Something old, something new: preliminary findings from an exploratory study about people's information habits and information grounds

Introduction: We explored Harris and Dewdney's principle that people follow habitual patterns when seeking everyday information along with Pettigrew's notion of information grounds. Method: A telephone survey of 612 urban-rural residents was conducted regarding their needs for health and h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Information research 2005-01, Vol.10 (2), p.223
Main Authors: Christiansen, Torbern, Durrance, Joan, Fisher, Karen, Naumer, Charles, Stromski, Lynn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior Patterns
Content Analysis
Information Seeking
Information seeking behaviour
Information Sources
Internet
Mixed Methods Research
Online information retrieval
Rural Population
Searching
Social Environment
Telephone Surveys
Urban Population
Washington
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Summary:Introduction: We explored Harris and Dewdney's principle that people follow habitual patterns when seeking everyday information along with Pettigrew's notion of information grounds. Method: A telephone survey of 612 urban-rural residents was conducted regarding their needs for health and human services in partnership with the United Way of America. Analysis: Both quantitative and qualitative methods (content analysis of open question responses) were used to analyse the data. Results: Findings revealed: strong ties (40%) and the Internet (39%) are people's primary information sources; people both value and critique most of their sources' ability to provide reliable and trusted information; and, that the most common information grounds are places of worship and the workplace. Conclusion: People have information grounds from which they acquire information and the Internet is emerging as a popular information ground. Our findings suggest that further research may provide insight into types of information grounds, the ways in which information is socially constructed at these places and how information grounds evolve over time.
ISSN:1368-1613
1368-1613