Introduction.  The aim of this paper is to explore the investigation of information-seeking behaviour in the literature of psychology, with special reference to the period before 1981, when the term was introduced into information science, and compare the research of that period, with research reported in 2022-2023.

Method. A search of the literature for the term ‘information-seeking behaviour’ was carried out in Web of Science and Scopus for the period 1900 to 1980 and from January 2022 to May 2023, producing two data sets for analysis.

Analysis.  Descriptive analysis of sources and geographic distribution of the papers is presented. This is followed by an analysis of the research themes and approaches.

Results. In the early set of papers the main context of the research was educational and career counselling and the main research perspective social learning theory, with an emphasis on the concept of locus of control. In the later set, the main theoretical interest was in aspects of cognition, with a particular interest in curiosity.

Conclusion. There is much that the information science research can learn and apply from the literature of psychology.  In particular, social learning theory, cognitive theory, and the associated research instruments could be of value.

Purpose 

The aim of this paper is to review the psychological literature on curiosity and its relationship to information-seeking behaviour, and compare this with the information science literature on the same subject.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach adopted is that of a comparative literature review, with an analysis of the papers retrieved in terms of their theoretical approach, context, study population and research method. 

Findings 

Curiosity is understood as a multi-faceted cognitive trait in humans and the relationship to information-seeking behaviour is explored through an exploration of other personality characteristics. There is very little citation of the information science literature in the psychological papers, and only a little more citation of the psychological literature in the information science papers. 

Originality/value 

The author is not aware of any similar exploration of the literature on curiosity.

Purpose

Misinformation is a significant phenomenon in today's world: the purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations behind the creation and use of misinformation.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was undertaken, covering the English and Russian language sources. Content analysis was used to identify the different kinds of motivation relating to the stages of creating and communicating misinformation. The authors applied Schutz's analysis of motivational types.

Findings

The main types of motivation for creating and facilitating misinformation were identified as “in-order-to motivations”, i.e. seeking to bring about some desired state, whereas the motivations for using and, to a significant extent, sharing misinformation were “because” motivations, i.e. rooted in the individual's personal history.

Originality/value

The general model of the motivations underlying misinformation is original as is the application of Schutz's typification of motivations to the different stages in the creation, dissemination and use of misinformation.

This article aims to explore the aims, ways of working, and problems related to local information within a network of collaborating provincial university libraries in Thailand (PULINET). By applying a theoretical framework of the activity theory and qualitative approach to explore the interaction of activity systems involved in common projects, the article identifies contradictions within separate nodes, between the nodes, and between the collaborating systems. The results show how the collaborating participants overcome emerging difficulties by complying with cultural norms and supporting each other, and how the contradictions in the organization as well as in the transfer of competence and sharing of resources affect their collaboration. 

Abstract This paper explores collaborative information behavior in the context of highly politicized decision making. It draws upon a qualitative case study of project management of a contentious public sector infrastructure project. We noted the creation of spaces for the development and exchange of information by experts and conceptualize these as information spheres. We postulate that these were formed to bypass power-induced information behavior that excludes expert power, such as information avoidance. This approach contrasts with the expected project management and information norms, rules and behavior, however, provides a language that can be used to explain the phenomena of bounded information spaces which complement and may be used as a development of adjunct to small world's theory.

This very short note was originally prepared as a “Viewpoint” for the virtual ISIC conference organized from Pretoria, South Africa in September/October 2020. The idea of the viewpoints was to allow some well-known figures from the world of information behaviour, to present points of view or ideas on current developments, without the necessity for the formal submission and presentation of papers. Consequently, this short note lacks the structure of a formal paper and is simply some personal notes on my current thinking about information behaviour.

Aim/Purpose: To capture digital training experiences, the paper introduces a novel data collection method – a graphic questionnaire. It aims to demonstrate the opportunities and limitations of this tool for collecting feedback from socially disadvantaged participants of digital literacy training about their progress.Background: In training of digital skills for disadvantaged audiences through informal educational interventions, it is important to get sufficient knowledge on factors that lead to their progress in the course of training. There are many tools to measure the achievements of formal education participants, but assessing the effectiveness of informal digital skills training is researched less. The paper introduces a small-scale case study of the training programme aimed at the developing of reading and digital skills among the participants from three socially disadvantaged groups – people with hearing impairments, children from low income families, and elderly persons. The impact of the training on participants was evaluated using different tools, including a short graphic questionnaire to capture the perceptions of the participants after each training.Methodology: We performed a thematic analysis of graphic questionnaires collected after each training session to determine how the students perceived their progress in developing literacy and digital skills.Contribution The findings of the paper can assist in designing assessment of digital literacy programmes that focus not only on final results, but also on the process of gaining digital skills and important factors that facilitate progress.Findings: The graphic questionnaire allowed the researchers to get insights into the perception of acquired skills and progressive achievements of the participants through rich self-reports of attitudes, knowledge gained, and activities during training sessions. However, the graphic questionnaire format did not allow the collection of data about social interaction and cooperation that could be important in learning.

Inequalities in access and use of information and communication technologies are usually labelled the digital divide, which implies a strong gap between those who have access and use technologies and those who do not. The public library can play a significant role in enabling a society in overcoming the divide, which is a consequence of inequalities in the distribution of wealth, and the consequent inequalities in access to the appropriate technologies and networks. This paper describes an ongoing project in Lithuania, which aims to test the possibilities of digital reading as means of overcoming the digital divide.