Literary critics at work and their information needs: A research-phases model

This article focuses on the information needs of literary critics when prod ucing literary criticism. A fundamental aspect of this research, the six-st age model of producing literary criticism, was developed from interviews wi th literary critics. Using a mail survey, the model was tested and substant iated. The research-phases model provides the context to understand the fun ction of information at each of the identified stages of literary criticism , that is, idea generation, preparation, elaboration, analysis and writing, dissemination, and further writing and dissemination. The model is contras ted with research-phases models of other disciplines. This holistic approac h, linking information functions to research stages, advances the study of information-seeking behavior in context.