Everyday Information Behavior Research Articles

The Demographic Effect on Information Practices of Pakistan’s Urban Youth

This study aims to investigate the effect of demographics such as number of siblings, province, gender, and age on youth’s everyday information using, managing, and sharing practices. It also exposes the demographic differences regarding information-seeking practices. A good number of studies have been carried out on youth and their information behavior but to observe their everyday information behavior and the impact of demographics very little literature is available. This study is an effort to understand the demographic effects and differences that may lead to designing systems to fulfill their everyday information needs. A quantitative approach was applied with a sample size of 1000 Pakistani urban teen students of private and public sector schools all over Pakistan. Survey methodology was applied; cluster sampling was done with a 5-point Likert scale. The data was collected through Google Forms and all the provinces were part of this survey including ICT and Gilgit Baltistan. Data Analysis was done through SPSS-21. The results revealed demographic variables were found to have a great effect on EIP, these variables were also found to polish up the proficiency of urban teen's everyday information practices. The findings would assist in developing helpful guidelines for urban teens to improve their EIP. This study will also respond to a gap in research by explaining the everyday information practices of urban teens.

Building a Bigger Table: Food Research, Methods, Policy, and Action in Library and Information Science

ABSTRACTGrowing global concerns over food safety, food price inflation, and climate change demand urgent attention in scientific fields. Food information behavior and practice have been a vibrant and growing research area in library and information science, following the user‐centered paradigm shift and everyday life information needs, seeking, and use research since the 1970s. Research has shown that people engage with informal and embodied information to guide food practices (e.g., shopping, cooking, eating, and sustainability transitions). Food and health research challenge research methods and approaches in everyday information behavior and inform everyday practices, technological services, policies, and actions. In this panel, following a brief introduction, each panelist will share their research approaches and/or findings about food, health, and information research. We aim to invite and foster an open discussion with audiences to explore research opportunities, challenges, and approaches to studying food in library and information science.

Everyday Information Behavior of Marginalized Communities in the Global South: Informal Transportation as Example

AbstractInformation science is increasingly focused on giving voice to marginalized communities, improving their daily lives, and contributing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). However, challenges facing marginalized communities in the Global South are less frequently investigated, yet of great importance. Millions of people depend on information for essential everyday life activities such as transportation. Successful, timely daily commuting between home and work influences financial stability, family time, and safety. Everyday life information behavior as a research lens can reveal information activities, influencing factors, information sources, and contexts applying to informal transportation use by poorer socio‐economic groups. Theories of information behavior such as information poverty and information horizons can shed light. Understanding information behavior contexts, and how to bridge the digital divide and promotion of networking, sharing, and learning for marginalized populations through community‐led digital literacy training can help tailor interventions.

Companion animal representation and voice in information behavior research

Animals, specially companion species, are an integral part of our daily homes and cities but have not been the focus of everyday information behavior research to date. The practice of incorporating animals into research is not straightforward because they do not share our language or norms. The question this research aims to answer is: how can the perspective of other animal subjects be incorporated in information behavior research? This preliminary study of four multispecies families, included humans, dogs, and cats in the research design, and a more-than-human perspective was used as a research paradigm, offering different ways of thinking about ethnography and phenomenology methods. Five methodological strategies (speaking for the animal, listening differently, walking and sensing, photography, and technological mediation) proved effective in making the role of animals in the information experience of multispecies family visible. The article concludes with a discussion of the methodological implications that emerge when a researcher claims to view humans as conjoined with other life forms and seeks to include animals in information behavior research.

Everyday information behavior during the “new normal” of the Covid-19 pandemic: approaching the notions of experiential and local knowledge

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to understand everyday information behavior (IB) during the Covid-19 pandemic at the “new normal” stage, focusing on the notions of experiential knowledge (EK), i.e. knowledge acquired by first-hand experience or in personal interactions, and local knowledge (LK) as perception of local environment.Design/methodology/approachSeventeen interviews were carried out in February–May 2021, in a district of the city of Madrid (Spain). Interview transcripts were analyzed according to grounded theory, to identify major and complementary themes of EK and LK.FindingsParticipants’ stories show that EK cooperated with information originating from government, scientific authorities and mainstream media, in patterns of convergence and divergence. While convergence produces “thick knowledge” (knowledge perceived as solid, real and multidimensional), divergence leads to uncertainty and collaboration, but it also supports a critical stance on authorities’ information. In addition, participants’ perceptions of LK emphasize its human component. LK and EK are exchanged both explicitly and tacitly.Originality/valueThe paper presents the first approach to understanding EK and LK and their function during the health crisis, characterizing them as alternative information systems and as topics deserving major attention in research on IB and crisis management.

Afterword: Manifestations of Joy of Information in Everyday Information Behavior Research

This afterword reflects on the manifestations of joy of information from the perspective of everyday information behavior research. The point of departure is distinction between pleasurable and profound—the main constituents of the construct of "higher things in life" proposed by Kari and Hartel in 2007. The study also makes use of the related distinction of hedonic versus eudaimonic happiness. Illustrative examples of studies on information seeking and sharing in the context of leisure activities are used to show how joy of information as a constituent of the pursuance of hedonic and eudaimonic happiness has been approached in these investigations. It is suggested that the research frontier on higher things in life could be advanced further by examining the relationships between entertainment and information and the features of information experience because the aspects pleasurable and profound are central to these concepts.

Good, bad, and practical: Exploring human memory in everyday information behavior

AbstractThis study investigates how memory affects everyday information behavior. Previous literature generally examined memory as a broad category, missing to consider how the variance in memory influences information behavior. To bridge this gap, we interviewed and observed 10 arts and crafts hobbyists when they navigated a creative shopping space designed to spark serendipity. Findings demonstrate the distinction between memory, including positive, negative, and practical, along with their potential impacts on everyday information behavior. This work provides a novel analysis of memory, shedding new light on the subtlety of memory in information behavior research.

Understanding and Information in the Work of Visual Artists

To better account for information behavior in everyday life, the field must more fully explore information phenomena in the lifeworld, that is, information experience. This article shows that one way to do this is through the concept of understanding. Visual art is identified as an illuminating domain for an initial foray into such research. This article presents findings from a phenomenology‐of‐practice study of the information behavior of visual artists. Seven local artists documented their experiences creating self‐portraits, and semistructured follow‐up interviews were conducted. The findings show how these participants built understanding with information in their work of creating individual self‐portraits. These understandings fall into two categories: of the self and of the artistic process. Many forms of information, traditional and novel, contribute to these understandings; examples of the latter include memories, the lived environment, profound experiences, and online browsing. These findings extend the literature on artists' information behavior, connect everyday information behavior to information experience, and illustrate a method for studying understanding empirically in information science. The article closes by discussing the meaning of these findings for the future of information science, suggesting that the kinds of information employed by artists might be recognized and appreciated more widely throughout society.

Art and everyday information behavior: Sources of understanding

ABSTRACTIn our efforts to design an ethical information future, we must develop a deeper understanding of the information phenomena in everyday lived experience. Based on work in cultural theory and philosophy, art seems to present an illuminating domain for the study of everyday life. This paper presents findings from an exploratory, phenomenology‐of‐practice study of the information behavior of artists. These findings serve as an entryway to information phenomena that have largely gone unexplored in information behavior. The study builds on the literature of everyday information behavior and artists' information behavior, and it draws on a nascent information behavior theory that recognizes understanding as an epistemic aim and conceptualizes understanding as an information constellation. In this study, seven local artists documented their process creating self‐portraits, and semi‐structured follow‐up interviews were conducted. This paper reports on the findings from four of these artists, demonstrating how memories, the lived environment, profound experiences, and online browsing were informative and contributed to the artists' understandings. It closes by discussing the meaning of these findings for the future of information science, suggesting that the information employed by artists might be recognized and appreciated more widely throughout society.

Bringing out the everyday in everyday information behavior

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to argue that scholars in the information behavior (IB) field should embrace the theoretical framework of the everyday to explore a more holistic view of IB.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the theory of the everyday and delineates four opportunities offered by scholars of the everyday. The paper concludes with three examples that highlight what a more everyday-focused everyday information behavior might look like.FindingsThe theory of the everyday provides a useful theoretical framework to ground research addressing the everyday world as well as useful concepts for analysis and research methodology.Originality/valueThe theoretical framework of the everyday contributes to IB research by providing a theoretical justification for work addressing everyday life as well as useful concepts for analysis. The paper also outlines the benefits of integrating methods influenced by institutional ethnography, a methodology previously used to address the nuances of the everyday world.

Contextualizing Information Behavior: A Methodological Approach

Building on recent developments in information behavior theory & research, this paper explores the role of context in methodological approaches to the investigation of everyday information behavior. In particular, the author examines the implicit role of Western constructs in existing models and theories of information behavior, and illustrates how a more contextually responsive method for investigating information behavior may provide more robust and accurate indices of how individuals interact with information in their everyday lives in diverse contexts. The value of a contextualized understanding of information behavior is demonstrated by drawing on two studies examining the role of contextual factors in everyday information behavior in non-Western societies. In doing so the author identifies several factors with considerable contextual variation that play a strong role in how individuals need, seek and use information in their daily lives, particularly social and cultural values. The author also demonstrates the value in further exploring this contextual variation in information behavior research, supported by relevant theoretical and philosophical considerations. The resulting information behavior research methodology is aimed at identifying the contextual factors present in everyday information behavior, which may enable information scientists to better understand variation in information behavior and develop more robust tools for investigating information behavior in diverse communities. I conclude by suggesting that the implementation of this method may also lead to better understanding of the relationship between information practices and well-being, as well as having implications for international development and cross-cultural collaboration.

Re(a)d wedding: A case study exploring everyday information behaviors of the transmedia fan

ABSTRACTAs practitioners of new forms of consumption and production, fans represent an important area for research. Specifically, fans of “transmedia systems” – media‐hopping networks of intertextualities that extend the narrative world of an original production – employ unique tactics for negotiating a complex information space. The study of such tactics provides valuable insights on the everyday information behaviors of modern post‐digital readers and media consumers that could benefit literacy and community engagement. Despite this, fans have received little attention in the information behavior literature. Therefore, this paper seeks to contribute new empirical understandings of the transmedia fan to the information behavior domain. The author undertook a pilot case study of the Game of Thrones transmedia fandom. Using a grounded theory approach, the qualitative coding of 400 online user comments revealed four types of tactics employed by fans to negotiate the transmedia system: sentimental, reasoned, relational and comic. A discussion of these tactics and the ways in which fans use them results in a preliminary definition and information behavior cycle model for the transmedia fan. The study's findings offer key observations about the everyday information behavior of fans and about reading and media consumption practices in general.

Shopping for sources: An everyday information behavior exploration of grocery shoppers' information sources

ABSTRACTThe field of everyday information behavior addresses how individuals interact with information in their daily lives. Previous research in the field has largely ignored the banal and quotidian portions of everyday life, such as grocery shopping, which represents a gap the current project fills. Through two empirical studies using qualitative methods, the present work presents the prevalence and variety of information sources used by grocery shoppers. Findings indicate that grocery shoppers rely on close human sources, domain‐specific sources, and on surprisingly few online sources throughout the process of their grocery shopping. The findings demonstrate the information‐richness of grocery shopping and suggest that other everyday spaces may be fruitful areas for information behavior research.

Information Behavior of Gifted Children in the Pre-literate Stage – Qualitative Study

The presented qualitative study is part of a broader research aim dealing with select contexts of everyday information behavior of exceptionally gifted children at the pre-literate age. The primary goal of this study was to examine if and how information behavior of exceptionally gifted pre-literate children is reflected in the manner and formulation of their questions, and whether this behavior differs from the behavior of children with average intellectual abilities. The following aim was subsequently based on the assumption that the giftedness of children of this age is reflected in the way they process information. In order to meet the pre-literacy condition, participants were chosen from children starting their first year of school (aged 5 to 7). The research sample consisted of 12 participants (6 in the experimental group and 6 in the control group). Questions generated by both groups, as a response to the selected neutral stimulus, were examined and compared by frequency and content analysis. The subjective evaluation of the information behavior was compared from the point of view of the children and their parents as well. The results indicate that information behavior of the exceptionally gifted children is different in specific directions from information seeking behavior of children with average intellectual abilities.

On Cars and Food: Reflections on Sources for the Historical Study of Everyday Information Behavior

Historical approaches are beginning to be used in the study of everyday information behavior. The ideal sources for carrying out this kind of scholarship would be large bodies of correspondence or large numbers of diary entries that discuss particular everyday activities, spread across long periods of time. Given the general lack of availability of these kinds of sources, historically minded everyday information behavior scholars need to find alternative source materials to employ in their research, even if these sources give only indirect rather than direct information about individuals' everyday information behavior. This article discusses a number of these alternative sources (consumer magazines, popular magazines, corporate marketing literature, guidebooks, reviews, and various kinds of advertising) and shows how they were used in historical studies on car buying and eating out in America.

Enactment and use of information and the media among older adults

Active use of information and the media may promote healthy aging. The everyday information behavior of older adults' is examined, and the activating role of the media thereon—that is, the use of television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. Enactment, an evidence-based concept, is introduced as a theoretical tool that refers to the phenomenon of information and media use leading to action in concrete daily activities. The research strategy was qualitative, consisting of content analysis of semi-structured interviews of 13 retired teachers and the media diaries of 306 older adult Finns. Fifteen categories of information and media use were proposed and grouped into four forms of enactment on the basis of their temporal nature, namely, direct or indirect engagement: 1) general routines and housework, 2) healthy lifestyle, 3) cognitive tasks, and 4) interaction with others. Enactment takes place when older adults' everyday information behavior leads to observable actions, such as organizing their daily activities, preparing food, exercising and engaging in healthy activities, practicing language skills, or filling in crossword puzzles. These findings support the notion that use of information and the media can motivate older adults to stay active in life. Therefore, the concept of enactment may prove useful in gaining a better understanding of certain physical, cognitive, and social aspects of everyday information behavior and their impact on people's well-being. However, the findings should be validated in a broader population.

Everyday serendipity as described in social media

Serendipity has received much attention from library and information science, psychology, and computer science. Yet not much is known about serendipity in the context of everyday information behavior. In general, a key challenge in the study of serendipity is obtaining accounts of serendipitous experiences that provide insight into the phenomenon. The exploratory research reported here approaches this problem by examining naturally occurring descriptions of serendipity as found on blogs. The paper shows how these data can be collected, stored, and analyzed. We also discuss strengths of the proposed approach in comparison to the use of descriptions elicited in controlled settings for the purposes of research. Through a grounded theory approach, we develop a model of serendipity that can inform the design of information systems. The paper contributes to the LIS field by discussing an alternative data collection method for serendipity research, outlining a tentative conceptual model of serendipity, and showing the utility of this model for the analysis of everyday accounts of serendipity found on blogs.

Studying the everyday information behavior of tweens: Notes from the field

Researching how children engage with everyday information poses methodological challenges that differ significantly from those associated with adult populations. These challenges are exacerbated by the lack of domain-specific methodological research in library and information science (LIS) that addresses the developmental needs and attributes of young people. This article introduces a novel approach to the study of “tweens” (preteens ages 9–13) and their everyday information seeking. A description of the specific features of the study design includes discussion of how the methods used target the developmental attributes and needs of early adolescents (physical, social, and cognitive). The study design was tested with diverse populations in three distinct locations. The article outlines key features of a holistic youth information perspective, directions for future studies using the Tween Day methodology, and implications for youth information behavior studies in general.

Use of narrative interviewing in everyday information behavior research

With an increasing focus on developing a theoretical understanding of everyday life information behaviors, researchers need to consider the appropriateness of the methods and techniques utilized in empirical research in this area. Progressively, studies articulate the need for a person-centered approach to researching human information behavior, yet research methods can be adopted that do not encourage the study participants to express freely their views and experiences. This article proposes that narrative and episodic interviewing techniques are qualitative research methods that sustain a person-centered paradigm of human information behavior and that provide a particularly useful methodological framework for studies of everyday life information-seeking behavior. Furthermore, the author discusses her own work-in-progress that involves narrative interviews.