Pre-decisional problem-solving behaviors of novice problem solvers: The effect of pre-task knowledge on information selection and on-task learning

Solving complex problems requires the processing of large amounts of information and knowledge. Expert problem solvers attain efficiency in problem solving tasks by developing complete problem and knowledge representations that guide the selection and use of information. Experienced problem solvers come to professional problem solving tasks equipped with an extensive repertoire of knowledge and strategies for acquiring and evaluating knowledge. Research suggests that novice problem solver's lack of knowledge results in an ill-defined and incomplete information search leading to sub-optimal decision performance. Research also shows that novice problem solvers limited knowledge, when properly directed, can overcome these limitations. Understanding how novice problem solvers perform information search tasks contributes to our understanding of how the internal representations affects the information acquisition process, how the information acquired affects the representation process, and how the problem solving process affects the representation modification process.; The tax research process is a complex information rich environment for understanding the effect of internal representations on acquisition of information and the effect of new information on the representation building process. Using a computerized process tracing methodology, this paper examines how novice tax researchers select and use tax information documents to solve complex tax problems. Specifically, the research explores the effect of pretask knowledge on information selection and use during the problem solving process and its effect on identifying tax research issues.; The results of the study reveal a model of information use by novice problem-solvers most successful in identifying and clarifying issues during the tax research task. Greater levels of pretask knowledge were associated with the use of general sources of tax information and better discrimination between relevant and non-relevant tax information. The use of general tax information also resulted in the greatest increase in the number, and importance, of tax issues identified during the tax research task. The resulting model of information use suggests a specific methodology for completing tax research tasks. When applied to complex knowledge and information environments the methodology could lead to greater information search efficiency, greater decision confidence, and greater learning gains to the problem solver.