Information Acquisition in the 21st Century: Implications for Survey Research |
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| Coordinator 1 | Dr Jon Miller (University of Michigan, USA) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Belen Laspra (University of Oviedo, Spain (visiting fellow at U. of Michigan this year)) |
The ways that humans acquire information are undergoing fundamental changes. We are moving into a just-in-time model facilitated by the internet and associated electronic technologies (which we will refer to as the Internet Era). This change is as profound as the development of writing, Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type leading to the printing press, or the emergence of broadcast systems. It will have profound implications for survey research and this session proposal will seek papers that discuss changing patterns of information acquisition and the implications for survey measurement.
For most of human history, we have operated in a warehouse system in which knowledgeable people tell less-knowledgeable people things they ought to know and expect them to retain and store this information in their mental warehouse. If they need the information at some time in the future, the individual would be expected to take the information from his or her mental warehouse and use it. Warehouse systems are dying worldwide in commerce and in information distribution.
In the Internet Era, individuals decide what kind of information they want or need and then seek it from sources they can access. Traditionally, this involved a heavy reliance on friends, neighbors, and other community members. Today, it more often involves the internet and associated technologies. In a just-in-time system, there are no central sources of messages and agendas are set by each individual.
The just-in-time system has grown most rapidly in the dissemination of health information. In the United States and other industrial societies, most individuals seek health information online both before and after consulting a physician. Many physicians provide printed materials with correct spellings so that patients can search for information about a disease or condition or about a prescription or therapy.
Professor Jon Miller has worked on documenting the operation of the just-in-time system in health and its extension into the acquisition of science news and information. He has conducted national surveys in the U.S. for more than 30 years and is currently conducted a series of multi-wave national surveys each year with support from NASA. Professor Laspra is a member of the faculty at the University of Oviedo (Spain) and is a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan this year.
The proposed session should provide important insights for individuals who survey information acquisition or communication in any field.