Tiedonmetsätyksen

Tiedonmetsätyksen, often translated as "information foraging," is a metaphor used to describe how humans search for information. It draws an analogy between the behavior of animals foraging for food and how people seek out knowledge in environments like the internet. The core idea is that users, like animals, have limited energy and time, and therefore they tend to move towards information sources that appear most promising, based on cues and heuristics.

The theory suggests that information seekers follow "information scents." These scents are cues that indicate the potential value or relevance of an information source. Examples of information scents include the appearance of links, the presence of keywords, the reputation of a website, or the layout of a page. Users will follow a strong scent, much like an animal follows a trail, and abandon a path if the scent weakens or leads to a dead end.

This concept helps explain user behavior in information-rich environments. It highlights why users might click on certain links over others, why they might stay on a particular webpage, or why they might quickly abandon a search session. Understanding information foraging can be valuable for designing more effective websites, search engines, and other information systems, as it allows designers to create stronger information scents and guide users more efficiently towards their goals. The theory emphasizes the adaptive nature of information seeking, where users make decisions based on perceived costs and benefits.