While surprisingly little has been written about context at a meaningful level, context is central to most theoretical approaches to information seeking. In this essay I explore in more detail three senses of context. First, I look at context as equivalent to the situation in which a process is immersed. Second, I discuss contingency approaches that detail active ingredients of the situation that have specific, predictable effects. Third, I examine major frameworks for meaning systems. Then, I discuss how a deeper appreciation of context can enhance our understanding of the process of information seeking by examining two vastly different contexts in which it occurs: organizational and cancer-related, an exemplar of everyday life information seeking. This essay concludes with a discussion of the value that can be added to information seeking research and theory as a result of a deeper appreciation of context, particularly in terms of our current multi-contextual environment and individuals taking an active role in contextualizing.

As more people gain at-home access to the Internet, information seeking on the Web has become embedded in everyday life. The objective of this study was to characterize the home as an information use environment and to identify a range of information seeking and Websearch behaviors at home. Twelve Northern California residents were recruited, and the data were collected through semi-structured at-home interviews based on a self-reported Search Activities Diary that subjects kept over a 3–5 day period. The data were analyzed on four levels: home environment, information seeking goals, information retrieval interaction, and search query. Findings indicated that the home, indeed, provided a distinct information use environment beyond physical setting alone in which the subjects used the Web for diverse purposes and interests. Based on the findings, the relationships among home environment, Web context, and interaction situation were identified with respect to user goals and information-seeking behaviors.

This study investigates how users ’ cognitive and affective characteristics influence the navigational and search behaviors on the Web among experienced Web users. Sixty-seven undergraduate students participated in the study. Two standardized tests and a questionnaire were used to collect information on the participants’ cognitive style, problem-solving style, and demographics. Factor analysis was performed on the scores from the two standardized tests (Group Embedded Figures Test and Problem Solving Inventory), and extracted two user factors (Focus Control and Emotion Control). The Focus Control factor seemed to influence users’ navigational behaviors, such as the use of links and back buttons, whereas the Emotion Control factor affected search behaviors including keyword searching, and also search performance measured by precision and recall.