Chapter 5 Into the Land of Adolescent Metacognitive Knowledge During the Information Search Process: A Metacognitive Ethnography

Abstract

This chapter examines adolescent metacognitive knowledge in a fresh light and answers some methodological questions related to the investigation of the deepest layers of thinking during the information search. It does so by presenting a study that used an ethnographic approach to investigate the metacognitive knowledge of 10 adolescents, aged 16 to 18, over the course of four months, and in a variety of settings –– home, school, public libraries –– as they searched for, collected, and then used information for a school project. The study was framed by Flavel's model of metacognition (1977) and Kuhlthau's information search process (ISP) model, a six-stage, multidimensional model of information problem solving (1991, 2004). The chapter begins with a discussion about the ISP, metacognitive knowledge, and its potential for information seeking. The chapter then presents the findings of the study as a set of gaps and strengths of adolescent metacognitive knowledge, and concludes with commentary about the challenges and rewards related to conducting research with young people and suggestions for future areas of research.

Citation

Bowler, L. (2011), "Chapter 5 Into the Land of Adolescent Metacognitive Knowledge During the Information Search Process: A Metacognitive Ethnography", Spink, A. and Heinström, J. (Ed.) New Directions in Information Behaviour (Library and Information Science, Vol. 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 93-125. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1876-0562(2011)002011a008