[Library and Information Science] New Directions in Information Behaviour Volume 1 || Chapter 1 Introduction: New Directions in Information Behaviour

Chapter 1

Introduction: New Directions

in Information Behaviour

Amanda Spink and Jannica Heinstrom

Introduction

Ever since our cognitive make-up allowed it, human beings have used theirinformation behaviour abilities to help them survive. Information behaviourevolved in response to the need by early humans to benefit from informationthat could not be immediately accessible in the nearby environment orobtained through communication. Humans developed an informationbehaviour ability, including processes of information sense making, foraging,seeking, organising and using. Information behaviour brought severalbenefits to early humans, including greater influence and control over theirenvironment, and the degree in which they could use the environment for theirown gain and survival. Information behaviour thus brought severaladvantages for the survival of early humans, and consequently emerged as agenetically favoured trait (Spink, 2010).

We have thus information behaved for many thousands of years. Yet, westill lack a profound understanding of the processes involved in informationbehaviour and how information behaviour evolved in early human species.Even today when information increasingly is used as a buzzword dominatingthe ‘information society’, we lack a common everyday vocabulary whichwould facilitate our understanding of our own inner processes and needslinked to information behaviour (Spink, 2010).

New Directions in Information Behaviour

Library and Information Science, 3–13

Copyright r 2011 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited

All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

ISSN: 1876-0562/doi:10.1108/S1876-0562(2011)002011a004

4 Amanda Spink and Jannica Heinstrom

Therefore, we have a critical need for deeper and broader investigationsinto information behaviour. Information behaviour research currently standsat an interesting crossroads in our research historywith new competition fromother social sciences growing interested in information behaviour. In order tokeep abreast of the field, new territories need to be conquered, new contexts ofinformation behaviour explored and new dimensions discovered. Thus, thisbook addresses many of these key issues and discusses some new directionsand recent developments in our understanding of information behaviour, andidentifies important areas for further research.

Understanding information behaviour as an instinctive genetically basedphenomenon helps us move beyond the contemporary focus on informationsystems and processes within the field. By linking information behaviour toother instinctive genetic dispositions, such as personality differences andlanguage, we can further increase our understanding of informationbehaviour patterns and styles (Heinstrom, 2010; Chapter 6 by David Bawdenand Lyn Robinson). Identifying information behaviour as an instinctive andinherent mechanism also includes the exploration of context, culture andenvironment in shaping information behaviour.

Children’s ways of using information, for instance, is instinctive, but theirways to express and meet their information needs are influenced by learntbehaviour adapted to their information environment (Spink, 2010). Theenvironment thus forms an important framework for information beha-viour, both in the way immediate environments such as information groundsare formed, but also through larger social context that influences and shapesinformation behaviour (Chapter 7 by Gary Burnett and Paul T. Jaeger). Theinteraction between individual and environment (Chapter 8 by Joann SinSei-Ching) within a developmental context provides an important frame-work for further understanding of information behaviour.

Building on an evolutionary and developmental theoretical framework,our book discusses important trends in information behaviour research.

We further develop the emerging information behaviour paradigm thatunderstands information behaviour as follows:

� An evolved behaviour with an instinctive and innate dimension that isalso shaped by culture and environment though interaction betweenpeople and their environment (Chapter 8 by Joann Sin Sei-Ching).� Influenced by smaller and larger social perspectives (Chapter 7 by GaryBurnett and Paul T. Jaeger).� Taking place in various contexts, including leisure (Chapter 9 by DavidElsweiler, Max L. Wilson and Brian Kirkegaard Lunn).� A response to various needs, such as affective ones (Chapter 4 by HeatherO’Brien and Chapter 9 by David Elsweiler, Max L. Wilson and BrianKirkegaard Lunn).

Introduction: New Directions in Information Behaviour 5

� Including spiritual (Chapter 11 by Jarkko Kari) and metacognitivedimensions (Chapter 5 by Leanne Bowler).� Influenced by individual differences (Chapter 6 David Bawden and LynRobinson).

The book also discusses important issues such as:

� Methodological development (Chapter 3 by Christine Urquhart)� Theoretical foundations for information behaviour research (Chapter 2by David Ellis)

All these perspectives speak to a more holistic conception of humans andthe importance of information in his/her life environment. The overallframework which ties all the various perspectives together is the emergingevolutionary and developmental perspective on information behaviour(Spink, 2010). As information behaviour is an instinctive human mechanism,developed and expressed in interaction with the environment (Spink, 2010),we see that children, for instance, instinctively exhibit information behaviour(Chapter 10 by Amanda Spink and Jannica Heinstrom). Informationbehaviour evolved through evolutionary processes which brought significantbenefits to those who took advantage of this evolving cognitive skill(Spink, 2010).

Information behaviour developed in tandem with general cognitivedevelopment, particularly brain volume expansion. The general cognitivedevelopment also gave birth to language, abstract thinking, decisionmaking, sense making, foraging and systematic planning, all of which arenecessary prerequisites for information behaviour. At a fundamental level,information behaviour leans on the ability to coordinate these instinctivecognitive processes (Spink, 2010), including metacognition (Chapter 5 byLeanne Bowler). A crucial prerequisite for the evolving informationbehaviour was also an enhanced working memory, which allowed severalbits of information to be kept in active attention.

An Evolutionary and Developmental Conception

of Information Behaviour

A more holistic notion of information behaviour encompasses variouselements such as organising, seeking, searching, sense making, foraging,sharing and using information (Spink, 2010). All these aspects areinfluenced by as well instinctive human processes and needs, as contextualinfluences. Our understanding of how these processes interact is, however,


yet under developed and in need for further research. Within behaviouralsciences, the debate has been nature versus nurture or how much geneticpredisposition guides our behaviour and how influential the environmentwould be. This debate has evolved from a simplistic either-or notion, witheach side feverishly defending their own take, through a ‘how much’debate around the relative impact of either factor, into the interactionalapproach that dominates the present viewpoint. An evolutionary anddevelopmental stance is as crucial in relation to information behaviourwhere a key research question is how genetic predisposition, such asinstinct, interacts with environment to form information behaviour(Spink, 2010).

As David Ellis describes in Chapter 2, information behaviourresearchers increasingly focused their attention on humans as user ofinformation as the discipline evolved. Although information behaviourleans on cognitive processes, such as language and abstract thinking, thisdoes not mean that information behaviour in itself solely would be guidedby cognition. Instead it serves several needs and processes, includingphysiological, affective (Chapters 4 and 9) and spiritual dimensions(Chapter 11). An evolutionary and developmental understanding ofinformation behaviour needs to encompass physiological, affective,spiritual as well as cognitive needs and uses of information. Informationbehaviour, after all, is a means to an end, a mechanism, sprung from ahuman need and employed as a way to satisfy that need. One example ofthis is the role of information in leisure contexts, where information usemay be a tool for relaxation or excitement (Chapter 9 by David Elsweiler,Max L. Wilson and Brian Kirkegaard Lunn).

Another important trend in information behaviour research is theexpansion of the contexts wherein information behaviour is explored. This isa step forward for an advanced understanding of information behaviour asan instinctive process designed to serve various human needs. In order todevelop a profound understanding of information behaviour, we cannot beselective as to which contexts we explore it in, by, for example, prioritisingwork and study contexts over leisurely ones. As Christine Urquhart suggestsin Chapter 3, we need to move beyond an elitist notion of what humansshould do, for instance in the process of using information services, into anattempt to understand what they spontaneously and instinctively would do.This step is necessary for moving the scientific field of informationbehaviour forward.


Book Overview

This book has five sections.

Section I: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the book,setting out intentions and summaries of each chapter. We have divided upthe chapters into sections, each with a theme.

Section II: Research History and Overview

Section II provides two chapters that discuss various aspects of the historyand nature of information behaviour research.

Chapter 2: Theorising Information Behaviour: The Emergence of Conceptual

Thinking in Information Behaviour Research — David Ellis In Chapter 2,David Ellis sets the foundation for the book by illustrating how theinformation behaviour field took a considerable theoretical leap forward inthe late 1970s–early 1980s. This was a period when the field grew into anindependent discipline, and established itself within social sciences. Duringthis time, the theoretical foundation of information behaviour was explicitlypursued, and empirically based models developed. The development withinthe field mirrored the general development in social sciences at that time,where a new qualitative research approach gained ground. The qualitativeresearch initiative within information behaviour research contributed to adeeper conceptual understanding of information behaviour.

All these processes worked in synergy, supporting and extending eachother. Ellis shows us how the field was built and influenced by highly citedwork, familiar to most contemporary information behaviour researchers,but also by less acknowledged, yet imperative work, which substantiallycontributed to the intellectual development at that time. The shift that tookplace had a substantial impact on shaping the field, yet this development wastacit, subtle, gradual and dependent on an intertwined array of factors,rather than leaning solely on a few explicit sources. This raises intriguingquestions about possible contemporary or future shifts in research direction.

Chapter 3: Meta-Synthesis with Information Behaviour Research — Christine

Urquhart In Chapter 3, Christine Urquhart illuminates the challenging,albeit rewarding, method of meta-synthesis. Meta-synthesis brings together,


and lifts, results from multiple studies to a higher, more holistic, level,generating new knowledge and understanding in the process. The chapteroutlines the main approaches to meta-synthesis, points to noteworthymethodological considerations and shows how the results may be applied infurther research, practice and policy.

Urquhart illustrates that meta-synthesis is a rigorous process, way beyonda traditional literature review. This is illuminated by considerations and stepstaken in a meta-synthesis of studies focusing on women’s informationbehaviour. Yet, when meticulously applied, the method may bring ourunderstanding of a phenomenon forward in a significant way. Not only maymeta-synthesis help us to identify research gaps but also to acknowledge areasof saturation. One of the identified challenges in information behaviourresearch is the wide flora of various theories and models, and the lack ofintegration and dialogue among these. Meta-synthesis may be one way toaddress this dilemma by bringing together, bridging and extending existingresearch.

Section III: Psychological Dimensions

Section III includes three chapters that focus on key psychologicaldimensions of information behaviour.

Chapter 4: Weaving the Threads of Experience into Human Information

Interaction (HII): Probing User Experience (UX) for New Directions in IB —

Heather L. O’Brien In Chapter 4, Heather L. O’Brien shows us howtheoretical and methodological insights gained in user experience (UX)research substantially could enrich the human information interaction (HII)field. Adapting a UX perspective allows us to delve both deeper and broaderinto HII. As seen through a UX lens, HHI is a temporal and dynamicprocess, shaped not only by the unique elements of the situation in which itunfolds but also by the individual experiencing it, and his/her previousinformation interactions, expectations and personal characteristics. At thesame time, the experience is also a narrative outcome, and a predictor offuture interactions. The emotional, cognitive and behavioural experience isunique to the individual, but also influenced by social factors, and at timesco-experienced.

HII contains elements, which are temporal and fleeing, but also those,which cumulate over time. This perspective invites us to regard need notonly as instigating information interaction but also as something that shapesit and constantly evolves. It acknowledges that the context does not only setthe stage for HII but also constantly reinvents itself in the unfolding of


events. Methodologically UX contributes to the HII field by means such aseye tracking and physiological metrics, and by encouraging triangulation aswell as longitudinal studies, acknowledging how each unique micro-experience contributes to and shapes larger over-arching perceptions overtime. The UX perspective invites us to look at HII as a holistic, variable andcomplex subjective experience, to ask new research questions and find newanswers. This offers intriguing possibilities to expand our present theories,and with them our HII horizon.

Chapter 5: Into the Land of Adolescent Metacognitive Knowledge During

the Information Search Process: A Metacognitive Ethnography — Leanne

Bowler In Chapter 5, Leanne Bowler puts forthmetacognitive knowledge asan essential component of information behaviour. In order to cope with thedynamic information environment of today, we need to acquire flexible,adaptable and transferable information skills. This requires metacognitiveknowledge that is insight into one’s self, which cognitive strategies a certaintask requires, as well as an understanding of one’s own cognitive abilities inrelation to a task.

A study of adolescents’ thinking processes throughout an informationsearch process (ISP) showed that metacognitive knowledge may be varied,contextual and wide-ranging. The findings reveal that adolescents’ metacog-nitive knowledge could be grouped into 30 general categories, with eachindividual demonstrating his/her own unique thinking pattern. The partici-pants often employed metacognitive knowledge in a reactive, rather thanpredictive way, in order to solve an immediate information problem.Although some categories of metacognitive knowledge were particularlyfrequent in relation to certain ISP tasks, most were employed throughout thewhole process. These at times unexpected findings point to the high need forfurther research in the area. For those interested in taking on this challenge,Bowler offers some methodological advice. Tapping into someone’s mind is ademanding task, which needs to be approached through indirect measures.Bowler approached the challenge through metacognitive ethnography,where she collected, analysed and triangulated data in an inductive, non-intrusive way through a longitudinal study, set in a naturalistic setting.Metacognitive knowledge is an essential ability in an informationworldwherethe only thing certain is change. Further investigation is needed in order tobetter understand these dynamics, and their impact on informationbehaviour.

Chapter 6: Individual Differences in Information-Related Behaviour – What

Do We Know About Information Styles — David Bawden and Lyn

Robinson In Chapter 6, David Bawden and Lyn Robinson point to thestudy of information styles as an important direction for deepening ourunderstanding of individual differences in information behaviour. An


overview of research shows that several studies have found categories ofinformation behaviour that imply stylistic features, some of which have beenlinked to individual differences, such as learning styles or personality traits.The studies have, however, been diverse, using a variety of concepts andtests. Although consistent patterns have been found, results have oftenremained suggestive, at times even contradictory, rather than conclusive.This makes cross-study comparison challenging, and underlines the need forfurther research into the area.

Identifying information styles would deepen our theoretical under-standing of diversity in information behaviour, and reasons behind it.Recognition of information styles would also be of immense practical value,for example in the development of tailored information services. This isan important area of research, not the least in relation to the changinginformation environment, where new technologies and means to interactwith information may invite and underline new expressions of individualpreferences and habits.

Section IV: Contextual Dimensions

In Section IV, the three chapters focus on contextual dimensions ofinformation behaviour.

Chapter 7: The Theory of Information Worlds and Information Behaviour —

Gary Burnett and Paul T. Jaeger In Chapter 7, Burnett and Jaeger presentthe theory of informationworlds, themulti-tiered contextswhich surround andinfluence information behaviour. The theory argues that informationbehaviour simultaneously is shaped by immediate social influences such asfamily, friend and colleagues, and larger societal structures such as politicaldecisions, public institutions,media and technology.Between these intertwinedand interrelated micro and macro levels, we also find intervening intermediate(meso) worlds, such as organizations. For a holistic understanding ofinformation behaviour, we need to acknowledge the influence of each ofthese levels.

Information behaviour is shaped by norms and expectations within acertain small world. Even the very piece of information itself, or what isrecognized as an information need, may be conceived differently dependenton values and beliefs herein. As we move from one small world to another,information moves with and through us, often being reinterpreted,re-evaluated and transformed in the process. Influencing the flow ofinformation is, however, also larger institutions and societal powers, whichmay either work towards or against a free information flow. The theory of


information world is particularly relevant today when information quicklyspreads across small worlds through the Internet, social media etc. Thisinformation flow may promote the free democratic flow of information, butmay also, in contrast, enforce homogenized or hegemonic perspectives.

Chapter 8: Towards Agency–Structure Integration: A Person in Environment

(PIE) Framework for Modelling Individual-Level Information Behaviours and

Outcomes — Sei-Ching Joanna Sin In Chapter 8, Sei-Ching Joanna Sinintroduces the person-in-environment (PIE) theory, which measures therelative influence of personal and socio-structural factors on an individual’sinformation behaviour. The theory addresses a long-time challenge, not onlyfor IB research, but also for social sciences overall, namely, how to measurethe relative impact and interaction between agency and structure? Thisis a challenging task, not the least methodologically, as it requires thecombination of datasets with different units of observation, such as personaland structural data. Through the example of an empirical study of 13,00012th graders’ library usage, Sin shows how the PIE framework may help usovercome these methodological challenges, and result in an impressiveexplanatory power, accounting for multiple influential forces as well as theirdirect and indirect impact.

In addition to its methodological value, the PIE framework is also ofconceptual and theoretical interest, as we move towards a more integrativeview of information behaviour. The theory additionally comes withsubstantial practical implications, for, among others, policy development.Not only does the PIE theory show that an individual’s informationbehaviour is influenced by as well personal factors, as socio-culturalinfluences but also shows how and why they matter, through their relativeimpact, relatedness and stepwise pathways of influence.

Chapter 9: Understanding Casual-Leisure Information Behaviour — David

Elsweiler, Max L. Wilson and Brian Kirkegaard Lunn In Chapter 9,Elsweiler, Wilson and Kirkegaard Lunn broaden our perspective oninformation behaviour by describing the specific characteristics ofinformation interaction that unfolds in casual-leisure contexts. Throughtwo empirical studies, the authors show that casual-leisure informationbehaviour is, generally, notmotivated by a specific information need, or if it is,this need tends to be unclear and fuzzy. Instead the driving force lies inachieving a certain mood or state. This also makes the ongoing experience ofinformation interaction more important than finding any specific piece ofinformation. The authors challenge us to consider that as the same IR systemmay be used for other purposes than task-related focused searches, for whichit is usually designed, we must accordingly reconsider and expand ourconception of design to accommodate for all kinds of usage.


The theory of casual-leisure information behaviour underlines theimportance of acknowledging the wide range of motivations behindinformation behaviour, and the variety of perceptions of what constitutes asuccessful outcome of information interaction.One of the values of the theory,and the practical implementations that it suggests, is that it is non-exclusive,not only in its acknowledgement of the importance of leisure and non-goal-oriented activities but also in acknowledging users without work-relatedexperience of information systems. In today’s information world, whereinformation pervades all aspects of our lives, this perspective is essential for aholistic conception of information behaviour. The chapter points us towards arich range of research opportunities within this evolving field.

Section V: Emerging Dimensions

Section V contains two chapters that discuss new emerging dimensions ofinformation behaviour.

Chapter 10: Information Behaviour Development in Early Childhood —

Amanda Spink and Jannica Heinstrom In Chapter 10, Spink and Heinstrominvite us to approach information behaviour from a developmentalperspective, by asking when and how information behaviour emerges inearly childhood. The chapter relates results from two empirical studies of four-and five-year-old children’s information behaviour to the general cognitive,language and social growth that take place during this developmental stage.

Understanding the mechanisms through which information behaviourdevelops in young children would substantially deepen our understanding ofthe fundamental processes that underlines it. This would also further ourunderstanding of instinctive and environmental influences on informationprocesses. This research field is, however, just as its object of study, yet onlyin its infancy. Currently, we lack evidence of information behaviour ofchildren younger than four years of age.Additionally,we canonly hypothesizeabout how information behaviour is connected to other developmentalprocesses. The area is therefore in dire need for more research.

Chapter 11: Impacts of Information: An Analysis of Spiritual Messages —

Jarkko Kari In Chapter 11, Jarkko Kari takes on an innovative and novelapproach to information behaviour studies. Not only does he addressthe little researched area of spiritual information, he additionally approachthe topic, not through the receiver’s or the medium’s viewpoint, but from theperspective of the sender. The chapter focuses on impacts of information, orspecifically, how sources of spiritual information view the effects of the


information they convey. An inductive study of 62 spiritual texts reveals thatspiritual messages may be directed to a wide range of targets, fromorganisms and things to processes and spaces. The actuality of impacts, onthe other hand, may either be desired, real, non-existent, conditional orunconditional.

The chapter invites us to explore the influence of the source or sender onthe impact of information, to consider effect of information beyondinformation use and to address little researched types of information, suchas spiritual ones. Kari’s chapter introduces innovative and unexploredterritories. Broadening the scope of research is a necessary step for theinformation behaviour community as a whole, if we are to obtain a trueunderstanding of information behaviour in all its forms and variations. It isalso a sign of maturity of a scientific field to, innovatively and invitinglybroaden its scope, and push its boundaries. The information behaviour fieldis now at the point of time in research history when it is ready to take thisimportant step forward.

Section VI: Conclusions and Further Research

Chapter 12: Conclusions and Further Research — Amanda Spink and

Jannica Heinstrom Chapter 12 provides an enhanced evolutionary anddevelopmental theoretical information behaviour framework and perspectiveson further research.

References

Heinstrom, J. (2010). From fear to flow. Personality and information interaction.

Oxford: Chandos.

Spink, A. (2010). Information behaviour: An evolutionary instinct. Dordrecht:

Springer.

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[Library and Information Science] New Directions in Information Behaviour Volume 1 || Chapter 1 Introduction: New Directions in Information Behaviour