It helps librarians, educators, and policymakers understand the effectiveness of information systems and whether users’ information needs are truly being satisfied.
eGyanKosh (IGNOU, 2018): “Information use study is a systematic investigation of how users actually use information, in whatever form, in their work situations, research, or decision-making processes.”
LIS Academy: “Information use studies deal with how users use information obtained from various sources, analyse it, and apply it to solve problems or make decisions.”
InformationR.net (Greifeneder et al., 2022): “Information use comprises all activities through which people interact with information—such as reading, analysing, applying, sharing, or reusing information.”
2. Objectives of Information Use Study (IUS)
- To understand how information is used, IUS seeks to uncover what users do with information once obtained: how they read, interpret, synthesise, apply, share, or discard it. It explores real behaviours in natural settings, not just idealised or theoretical use.
- To identify patterns, contexts, and conditions of use: It examines what contexts (academic work, professional tasks, personal decision making) information is reused, adapted, or transformed. It also investigates how factors like time, urgency, user background, and environment shape use.
- To gauge the effectiveness and utility of information: One aim is to evaluate whether information helps users achieve their goals, solve problems, or make decisions. It helps measure the impact of information on tasks or outcomes.
- To detect barriers and constraints in information use: IUS identifies barriers (cognitive, technical, organisational, social) that prevent optimal or intended use of information. Understanding obstacles allows designers and librarians to mitigate them.
- To inform the design and improvement of information systems and services: Insights from IUS guide how to improve library services, system interfaces, information systems, and delivery mechanisms so that systems support real use patterns.
- To analyse non-use or misuse of information: As much as use, IUS also investigates when information is ignored, unused, or misapplied. This helps in understanding blind spots in services or mismatches with user needs.
- To support user education, training, and policy making: Understanding actual use behaviours can inform targeted user education programs, training modules, and institutional policy (e.g., open access, information access).
- To contribute to theory building in information behaviour: By empirically grounding how information is used, IUS helps refine models of information behaviour and enrich theoretical frameworks (e.g. reconciling “use” vs “non-use” in behaviour models).
3. Scope of Information Use Study (IUS)
The scope of the Information Use Study is broad and multidimensional. It explores how individuals and organisations interact with, apply, and benefit from information. The main areas of its scope are explained below:- Levels of Information Use: The scope of IUS extends across different levels—individual, group, organisational, and societal. At the individual level, it studies how a person uses information for learning, research, or daily decision-making. It examines collaborative information use at the group level, such as teamwork and knowledge sharing. The organisational level focuses on how institutions use information for policy formulation, management, and innovation. At the societal level, it explores how data is utilised for community development, awareness, and public participation.
- Forms and Formats of Information: IUS covers all types and formats of information resources. This includes printed materials like books, reports, and journals, as well as electronic sources such as e-journals, databases, and digital repositories. It also considers informal and non-traditional sources like social media, blogs, videos, and oral communication. The aim is to understand how users interact with diverse media and integrate information from multiple formats.
- Stages and Modes of Information Use: Information use is not a single act but a process. IUS studies various stages of use such as reading, analysing, synthesising, applying, and sharing information. It also includes storing or reusing information and instances of non-use or rejection. Each stage provides insights into how users transform information into knowledge and action.
- Context and Environment of Use: The use of information is always context-dependent. IUS therefore studies how data is used in different academic, professional, personal, and social environments. For instance, researchers use scholarly information for writing papers, professionals for decision-making, and individuals for daily life management. Understanding the context helps in designing user-centred information services.
- Temporal and Longitudinal Aspects: IUS also examines how information use changes over time. It may analyse short-term or long-term use during a project over a career span. The study of re-using or repeating consultations of information helps understand the continuity and relevance of knowledge over time.
- Barriers and Constraints in Information Use: Another essential part of the scope is identifying factors that limit or influence effective information use. These include cognitive barriers (lack of knowledge or skill), technical issues (poor access or usability), institutional policies, and social or economic factors. By recognising these constraints, information professionals can improve systems and services.
- Non-use and Misuse of Information: The scope of IUS is not limited to positive use; it also includes studying why users ignore, avoid, or misuse information. Such analysis reveals gaps between information availability and user behaviour, helping libraries and organisations refine communication and access strategies.
- Evaluation and Impact Assessment: IUS measures how effectively information contributes to decision-making, learning, and innovation. It studies the outcomes or benefits that arise from the application of information, providing a way to assess the real-world impact of information systems and services.
- Application in System and Service Design: Findings from IUS are used to enhance information systems, library services, and institutional policies. By understanding how users interact with information, organisations can design more intuitive interfaces, improve accessibility, and develop better user education programs.
- Cultural, Social, and Ethical Dimensions: Finally, the scope of IUS extends to the cultural and ethical aspects of information use. It considers how cultural values, social norms, and moral concerns—such as privacy, intellectual property, and information ethics—affect users’ behaviour. This ensures that information systems and policies respect diversity and integrity in knowledge use.
4. Why Information Use Study (IUS) Is Needed — Key Rationales
- To Bridge the Gap Between Access and Application: Many studies focus on how users seek information, but fewer examine how they use it. IUS is needed to understand what happens after retrieval — how users interpret, apply, or discard information. Without that, we cannot fully assess whether information services succeed or fail.
- To Evaluate Real-World Utility and Impact: Libraries, information systems, and services aren’t ends in themselves; they exist to serve user tasks and goals. IUS helps measure whether the information users access supports decision making, learning, innovation, or problem solving. This impact assessment is crucial for justifying investments in services.
- To Improve the Design of Information Systems and Services: Insights from IUS reveal mismatches between how systems are structured and how users behave. Understanding patterns of use can guide better interface design, metadata schemes, retrieval algorithms, and service features that align with actual user behaviours.
- To Inform User Education and Training: We can design more effective training programs if we know how users typically apply or misuse information. IUS identifies gaps in skills, misconceptions, or habitual mistakes, which user education can target directly.
- To Reveal Barriers and Constraints in Use: Even when users retrieve relevant information, cognitive, technical, institutional, and social obstacles can prevent effective use. IUS is needed to expose these constraints so that information professionals can mitigate or remove them.
- To Explore Non-Use and Misuse: Sometimes users ignore, discard, or misapply information. IUS helps understand why non-use or misuse occurs. This is important because mere access doesn’t guarantee correct or beneficial use.
- To Support Theory Development in Information Behaviour: Empirical evidence from IUS enriches theoretical models of how people interact with information. It provides data for refining or validating conceptual frameworks about information behaviour, use, and non-use.
- To Tailor Services to Context and Purpose: Use varies by context (academic, professional, personal) and purpose (decision, teaching, reporting, personal interest). IUS is needed to differentiate these contexts and purposes so services can be context-aware and purpose-sensitive.
- To Promote Accountability and Evidence-based Practice: In an era of limited resources, libraries and information organisations must justify their offerings. IUS provides evidence of effectiveness and user value, enabling evidence-based decision-making in LIS practice.
- To Adapt to Changing Information Environments: As information technologies evolve (big data, AI, social media, digital repositories), patterns of information use shift. IUS is needed continuously to monitor new forms of use, emergent behaviour, and evolving user-system interaction.