There are moments in our everyday life when we have an information need we need to fill, or an information problem we need to solve. We may not think about it in that way. In our minds we're just trying to find the answer to a question. Yet in doing so we're actually using our past experiences, existing knowledge, critical thinking, and good judgement to find a reasonable answer.

Let's take a look at an example of an information problem in everyday life: Picking a restaurant.

SCENARIO

You want to try a nice new restaurant for your birthday, but it's been a while since you've dined out. You aren't sure where to go for your birthday dinner but you need to pick a place by Friday.

To pick the right restaurant, you want to find out the following:

Which restaurants are in your price range?
Which restaurants have the best reviews?
Which food looks or sounds the most delicious?
Does the restaurant accommodate a group of 6 or more?

Finding your answer

You may use several sources to find out which restaurants are right for you:

Google search
Yelp
Restaurant website
Food blogs

You want information that is accurate and timely. You don’t want to be surprised by a huge bill at the end of your meal! When you see that the Collegiate Restaurant's website hasn't been updated in years, you may want to look at other websites to find accurate pricing information.

You want unbiased information. If you want to find out the restaurants with the best reviews, you will use a food blog, google, yelp, or other services, but not the restaurant's website. It is in the restaurant's interest to only platform positive reviews.

But individual reviews can be biased also! Looking at lots of reviews helps you get a sense of what lots of people are saying about a place. It is a consensus of information. Individual reviews might be odd or biased toward something that doesn’t quite matter to you (the restaurant was too noisy or they didn’t like the music playing). But an overall trend could help you determine the quality of the restaurant.

You might turn to suggestions from family or friends or food writers.

Taste in food is subjective. Not everyone likes the same kind of food. You want to look for opinions from people you trust, maybe people who share your perspective, BUT you should also be open to reading reviews and suggestions from folks who disagree with you. You might discover something new that could change your way of thinking.

All of this information together will help you make an informed decision and pick the right restaurant for you. It's a complex information seeking process!