Abstract:
This paper reports the findings of a study of how members of a scholarly community (15 information behaviour researchers) constructed the meaning(s) and significance(s) of an author whose work is prominent in their field (Brenda Dervin). Its findings reveal the essentially social nature of participants' constructive processes. In shifting theoretical attention from individual cognition to social processes, the study seeks to address criticisms of prevailing approaches to information behaviour research voiced by critics such as Frohmann (1992), Talja (1997), and Julien (1999). In highlighting the social nature of participants' constructive processes, the paper both builds on and challenges prevailing conceptions of information behaviour.
