Birgit Kvikne will defend her thesis for the PhD program in Social Sciences, with specialization in Information, Library and Archival Studies with “Nobody talks to us … Nobody asks us” A study of aphasia and information seeking.
The trial lecture lasts from 10:00-10:45, and the title is: Models for human seeking and searching of information – future directions.
The candidate will defend her thesis at 12:00.
The ordinary opponents are:
The head of the public defence is Vice Dean Steen Steensen, Faculty of Social Sciences, OsloMet.
The supervisor has been professor Gerd Berget, Department of Archivistics, Library and Information Science, OsloMet.
The co-supervisor has been Dr. Andrew Macfarlane, University of London.
This article-based PhD explores the impact of aphasia on information seeking. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder caused by brain damage. Aphasia affects the ability to produce and comprehend written and spoken language, with word mobilization difficulties being a common challenge. This qualitative study is based on semi-structured interviews and observations of search behavior with 20 people diagnosed with aphasia.
The study found that aphasia can have a huge impact on information seeking due to impaired language skills. For example, participants reported difficulties in formulating proper query words because of challenges with word mobilization and spelling. Additionally, assessing result lists was challenging due to reduced reading skills. Furthermore, some information needs did not result in any information searching, because it was considered too strenuous.
The study highlights the need for more inclusive search systems that can support the search behavior of people with aphasia. The study also discusses how librarians can contribute to the interdisciplinary support system through search assistance and guidance.