Contextualized access to knowledge: theoretical perspectives and a process-tracing study

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the theoretical foundations and empirical evidence concerning contextualized access to task domain knowledge enabled by hypertext-style links. It examines several relevant theoretical perspectives, including theories of discourse comprehension, contextualized learning and the production paradox, and reports on an exploratory study in the knowledge-based systems (KBS) domain. Process-tracing data was collected using a 'thinking-aloud' procedure, and data analysis focused on some highly illustrative verbal protocols. Results indicate that contextualized access to domain knowledge can be critical for understanding KBS output, and that lack of it can cause comprehension difficulties. Contextualized access is highly effective for resolving comprehension difficulties arising from the users' lack of task domain knowledge and for reducing the motivational 'cost' of learning. We conclude that it has the potential for substantially increasing the effectiveness of information systems.