INF2332: Information Behaviour
This course will be offered for the first time in Winter 2012 and is scheduled for Thursday morning (10:00 - 12:00 a.m.) in Bissell 319.
Here is PDF of the syllabus. Students, please note that the syllabus may change; a final version will be available at the first class.
Course overview
Information behaviour is the currently preferred term used to describe the many ways in which human beings interact with information, in particular the ways in which people seek and utilize information (Bates, 2010). An understanding of information behaviour is central to work in the information professions and knowledge-based industries. For more than 75 years, information behaviour research has been conducted in the field of library and information studies. This course is organized as two units to introduce students to information behaviour using contrasting pedagogical and epistemological strategies. Unit I: Foundations (sessions 1-5) surveys the history and major theories, models, and concepts of information behaviour, drawing from the library and information studies literature and its traditional cognitive paradigm. Building upon this platform, Unit II: Integrative Topics (sessions 6-12) approaches information behaviour within diverse contexts and from contemporary vantage points that are more holistic, social, and interdisciplinary. The dual approaches to information behaviour caters to a diversity of student learning styles, interests, and aspirations and represents iSchool ideals; further, it generates the ability to both analyze and sensitively understand the human information experience.
Learning Outcomes
• An awareness of the history of information behaviour research in library and information studies.
• Familiarity with several metatheories and theories that shape understanding of information behaviour.
• Fluency in the central concepts of information behaviour, namely: information need, information seeking, information searching, browsing, learning, and information use.
• Rudimentary knowledge of seminal models of information behaviour.
• A sensitivity to the diversity and complexity of information behaviour within various situations, social worlds, and contexts.
• An appreciation of the breadth and interdisciplinarity of information behaviour as a research area and element of professional information work.
• Familiarity with several metatheories and theories that shape understanding of information behaviour.
• Fluency in the central concepts of information behaviour, namely: information need, information seeking, information searching, browsing, learning, and information use.
• Rudimentary knowledge of seminal models of information behaviour.
• A sensitivity to the diversity and complexity of information behaviour within various situations, social worlds, and contexts.
• An appreciation of the breadth and interdisciplinarity of information behaviour as a research area and element of professional information work.
Information Behavio(u)r Blog
If you are interested in information behaviour you might enjoy my blog which is written for students of the topic.
