Information source and its relationship with the context of information seeking behavior

Abstract

Past studies on a person's choice of information sources have shown mixed results because of a lack of understanding of the 'context' surrounding information seeking that impacts a person's choice of an information source. The Contextual Identity Framework combines three conflicting views of context to try and define its boundaries in information behavior. However, it is not clear in which of these three views of context would 'information source' fit. Would it be part of the shared context or contextual stereotype or both? Also, prior studies have often muddled the distinction between sources and channels, and between sources and source types. They have not been comprehensive in classifying types of information sources, especially with the advent of new media. To help address these gaps, this theoretical study proposes: 1) a classification of information source types; 2) a workflow of interaction among different possible elements of context; and 3) the placement of information source within the context of information seeking behavior as defined by the Contextual Identity Framework. The frameworks should help us better understand information sources in relationship to the context of information seeking behavior, and help lend greater rigor to empirical studies relating to a person's choice of information sources. It would also benefit designers of search systems paving the way for the possible information seeking systems that take the context of search into consideration.

Improving Engagement by Creating a Peer Environment

“…It could be those with first-hand experience, such as engineers on the same project or senior students who took the course previously. It could also result from successfully receiving information from this individual previously (Allard, Levine, and Tenopir 2009;Du Preez 2007;Agarwal 2011).…”

“…A study by Allard et al (2009) found that some engineers were using the Internet for a first stop to find information; however, context cannot be ignored when assessing information seeking behavior (Agarwal 2011). Many of the engineers in the study were software developers, where a noted use of the Internet was looking for solutions to specific code problems.…”

Creation, dissemination and mitigation: toward a disinformation behavior framework and model

“…A challenging aspect of the fake news problem is the massive information overload associated with the widespread use of social media platforms as a source of daily information. As of 2020, the information behavior of people include drawing information from a variety of synchronous and asynchronous sources and channels (Agarwal et al , 2011; Agarwal, 2011), e.g. from friends and contacts reached face-to-face, or via phone, audio/video calls, email, or messaging apps; online information; and social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn (Agarwal, 2018).…”

Impact of personality traits on information needs and seeking behavior of LIS students in Pakistan

“…Kingrey (2005) described that information seeking involves divergent things in divergent contexts for searching, retrieving, comprehension and practice of meaningful material. Agarwal (2011) stated that traditional sources i.e. books, magazines, persons and the contemporary sources, such as e-libraries and online search engines are available for information.…”