Dervin's Sense-Making Triangle is composed of three different elements that arise every time an individual faces shortage of information. Initially, one faces a situation in which they realize that the information they have in their contextual situation does not meet their desired situation. To bridge this identified gap, individuals use sense-making to identify the specific shortages of information. The outcome is achieved when the new information is at the level of the desired situation.

Sense-Making Triangle

Sense-making is a methodology for assessing user needs in libraries pioneered by Brenda Dervin. This methodology focuses on how people interact with information and knowledge personally, among others, or over communication technology. This methodology has been used to guide user research and interviews with the goal of creating research informed practices in both. A common application of this methodology is the Sense-Making Triangle.

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- Taylor's Levels
- Belkin's Information Problems
- Dervin's Information Seeking as Sense-Making
- Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Models of Information Needs

Models of information behavior are general or specific representations of information behavior. They often use a diagram to depict the steps or stages used in information seeking. 
- Berrypickig
- Ellis Model
- Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS)
- Information Search Process (ISP)
- Hektor Model
- Information Behavior in Serious Leisure
- Sense-Making Model
- Optimal Foraging Theory
- Model of the Information-Seeking of Professionals 

Models of Information Behavior

Dervin, B. & Naumer, C. M. (2018). Sense-Making. In McDonald, J. D. & Levine-Clark, M. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science (4th ed.). (pp.4113-4124 ). CRC Press.

Sense-Making

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological model that organizes human motives into a multi-level pyramid. This model illustrates the relationship among various motives, which span from fundamental physiological needs at the base to the highest level of self-actualization at the peak.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Anomalous State of Knowledge (ASK) is a theory that an information need is the result of a gap (anomaly) in a user’s knowledge. The implication of this theory is that the user will struggle to accurately query an information retrieval system because they are lacking the information to do so. 

Anomalous State of Knowledge

Sense-Making (within Library Science)

The information search process (ISP) is a six-stage model of a user’s process while information seeking.

Information Search Process (ISP)

A model created by David Ellis that consists of the non-sequential steps taken by someone doing research.

Ellis Model

Berrypicking is a model of search in which the user collects pieces of information using a variety of strategies over the course of an evolving search.

Berrypicking Search Model

A model that describes nonoccupational interactions with information. This model looks at how society and culture impact a person’s source preferences.

Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS)

A model of information behavior created by Anders Hektor that uses four different information behaviors and eight different information activities. The information activities are classified under one or two of the information behaviors.

Hektor Model

Information behavior in serious leisure is a methodology used in library and information science that applies the sociological research by Robert A. Stebbins and the information behavior model of Anders Hektor to studies of how hobbyists, amateurs, and volunteers engage with information. This framework classifies three types of leisure activity learning, casual, and project-based.  

Information Behavior in Serious Leisure

Optimal foraging theory outlines the process by which individuals handle information sources when seeking out information, especially in the networked environment. The foundational assumption is that when seeking and assessing information, the researcher prioritizes their self-interest, making information seeking a very individualistic process. 

Optimal Foraging Theory

A model that attempts to understand the behavior of those seeking information depending on their work roles. The model was developed on the basis of a study conducted by Leckie et al. (1996) on individuals from a variety of professions, ranging from librarians to nurses to engineers. A set of characteristics of information needs were developed to outline the factors that may influence the information search process depending on the profession. 

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