Library

Module: Management of Academic

Information
Unit 2: Understanding Information Need
Presenter:
 Presentation Overview
Learning Outcomes
What is an information need?
When is information needed?
Task
Understanding information need
Questions that help in articulating the information need
Information needs and information resources
Conclusions
References
 Learning Objectives

To equip students with skills that enable them to articulate

information needs and understand factors for successful meeting the
information needs
 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, students
will be able to:
Define the information need to
achieve a manageable research
focus
Identify key concepts and terms
that describe the information need
Formulate research questions
based on the need
 What is an information need?
•Need = Requirement
•Thus information need is often
understood as an individual’s
desire to locate and obtain
information to satisfy a
conscious/unconscious
information requirement
What is an information need? contd..
Information needs represent gaps in the current knowledge of the user.
Information need implies that a person has some problems to solve, and
requires information to make optimum decision about how to solve the
problems (Nwagwu, & Segilola, 2013).
The Online dictionary for library and information science defines an
information need as:
“A gap in a person's knowledge that, when experienced at the conscious level
as a question, gives rise to a search for an answer. If the need is urgent, the
search may be pursued with diligence until the desire is fulfilled.”
When is information needed?
Students – assignments/group tasks/
research/knowledge curiosity
Consumers – purchase of a product
or service
Business – market share, strategy,
planning, competitors
Professionals – careers, personal
development , opportunities
 Task
What are the leading causes of drug abuse amongst the youth in Zimbabwe?
 Task contd…
To gain an understanding of the task on leading causes of drug abuse amongst the youth in Zimbabwe and
respond to the question, your information needs could include:
a. a definition of youth , to understand who it affects
b.statistics that describe the nature and extent of the problem
c.research (both theoretical and reporting field work) from sociologists and other academics studying youth drug
abuse in Zimbabwe
d.reports from relevant government and non-government organisations (NGOs)
e.personal stories and case studies of drug abuse
f.an overview of related topics e.g. domestic violence, homelessness, that can lead to youth drug abus .
g.The information need can be satisfied by different sources of information which include NGO reports,
government websites, journal articles and etc
Defining the information need involves:
Recognising what information is needed;
Understanding why information is needed;
Recognising what (and how much; what kind of ) information is
required,
Understanding any associated constraints (e.g. time, format,
currency, access);
Recognising that information is available in a wide range of formats
in various geographical and virtual locations;
Questions that help in articulating the
information need!
What do I already know about this topic/subject?
What do I want to know on this topic?
Do I want general or specific information about the subject?
What information sources (databases, library catalogues, encyclopaedias, the
Internet) will help you find the information you need?
Where will I find the best information to fit my needs?
How will I know it when I see it?
How much information do I want? A single fact? A paragraph? A few pages? An
entire book?
Obstacles to meeting information needs!
There are various obstacles getting in the way of successfully using
information.
A person experiencing uncertainty does not recognize their specific need, especially
if it is intangible.
A lack of sufficient time to obtain and digest information in the time allotted for the
task.
Information overload- the amount of information can be overpowering.
Format and language in which information is available; and people use what is
easiest to get and closest to hand, and not what is actually the best or most appropriate
Information needs and information sources
The ultimate goal of understanding one’s information needs is to
effectively link one to appropriate information sources.
The next unit explores a plethora of information sources that can be
used by individuals/researchers to satiate their information needs.
 Conclusion
The questions in the previous slide help one to explicitly understand their
information need in simple terms.
Furthermore, they help the information seeker to identify key concepts that help
identify the information need.
The terms should be clear and unambiguous. This process of identifying key
concepts is done with the understanding that information retrieval entails
matching what is required with what is in the information sources and databases.
 References and Recommended Reading
List
Borlund, P. &Pharo, N. (2019). A need for information on information needs.
In Proceedings of CoLIS, the Tenth International Conference on Conceptions of
Library and Information Science, Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 16-19, 2019. Information
Research, 24(4), paper colis1908. Retrieved from
http://InformationR.net/ir/24-4/colis/colis1908.html (Archived by the Internet Archive
at https://web.archive.org/web/20191216154208/http://informationr.net/ir/24-4/colis/
colis1908.html) Accessed 10 May 2022.
Crump, M. and Freund, L. (2012) Meeting the needs of student users in academic
libraries: Reaching across the great divide. London: Elsevier.
Cumming, A., Lai, C. and Cho, H. (2016) ‘Students' writing from sources for
academic purposes: A synthesis of recent research’, Journal of English for Academic
purposes, 23, pp.47-58.
 References and recommended reading list
cont’d
Gebka, E., Crusoe, J., & Ahlin, K. (2021). Methods to Capture User Information Needs:
Design Principles for Open Data Intermediaries and Data Providers. Data Science
Journal, 20, 37-37.
Nwagwu, W. E., & Segilola, M. O. (2013). Information needs, information sources and
information seeking behaviours of engineers in breweries in Nigeria. Libri, 63(2), 159-
178.. https://doi.org/10.1515/libri-2013-0013
Reitz, J. M. (2017). ODLIS: Online Dictionary Library and Information Science,
diunduh dari http://www. abc-clio. com/ODLIS/odlis_A. aspx. Accessed 10 May 2022.
Thammanna, H. N., & Kumbar, M. (2016). Information gathering habits of
contemporary Kannada writers: an analytical study. e-Library Science Research
Journal, 5(2).
References and recommended reading list
cont’d
Afzal, W. (2017). Conceptualisation and measurement of information
needs: A literature review. Journal of the Australian library and
information association, 66(2), 116-138.