always purposive and goaloriented Occurs in a myriad ways Entirely capricious

Metaphorical triangle of situation-gap-uses

HCI/MMI/HMI

A sample from Defense Industry

A sample from Ethics

A Theory of Justice, John Rawls 1971 Veil of Ignorance

References
Dervin, B. (1995, March). Chaos, Order and sense-Making: A Proposed Theory for Information Design Dervin, B. (1998, December). Sense-making theory and practice: an overview of user interests in knowledge seeking and use Savolainen, R. (1999, May). Information use, gap-bridging and Sense-Making Savolainen, R. (2006, July). Information Use a Gap Bridging: The Viewpoint of SenseMaking Methodology Uak, N.. (1997). Bilgi Gereksinimi ve Bilgi Arama Davran

Thanks