The role of the internet in information seeking. Putting the networked services in context

摘要

The author explores the place of the internet among other sources and channels in information seeking. Both qualitative and quantitative data were combined in the study. In 1997, the author conducted 23 theme interviews in Tampere, Finland, Secondly, the data of the national survey on the use of information technology at Finnish households conducted in 1996, based on the interviews of 2360 persons, aged 10–74 yr, were utilized. Both the features of job-related and nonwork information seeking will be discussed; however, the emphasis is on the latter. The conceptual framework of the study draws on the findings of the studies of computer-mediated communication and the uses and gratifications approach; the ideas of the ‘media richness’ theory and the ‘social influence’ theory are also utilized. E-mail and WWW appeared to be the most frequently used services in information seeking, but discussion groups and IRC were also utilized to some extent. The major research criteria for preferring the internet are the (relative) easiness of accessing a huge amount of data, savings in time and money, the opportunity to consult a number of experts simultaneously and a greater independence of certain time and place in information seeking. Thus far, the internet has not been able to supplant other sources and channels but rather complements them. This is evident, for example, in the utilization of electronic newspapers in the search for orienting information.