Information Behaviour Research Group
Our experience of information shapes our information worlds, establishing patterns of behaviour related to seeking, accessing, and using information around us. However, this interaction between people and information may be complex and not easily understood, even by participants.
The Information Behaviour Research Group is concerned with exploring and understanding information behaviour in multiple contexts at individual, group, and community levels.
Research Areas
Our main research interests include the following:
- Information behaviour in different contexts, including the workplace, everyday life, health, education, civic and voluntary sectors, and leisure
- Information behaviour of defined population segments and communities, including children, students, older people, etc
- Information literacy, including information skills of defined groups in various contexts, academic-librarian collaboration, and barriers to implementation
- Pedagogical approaches for information literacy development
- Information poverty and economic disenfranchisement among various groups, including ethnic minorities, older adults, homeless, urban poor, etc
- The Information Market from both micro and macro perspectives, including trends in consumer behaviour and the influence of market forces
- Interaction with information systems, including information architecture and usability
Information Behaviour Research Group Staff and Students
Co-ordinator, Information Behaviour Research Group
Research Group Members
- Dr. Jessica Bates
- Dr. Kalpana Shankar
- Dr. Jean Henefer
- Niall Watts (PhD student)