Information behavior research through social network analysis

Abstract

The field of information behaviour research is dominated by a constructivist vision focused on the individual as a generator of knowledge. Recently, a group of researchers have increased the criticism of this approach and advocate a social turn. From this point of view, methods such as discourse analysis are used to try to learn from the language of users how they generate and share knowledge in the social context. Other methods that could contribute to a better understanding of this aspect include social network analysis. The article describes how this method has been applied to the study of information behaviour, shows a practical application and discusses the professional and methodological implications.