Prior Knowledge, Information Search Behaviors, and Performance in Tax Research Tasks.

This study examines the effects of prior knowledge on the information search and evaluation behaviors of tax professionals performing a complex tax research task. Despite the importance of tax research tasks to practice, very few studies have investigated the determinants of performance in this task. The results of this study indicate that prior knowledge of relevant tax rules affects (1) the information search strategies tax professionals use, (2) the amount of relevant information located, the attention (in terms of time) paid to relevant information, and the speed with which this information is retrieved, and (3) the ability to discriminate between relevant and non-relevant information. Further, after controlling for the effects of prior knowledge, the results suggest that particular search strategies are related to overall research effectiveness.