A Proposed Path to Bridge the Gap Between Information Behaviour Research and Professional Practice

ABSTRACT

A research culture that fosters communication and collaboration between academics and professionals is vital for creating a flourishing and well-informed scholarly and professional community. Within the library and information science field, a gap between research and professional practice is well-documented. This gap has also been noted in the sub-field of information behaviour. This paper contends that the time is ripe now to take some steps to fill this gap by (a) first refocusing on information behaviour embodying more than seeking and searching for information, (b) synthesising and advancing research concerning the impacts of different information behaviours on users’ thinking, emotions, feelings, and actions, (c) undertaking research where academics and information professionals can jointly study the relationship between information services, information behaviours, and users, and (d) reducing the barriers in communicating research between researchers and professionals. Hopefully, academics and professionals will embrace these considerations and work more closely to reduce the gap between information behaviour research and professional practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Information behaviour
• professional practice
• research and practice gap

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge with thanks the School of Information and Communication Studies – Faculty of Arts & Education Charles Sturt University for the support with a sabbatical that made it possible to conduct this research. I would like to thank the anonymous referees for their helpful feedback and suggestions for improvements to this paper.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Waseem Afzal

Waseem Afzal is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Information and Communication Studies at Charles Sturt University. Waseem received his PhD and MBA from Emporia State University, Kansas – USA. He also holds a Master of Commerce in Finance from the Punjab University, Pakistan. His research interests focus on information behaviour, qualitative and quantitative aspects of information flow in social media, and on the role of information in shaping thinking, emotions, and feelings.