Theories of Information Behavior

by Karen Fisher (Editor), Sandra Erdelez (Editor), Lynne McKechnie (Editor)

This unique book presents authoritative overviews of more than 70 conceptual frameworks for understanding how people seek, manage, share, and use information in different contexts. A practical and readable reference to both well-established and newly proposed theories of information behavior, the book includes contributions from 85 scholars from 10 countries. Each theory description covers origins, propositions, methodological implications, usage, links to related conceptual frameworks, and listings of authoritative primary and secondary references. The introductory chapters explain key concepts, theory-method connections, and the process of theory development.

Genres: Nonfiction, Library Science, Professional Development, Information Science

431 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2005

Reviews

[Carrie Rolph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't want to talk about it. I may need therapy.

[Taylor Worsham]

I used this book from my semester long research project to find a theory that matched my topic. It is comprehensive but I didn't find anything that suited my topic. It is easy to skim and get the gist, but it's very dense.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read several chapters now and it's just ok. If you want to get technical about the various models and theories, then this book is for you. If you don't want a lot of mumbo jumbo then look elsewhere. Not as clear and straight forward as it could be concerning the pioneers and their models of information seeking behaviors, but some interesting bits and pieces to be picked out here and there.

[Jessica Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a "proxy need" for school. it's ok. would have been nice to know they'd put it all on our online reserves so i wouldn't spend so much money on a grand total of about 30 pages of reading we've been assigned out of it...

[Amy Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read excerpts of this book for my class and I thought it was very interesting. If I have the time I would love to read the rest of this book.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pseudoscience, anyone? I don't believe I can convey how little I enjoyed this book...and how completely NOT useful. Rarely have my critical thinking skills been less engaged.

[Liz De Coster]

Read for LBSC 601: Users and Information Context.