Frequency Of Information Seeking Research Articles

Age differences in knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

This study aims at describing the evolution of Spanish population preventive practices during the COVID-19 pandemic of the between January and June 2021, and differences by age group. Data was drawn from the COSMO-Spain online survey, rounds (R) 4, 5 and 6. Multiple linear regression models with preventive practices as dependent variable were performed. Preventive practices (p = 0.001) and concern about coronavirus (p = 0.003) decreased throughout the three rounds, knowledge decreased from R4 to R6 (p = 0.002) and health literacy had a higher value in R6 (p < 0.001). Older the age was associated with higher the frequency of preventive practices, and levels of health literacy and concern about coronavirus (p < 0.001). The regression model showed that, in the 18–29 year group, a greater frequency of preventive practices was associated with being female (β = 0.20; p < 0.001), greater concern about coronavirus (β = 0.16; p < 0.018) and frequency of information seeking (β = 0.24; p < 0.001). For 61 years old and older, a higher frequency of preventive practices was associated with greater concern about coronavirus (β = 0.21; p < 0.002) and lower pandemic fatigue (β = − 0.13; p < 0.037). These findings point to the need for effective public health interventions tailored to the characteristics of age population groups.

How do information overload and message fatigue reduce information processing in the era of COVID-19? An ability–motivation approach

The global outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has led to the dominance of COVID-19 prevention information on all media channels. Drawing on the ability–motivation model of information processing, this study examined how such an information overabundance hampered individuals’ ability and motivation to process in the era of COVID-19. With a survey conducted from 493 participants, we found that less message elaboration of COVID-19 prevention information was predicted by greater message fatigue, a state of low motivation due to information overabundance. In addition, greater message fatigue was accompanied by greater information overload, a state of low ability due to information overabundance. Moreover, certain motivation-related (i.e. health status, trait reactance and frequency of information seeking) and ability–related factors (i.e. health literacy, health status, trait anxiety and information quality) were found to be associated with message fatigue and information overload, respectively. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Curiosity and mesolimbic functional connectivity drive information seeking in real life.

Curiosity reflects an individual’s intrinsic motivation to seek information in order to close information gaps. In laboratory-based experiments, both curiosity and information seeking have been associated with enhanced neural dynamics in the mesolimbic dopaminergic circuit. However, it is unclear whether curiosity and dopaminergic dynamics drive information seeking in real life. We investigated (i) whether curiosity predicts different characteristics of real-life information seeking and (ii) whether functional connectivity within the mesolimbic dopaminergic circuit is associated with information seeking outside the laboratory. Up to 15 months before the COVID-19 pandemic, curiosity and anxiety questionnaires and a 10-minute resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging session were conducted. In a follow-up survey early during the COVID-19 pandemic, participants repeated the questionnaires and completed an additional questionnaire about their COVID-19-related information seeking. Individual differences in curiosity but not anxiety were positively associated with the frequency of information-seeking behaviour. Additionally, the frequency of information seeking was predicted by individual differences in resting-state functional connectivity between the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens. The present translational study paves the way for future studies on the role of curiosity in real-life information seeking by showing that both curiosity and the mesolimbic dopaminergic functional network support real-life information-seeking behaviour.

The Effects of Information-Seeking Behaviors on Risk Perception During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Correlational Survey.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus represents an ongoing public health challenge that necessitates a heightened need to understand people’s risk perceptions as well as their information-seeking behavior.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to explore the impact of different information-seeking behaviors on people’s risk perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe employed convenience sampling in order to administer questionnaires to 3048 residents in Hunan Province, China. After screening the questionnaires for inclusion in the study, multiple linear regressions were then used to analyze the impact of the characteristics of respondents’ information-seeking behavior on their risk perceptions.ResultsFrom the 3048 distributed 2611 were included. New media (80.20%) was the most frequently used source of information seeking, and traditional media were participants’ most trusted source of COVID-19 information. Statistics of COVID-19 were the type of information most frequently queried by respondents, and approximately 30.0% of them reported that most or all of the COVID-19 information they sought was negative. Approximately one in five respondents reported that they sought COVID-19 information more than 10 times per day. The results of our multivariate linear regression analysis showed that “seeking information from new media ”, “level of trust in new media and local propaganda”, “information content being about protective behaviors and personal related information”, “proportion of negative information”, and “frequency of information seeking” were positively associated, and “seeking information from traditional media” and “level of trust in traditional media” were negatively associated with people’s risk perception of COVID-19.ConclusionWe find that specific types of channels of information acquisition and public trust in these information channels, their informational content, and proportion of negative information, as well as a frequency of information seeking all had an impact on risk perception during COVID-19.

Individual Differences in Social Media Use for Information Seeking

This study investigated which social media platforms are used as information sources, and for what purposes. It also examined how user characteristics are related to the use of different platforms. A Web-based survey was used to collect data from undergraduate students. Responses from more than 800 students showed that most of the social media platforms are used as information sources, where wikis, user reviews, and media-sharing sites emerged as the top platforms. The purpose of use varied across platforms. T-test and ANOVA results also revealed individual differences. Significant differences in gender, class level, academic discipline, and Big Five personality traits were found in the frequency of information seeking using different platforms and also in the purpose of use. Study findings have implications for information literacy (IL) education and information services. Because many students are actively using social media platforms for a variety of information-seeking purposes, it is suggested that IL programs embrace social media as potential information sources and offer effective strategies for using and evaluating these increasingly popular social media sources.

Health Information Seeking Partially Mediated the Association between Socioeconomic Status and Self-Rated Health among Hong Kong Chinese

BackgroundPoor self-rated health (SRH) is socially patterned with health communication inequalities, arguably, serving as one mechanisms. This study investigated the effects of health information seeking on SRH, and its mediation effects on disparities in SRH.MethodsWe conducted probability-based telephone surveys administered over telephone in 2009, 2010/11 and 2012 to monitor health information use among 4553 Chinese adults in Hong Kong. Frequency of information seeking from television, radio, newspapers/magazines and Internet was dichotomised as <1 time/month and ≥1 time/month. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for poor SRH were calculated for health information seeking from different sources and socioeconomic status (education and income). Mediation effects of health information seeking on the association between SES and poor SRH was estimated.ResultsPoor SRH was associated with lower socioeconomic status (P for trend <0.001), and less than monthly health information seeking from newspapers/magazines (aOR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.07–1.42) and Internet (aOR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.98–1.31). Increasing combined frequency of health information seeking from newspapers/magazines and Internet was linearly associated with better SRH (P for trend <0.01). Health information seeking from these two sources contributed 9.2% and 7.9% of the total mediation effects of education and household income on poor SRH, respectively.ConclusionsPoor SRH was associated with lower socioeconomic status, and infrequent health information seeking from newspapers/magazines and Internet among Hong Kong Chinese. Disparities in SRH may be partially mediated by health information seeking from newspapers/magazines and Internet.

Sensemaking during organizational entry: Changes in newcomer information seeking and the relationship with psychological contract fulfilment

In this study, insight is given into the temporal nature of psychological contract-related information seeking during organizational entry, by examining how the frequency of information seeking changes across the first year of employment for a sample of 280 newcomers. We examined the pattern of changes in the frequency of information seeking from four sources (supervisor, co-workers, mentors, and other newcomers) and about two content dimensions of the psychological contract (organizational inducements and employee contributions). We also investigated if information-seeking behaviours were related to the evaluation of the psychological contract and whether these relationships changed over time. The data were analysed using Latent Growth Modelling. The results indicated that information seeking about the psychological contract decreases significantly over the first year of employment, with the exception of information seeking from supervisors, indicating that for different targets of information different information seeking patterns exist. Employees seek more information on organizational inducements than on employee contributions. We found a positive association between information seeking during the initial weeks after entry and evaluations of psychological contract fulfilment after 3 months, but changes in information seeking after this initial period were not associated with changes in psychological contract fulfilment. Finally, we found that younger newcomers engaged more frequently in information seeking from co-workers and other new hires compared to older newcomers. Implications for theories on psychological contract formation and future research are discussed.

Consumer Communications, Media Use, and Purchases via the Internet: A Comparative, Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT The Internet provides a fast, efficient and cost-effective alternative for communication, transaction, and distribution. In this study, consumers’ Web-based chatting behavior across three countries (i.e., the U.S., Canada, China) is explored, using an Internet survey of Web-based chatters. Results indicate that chatters’ Internet use does not affect their use of traditional mass media in any significant manner. No difference is found in the frequency of information seeking and chatters’ attitude towards online advertising across the three countries. Internet purchase patterns are contrasted in the three countries, and results suggest that consumers in the U.S. have the highest purchase incidence among the three countries under study. Canadian consumers make significantly fewer purchases than their counterparts in each product category.

Social networks, information-seeking, and the utilization of services.

Voluntary participation by low-income and/ar high-risk populations in prevention-oriented human service programs is minimal and dropout rates are high. Examination of social networks as they relate to information-seeking and utilization behavior may provide a source of understanding. Two investigations are reported. The results of Study 1 indicate that high-risk referred women with denser networks attended fewer parent group sessions than did those whose networks were less dense and that the more contact a woman had with her kin, the fewer parent group sessions she attended. The results of Study 2 indicate that in a sample of low-income women participating in a supplementary food program, those women whose networks were characterized by lower density and less frequent kin contact were more likely to pursue professional child-rearing information and advice than women in denser, more kin-involved networks. In addition, a significant interaction between one's sense of competence as a parent and the structure of one's network was found to determine the overall frequency of information seeking.

Information seeking on competitors and perception of competition by food store managers

The dynamics of competition from the store manager's point of view has been neglected. This study was designed to investigate the perception of competition and competitive information seeking by food store managers. Competition was analyzed in relation to a set of independent variables suggested by concepts of retail competition and organization theory. The data was based on a questionnaire administered to 55 food store managers. It was predicted and found that the perceived competitive interdependency between two stores was related to the degree of perceived similarity between the stores. The results support the concept of competition for differential advantage. The frequency of information seeking on competitors was related to organizational variables, particularly the store managers concept of his job, but not the degree of perceived similarity between competing stores.