Expanding Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory: A case study

Introduction. The purpose of this paper is to expand Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory and demonstrate its use in understanding information seeking and sharing of doctoral peers in unstructured environments. Method. In this qualitative study, data was collected us...

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Main Author: Peymon Montazeri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Borås 2025-05-01
Series:Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://publicera.kb.se/ir/article/view/51418
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author Peymon Montazeri
author_facet Peymon Montazeri
author_sort Peymon Montazeri
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. The purpose of this paper is to expand Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory and demonstrate its use in understanding information seeking and sharing of doctoral peers in unstructured environments. Method. In this qualitative study, data was collected using twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews of doctoral students in the social sciences and humanities disciplines. Analysis. The interview data was transcribed, imported into the ATLAS.ti software, and coded using thematic analysis. Findings. The findings demonstrate, first, that the intervening variables of the information behaviour model can fall under person and environment categories of social cognitive theory. Second, most of the variables (i.e., psychological, interpersonal/role related, source characteristics, and environment) can be found in information seeking and sharing behaviour of doctoral peers. Finally, person, environment, and behaviour factors have a reciprocal impact on one another. The environment category is discussed in this paper. Conclusion. This paper demonstrates that social cognitive theory can successfully expand the information behaviour model and make it adaptable to the context of information seeking and sharing among doctoral peers in unstructured environments.
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spelling doaj-art-e2a6e17a458142c2a0a942f2906aeb172025-08-20T03:49:41ZengUniversity of BoråsInformation Research: An International Electronic Journal1368-16132025-05-0130210.47989/ir30251418Expanding Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory: A case studyPeymon Montazeri0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4327-7846McGill University Introduction. The purpose of this paper is to expand Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory and demonstrate its use in understanding information seeking and sharing of doctoral peers in unstructured environments. Method. In this qualitative study, data was collected using twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews of doctoral students in the social sciences and humanities disciplines. Analysis. The interview data was transcribed, imported into the ATLAS.ti software, and coded using thematic analysis. Findings. The findings demonstrate, first, that the intervening variables of the information behaviour model can fall under person and environment categories of social cognitive theory. Second, most of the variables (i.e., psychological, interpersonal/role related, source characteristics, and environment) can be found in information seeking and sharing behaviour of doctoral peers. Finally, person, environment, and behaviour factors have a reciprocal impact on one another. The environment category is discussed in this paper. Conclusion. This paper demonstrates that social cognitive theory can successfully expand the information behaviour model and make it adaptable to the context of information seeking and sharing among doctoral peers in unstructured environments. https://publicera.kb.se/ir/article/view/51418information behaviourinformation seekinginformation sharingsocial cognitive theorydoctoral peers
spellingShingle Peymon Montazeri
Expanding Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory: A case study
Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
information behaviour
information seeking
information sharing
social cognitive theory
doctoral peers
title Expanding Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory: A case study
title_full Expanding Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory: A case study
title_fullStr Expanding Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory: A case study
title_full_unstemmed Expanding Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory: A case study
title_short Expanding Wilson’s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory: A case study
title_sort expanding wilson s information behaviour model using social cognitive theory a case study
topic information behaviour
information seeking
information sharing
social cognitive theory
doctoral peers
url https://publicera.kb.se/ir/article/view/51418
work_keys_str_mv AT peymonmontazeri expandingwilsonsinformationbehaviourmodelusingsocialcognitivetheoryacasestudy