Information seeking and mediated searching. Part 4. Cognitive styles in information seeking

This is the fourth in a series resulting from a joint research project directed by Professor Tom Wilson in the United Kingdom and Dr. Amanda Spink in the United States. The analysis reported here sought to test a number of hypotheses linking global/analytic cognitive styles and aspects of researchers' problem‐solving and related information‐seeking behavior. One hundred and eleven postdoctoral researchers were assessed for Witkin's field dependence/independence using Riding's Cognitive Styles Analysis and for Pask's holist/serialist biases using items from Ford's Study Processes Questionnaire. These measures were correlated with the researchers' perceptions of aspects of their problem‐solving and information‐seeking behavior, and with those of the search intermediary who performed literature searches on their behalf. A number of statistically significant correlations were found. Field‐independent researchers were more analytic and active than their field‐dependent counterparts. Holists engaged more in exploratory and serendipitous behavior, and were more idiosyncratic in their communication than serialists.