Cognitive Information Concept: Its Content, Basis And Effect

Compared with information science system concept that focuses on document and retrieval technology, information cognitive concept is a new research orientation. Before 1970s, it is the system concept that played the leading role in science information field. Because it paid much attention to man-made things or expression of knowledge recorded by physical media, the consumer of information system has been ignored, which led to most information retrieval system falling behind development of IT. In ordre to resolving the problem, the information cognitive concept has been created. The information cognitive concept is to study inforamtion science using cognitivism in psychology, for the purpose of improving consumers'ability to make use of information. Therefore, it becomes the main stream of information science study in the nowadays.â… Creation of the Information Cognitive ConceptCreating the information cognitive concept is to deal with the problem that information retrieval system falls behind development of IT. It has been created with the transfer of paradigm in information science (form system concept to cognitive paradigm). In the earliest time, information science discussed design of document and information retrieval system in application. Form the end of 1970s, more and more scholar think that the system orientation can no longer ensure progress of information science and it should be exposed to cognitive structure. The transfer from system to cognition means that the emphasis of information science is changed from design and development of information retrieval system to information user's knowledge structure, information behavior and information inquiry etc., whose essence is to change to"person"form information system. In"International Conference on Theory and Application of Information Science Study"held in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, in 1977, the information cognitive concept was first put forward clearly. It supposes that that the significance of information science study dose not lie in studying the information itself, but improving the use and absorption of document. Thereby, the information cognitive concept occupies a leading role in information field. However, what discipline provides it theory support after all?â…¡Basis of the Information Cognitive ConceptIn 1952, library scholars in University of Chicago, USA, Jesse Shara and Margaret Egan first time brought forward the concept"social epistemology. Shara thinks that"Social epistemology is able to provide knowledge basis we have been seeking all the time for information science."Among them,"knowledge"and"exchange"are the cores of social epistemology. But it is only a method to resolve the practical problem, knowledge transmission, been confronted with in information science field, not being able to provide it a satisfying cognitive basis. In 2002, Luciano Floridi in Oxford University published a thesis"what is the information philosophy", in which the concept"information philosophy"was first time put forward and discussed in detail. He thinks that information philosophy can substitute social epistemology and become theory basis of library and information science.â…¢Representative Theory on Information Cognitive ConceptMany scholars with Brookes as their representative combine these two most influential theories, Karl Popper's"World 1,2,3"theory and Kuhn's"Scientific Paradigm", and cognitive science's extract with fundamental theory of information science, as well as creatively put forward and further perfect a kind of scientific paradigm called"information cognitive concept", according to human being's higher request on knowledge activation, knowledge organization and use in information era and knowledge-economic era. The representative theories includes British Brookes"The Fundamental Equation of Information Science", Canadian Belkin"Anomalous State of Knowledge", American Dervin"Sense-making Theory"etc. From Brookes, Belkin, Dervin to Ingwersen, Hjorland, although they are different from each other in researching theory level, the problem emphasized, study environment and theory style, but they have nearly the same inheriting relations and basic concepts. Their relatively dependent while complementary theory systems have composed leading frame of present information cognitive concept in Europe and America.Brookes is praised as the first supporter of information science cognitive concept. His information cognitive concept is concretized in"The Fundamental Equation of Information Science"he proposed, which is the core of his thought. Brookes's fundamental equation of information science is K [S] +â–³Iâ†'K[S+â–³S]. Belkin and Dervin ascertains and uses such technical terms as"information needed"and"sense-making"in respect to connect information concept with consumer(main body) concept more closely. Ingwersen has developed Brookes's fundamental equation. He adds creation and acceptance of information these two factors on the basis of Brookes's fundamental equation, having introduced"potential information"(short for PI).While Hjorland in"Walking toward New Horizon of Information Science: Field Analysis", he published in 1995, points out that through the study on consumer's thinking behavior, some invisible law, principle and norm of information science can be discovered, and if they are used in designing information system, quality of consumer's information inquiry can be improved. Meanwhile, he also proposes that information ought to reflect consumer's subjective knowledge composition, not some objective reality.â…£The Effect of the Information Cognitive Concept and its deficiencyThe effect of information cognitive concept includes three aspects: First, it causes the change of related concepts. The core change of information cognitive concept is to realize"the subject constructs meaning actively in the context he faces". The subject is not only viewed as passive information recipient, but also actor of his own significance; Second, it is able to combine information concept with research in and out of this field, that is, it makes use of the result, concept and method in other research field to develop itself; Third, its significance is embodied in rich theory achievement, but the practice under the guidance of cognitive concept. This paper introduces how to make use of psychology knowledge to study information cognition, so as to consumer's ability to require and retrieve information.Though cognitive concept brings about significant progress on the study of information science theory, but the"cognition"concept it depends upon is just an inner world of individual person, which can not totally reflect all processes of human being's information behavior. Thus it leads to the lack of society latitude in information science, making its social version become very narrow. Therefore, in regards to cognitive concept, it will be an important topic to cognitive concept evens the whole information science in the future that how social structure can be integrated into related cognitive theories.But the field analysis appearing after 1990s holds that it is the discipline filed type that decides information demand and retrieval tactics, bringing more psychological methods into information science to discuss some cognition concept in the field and deal with its problem related to knowing state. Field analysis of information science is just pay attention to consumer's social context and information structure, to the influence of information structure and social condition and in some extent develops the information science cognitive concept.