An Overview of Information Seeking Behavior of Immigrants

1. An Overview of Information Seeking Behavior of Immigrants

2. Part One Immigrant definition & description

3. Our world is a world of immigrants We have arrived along all of our nations borders from all over the world In pursuit of dreams, yet often pushed and pulled by forces beyond our control

4. We immigrate to exchange ideas, teach & learn. And often times to escape various levels of political, religious, financial & cultural unrest within our homelands.

5. The simple act of our arrival changes the face of a community and we also change. Developing new methods of interaction, communication and information exchange to satisfy our particular wants and needs

6. Our success in a foreign community is largely determined by the degree to which we can access and use the information that we need.

7. How we access and use information is impacted by myriad factors, such as language, age, gender, culture, education, and income And by the manner in which information is made available within each community and how the community relates to its immigrant population

8. Part Two Literature Review

9. Literature Review • Information Needs • Barriers • Information Poverty • Social Networks/Sources • Gatekeepers • Topics for Further Study

10. Needs • Due to lack of familiarity with new conditions • Social • Economic • Cultural • Educational • Physical • Ethnic

11. Needs • Feeling secure and welcome, while learning to participate in their new community by learning English • Navigating their new surroundings via public transport, obtaining a driver’s license, etc. • Establishing a source of income and understanding the personal banking system • Adjusting their children to a new school system • Learning about the country’s health, social service and legal systems

12. Needs • Information needs change over time • Achieve personal gains as they become acclimated • Develop coping skills • Bolster self-confidence • Build social networks • Fisher’s Outcomes Model from Queens Immigrant Study (2004)

13. Barriers of Information Suspicion Loss of control Insiders/outsiders Sense of being outside the community Cultural value differences Language and literacy Difficulty dealing with English speakers Misinterpretations Waiting for help to come along

14. Information Poverty “An impoverished information world is one in which a person is unwilling or unable to solve a critical worry or concern” (Chatman, 1996). • Many researchers agree that immigrants are associated with information poverty. • Lack of awareness of resources and certain services • Inability to access needed information

15. Information Poverty • Prototypical member of information poor (Childers & Post, 1975) • does not know which formal channels to tap in order to solve his problems • is not a very active information seeker • is locked into an informal information network that is deficient in the information that is ordinarily available to the rest of society

16. Information Poverty • Immigrants as outsiders: • Don’t understand social norms of new community • Insiders might withhold information for various reasons • Rely on self-protective behaviors to hide true information need • Secrecy, deception • To seek some information requires great deal of risk-taking

17. Social Networks/Sources • Mainly rely on personal networks • Most common type of information source is family and friends or acquaintances who are already established in new country. • Bypass language, cultural, and economic barriers • Similarity leads to credibility • Follows Harris and Dewdney’s (1994) Principle 4 – people turn to others like themselves.

18. Social Networks/Sources • Important for vulnerable or marginal populations • Gain understanding of their social context • Develop new relationships • Maintain connections to old culture • Begin to understand new culture

19. Gatekeepers • Gatekeepers become key information agents and disseminators • Can connect with information and resources • Can be consulted with minimum of effort • Work within both cognitive and affective domains • Promote acquisition of knowledge • Cultural orientation toward information needs and use

20. Gatekeepers • Interpersonal source berry-picking • Work with useful source until one more trustworthy or knowledgeable comes along • Sources and needs change over lifetime as immigrant becomes acclimated

21. Anomalies • Immigrants as insiders still rely on self-protective behaviors • Choosing insider’s life by interacting only with other immigrants, due to lack of trust of dominant language culture • Self-protective behaviors occurring within social networks, such as competition among coworkers

22. Topics for Further Study • Differences in information behavior of legal vs. illegal immigrants • How social networks and different social types affect ability to find information and resolve problems • Examine information behavior in global context, rather than just local context • How to design systems to better facilitate information flow

23. Part Three Fieldwork Discussion Select two fieldwork methods that you believe might provide insights into the IB of our group.

27. Part Four • IB models of our group • With reference to the research literature develop your own visual model.

28. Exterior presentation of individual and their role within society Individual Role Internal/emotional individual: sense of self, personal knowledge, fears Information seeking Internal personal barriers Friends Family Culture Native Community Language Internal & External Barriers Society Fear Information seeking Public Assistance Foreign Communities Information Resources Larger Community & Environment

29. Thoughts, Feelings, Knowledge Individual Immigrant Outward Presentation Barriers: Barriers: Barriers: Distance Cultural Values Sense of Being Outsider Technology Alienation Cultural Disparities Fear Expense Language Home Suspicion Family and Friends Immigrant Community Larger Community Environment

30. Part Five Practical Implications What are the implications of our research for professional practice?