SUMMARY OF LECTURE ON THE SHIFT FROM INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO USERS & THE MYTHS ABOUT INFORMATION

 This summary captures the key points from today’s lecture (6th November) on information behaviour, where Prof. Winner Chawinga completed the previous topic on the shift from information systems to users and then, he introduced a new topic; Myths/troubles in information behaviour and information seeking.

He explained how old literature, research on information seeking focused on information systems and artifacts such as. books, journals, newspapers, radios television, schools, universities, libraries, and professional conferences. These studies were more concerned with the search for information and its use rather than the individual users, their needs, the resources they preferred, or the results they experienced.

By 1970, the focus shifted from being information system to the users. Concepts such as information seeking emerged to describe these users’ centred approaches. The lecture also discussed different research orientations distinguishing between task-oriented and non-task-oriented studies, as well as people-oriented and system-oriented approaches

A new topic introduced in the lecture was Myths /trouble in information behaviour and information seeking, the dubious assumptions identified by Darvin in 1976. These myths reflect outdated assumptions that continue to influence thinking about information behavior today. The professor discussed eight major myths.

Myth 1: only objectives information is valuable - This assumption is false because people often rely on subjective and early available sources, such as friends or personal experience, rather than purely objective data

 

Myth 2:  More information is always better. Having access to more data does not necessarily make one informed; the real challenge lies in understanding and interpreting information.

Myth 3: Objective information can be transmitted out of context. People tend to ignore isolated facts when these cannot be connected to a broader, meaningful picture.

Myth 4: Information is only acquired through formal sources. Most people rely more on informal channels family, peers, and daily interactions than on formal institutions

Myth 5: There is relevant information for every need. Many human needs are psychological, emotional, or physical (such as love, safety, or comfort), which information alone cannot satisfy.

Myth 6: Every need situation has a solution. Institutions often attempt to match users’ problems to existing systems, sometimes providing irrelevant or unhelpful answers.

Myth 7: It is always possible to make information accessible. Formal systems cannot always meet the complex and changing needs of individuals.

Myth 8: Time, space, and individual situations can be ignored. An individual’s context and perception largely determine their information needs and responses

Lastly, the Professor emphasized that each student should post the summary on their blog and tag his blog before midnight on 11th November. -  https://wchawinga.blogspot.com/2025/11/university-department-of-information.html?m=1

 

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