RARELY DO WE ACQUIRE AN INFORMATION GOOD AFTER WE EXPERIENCE IT IN ITS ENTIRETY. INDIVIDUALS LEARN ABOUT A WORK FROM PARTIAL INFORMATION (E.G. REVIEWS, WORD-OF-MONTH, SUMMARIES AND ABSTRACTS ETC.), THEREFORE THE INEVITABLE UNCERTAINTY IN PREDICTING THE CONTENT AND RELEVANCE OF A WORK. THE AVAILABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF VARIOUS FORMS OF "INFORMATION CUES" OR "META-INFORMATION" (I.E. INFORMATION ABOUT INFORMATION) THEREFORE SET THE PARAMETERS OF USERS' INFORMATION DIET.
THE UNCERTAINTY EXPERIENCED BY USERS IS LIKELY TO WORSEN IN A DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT WHERE THE PERUSE OF THE INFORMATION CONTENT IS CIRCUMSCRIBED. YET ONLINE ENVIRONMENT ALSO PRESENTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NOVEL DECISION AIDS SUCH AS RECOMMENDER SYSTEM AND THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION (REVIEWS BY EXPERTS AND LAYPERSONS) TO REDUCE DECISION UNCERTAINTY AND PROMOTE SERENDIPITOUS INFORMATION ENCOUNTERS.
THE COURSE IS DESIGNED TO EXPLORE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF DECISION MAKING IN INFORMATION CONSUMPTION. WHILE UNCERTAINTY HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN INFORMATION BEHAVIOR LITERATURE, LITTLE HAS BEEN ADDRESSED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE UNCERTAINTY INVOLVED IN DECIDING WHAT INFORMATION TO CONSUME. TO PROVIDE THE STUDENTS NECESSARY ANALYTIC TOOLS FOR USER DECISION MAKING, A SURVEY OF RELEVANT LITERATURE IN COGNITIVE SCIENCE, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, HCI, AND CONSUMER BEHAVIORS WILL BE GIVEN, WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON THEIR IMPLICATIONS ON EXPLAINING AND PREDICTING INFORMATION USERS' DECISION MAKING.
IT IS HOPED THAT A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROCESS OF HOW USERS ASSIMILATE AND COMBINE VARIOUS INFORMATION CUES IN THEIR INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO THE DESIGN OF INFORMATION SERVICE ABLE TO REDUCE SEARCH EFFORTS AND SEARCH UNCERTAINTY.