Components of expertise

Abstract

This article discusses frameworks for studying expertise at the knowledge level and knowledge-use level. It reviews existing approaches such as inference structures, the distinction between deep and surface knowledge, problem-solving methods, and generic tasks. A new synthesis is put forward in the form of a componential framework that stresses modularity and an analysis of the pragmatic constraints on the task. The analysis of a rule from an existing expert system (the Dipmeter Advisor) is used to illustrate the framework.