The cognitive process of information evaluation: A collective case study

Evaluation is a critical thinking process that people use in making judgments of quality, truthfulness, and accuracy. Despite its importance in everyday life, evaluation as a process is poorly understood. The purpose of this study is to describe the cognitive processes used by well-educated, motivated adults as they make critical judgments of information under naturalistic and conducive conditions.; This study considered evaluation in a realistic setting, incorporating context and influential elements. Well-educated and motivated participants were chosen because past research suggests that these characteristics increase the likelihood of evaluative behavior. Five second-year doctoral students were followed through an information search process involving a topic of personal relevance. Methods included collective case study techniques and a phenomenological approach. Data sources included interviews, think-aloud protocols, observations, stimulated recalls, retrospective reports, documents, and member checks. Participants were observed for six weeks as they examined information sources for the first time, as they reconsidered first impressions, and as they applied this information to personal contexts.; Several results emerged from this study. Participants used evaluation as part of a complex cognitive process. Evaluation occurred as a sequence beginning with a discrete initial event, progressing through three distinct deliberative phases (browsing, functional, and optimal), and ending with a decision in the form of a judgment. Initializations occurred as complex reactions to informational stimuli. Textual characteristics recognized as problems varied widely across participants.; Participants exhibited many evaluative strategies. The nature of strategies differed across the three deliberative phases, and a sequential pattern appeared when optimal incidents were compared across cases. Optimal processing seemed less reactive to information characteristics than functional processing, and time played a greater role. Judgments occurred through one of three avenues. Prior knowledge, epistemology, affect, beliefs, and format preferences influenced evaluation.; As the ability to access, evaluate, and apply information increases in importance, educators must understand evaluation in order to design instruction that will prepare students for its effective use. The two primary contributions of this study are a model of the information evaluation process, and a set of concrete evaluative strategies that can be taught to novice evaluators.