Information practice and information behaviour: on the need for conceptual and theoretical clarity

Abstract

Introduction. Literature on people’s dealings with information sometimes suggests that the concepts of information behaviour and information practice are interchangeable. These concepts are often used without theoretical underpinning. This contribution presents an in-depth examination of the concept of information practice in relation to theoretical contributions within the information behaviour literature.

Method. This conceptual paper critically examines the theoretical foundations of two central concepts by exploring existing information research and literature on social science theory. It aims to unpack the intellectual roots from which these concepts have emerged.

Analysis. Based on an established distinction between theories of action and theories of practice, a fine-grained comparison of theoretical differences between information behaviour and information practice research is presented.

Results. Contributions based on the concept of information behaviour are anthropocentric in nature, psychologically oriented, and portray dealings with information as planned behaviour grounded in individual choice. The information practice literature leans towards a posthumanist perspective through its focus on materiality and distributed agency.

Conclusion. Theories and concepts are ambiguous phenomena that can be imbued with different meanings by different authors. This does not necessarily pose a problem if authors strive to clearly explain their theoretical premises and what they mean by the central concepts they use.