Arrange the following steps of Kuhlthau's (1991) Information Search Process model in reverse order of their stages of action.

A. Collection

B. Selection

C. Formulation

D. Exploration

Choose the correct answer from the options given below

The correct answer is A, C, D, B.

Key Points

• Carol Kuhlthau propounded an Information Search Model (ISM) in 1991.
• Kuhlthau ‘Six stages’ are
  • Initiation: This is the first stage of the process; expressed by feelings of uncertainty and more general thoughts with a need to be aware of or connect new to existing knowledge.
  • Selection: In this stage, the selection of a general topic with some common feelings of hopefulness takes place in order to identify the most significant areas of the topic.
  • Exploration: It is the third step of the process in which scrutinizing to extend personal perception and decrease the feelings of doubt and confusion about the topic takes place.
  • Formulation: Here the researcher focuses on the process by means of encountered information accompanied by feelings of increase in confidence.
  • Collection: In the fifth stage, the researcher interacts smoothly with the information system with confidence as the topic is analyzed by selecting and evaluating information.
  • Presentation/Closure: It is the final stage of the process which ends the process with a sense of confidence or failure depending on how useful are the findings.