Dervin received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and home economics from Cornell University, with a minor in philosophy of religion, and her Master of Surgery and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in communication research from Michigan State University.
Her research about information seeking and information use led to the development of the Sense-Making approach (Ross, Nilsen, & Dewdney, 2003, p 93). In 1986 she acted as the first president of the International Communication Association. Dervin reviews articles and also is on editorial boards for communication and library and information science journals.
