Towards a contextual model of information seeking on the Web

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Abstract
This paper discusses everyday life information seeking via the World Wide Web, and its many contexts at various levels of abstraction. First, empirical Internet-searching studies are reviewed, the conclusion of which is the fact that they yield an exceedingly limited and fragmentary picture of the context of the activity. Therefore, the aim of the paper is theoretical: to propose – based on holistic reflection and earlier literature – a truly contextual model of Web searching from an individual's perspective. The various layers – life-worlds, domains, situations, action, information action, information seeking, information sources, Internet and Web – of the framework are presented one by one, and the dynamics of the whole creation is eventually outlined. At the end, the usefulness and application of the model are deliberated upon. It is claimed that the framework amounts to an exhaustive description of the context of Web information seeking, and that the theoretical construct can be taken advantage of in researching information seeking from practically any source.