Introduction

Information behaviour, the ways in which it is studied, and the significance for practice of the results of such studies, are central topics within information science. Without reliable knowledge of the way in which people find and use information, provision of effective services can be based only on guesswork and assumptions.

This has been a popular area within information research and one of the richest for the creation of concepts, models and frameworks to explain the complex data produced, and this chapter can only provide an overview. For more in-depth treatment of all aspects, see Case and Given (2016) and Ford (2015); for a broad approach showing the overlap of information behaviour with information literacy and with HCI, see St Jean, Gorham and Bonsignore (2021); and for a review of information behaviour in the specific context of health, see Zimmerman and Shaw (2020). We will first examine the origins and development of information behaviour studies, with a summary of changing research methods. A summary of information behaviour concepts and a selective mention of significant models and theories follows. The chapter concludes with examples of studies of the information behaviour of different groups and the idea of individual styles of information behaviour.

Origins and development of information behaviour studies

Information behaviour studies have a long history (Case, 2006; 2014; Wilson, 1994; 2008). A specific concern for users of information has been evident from the earliest days of the information professions.