AN ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES ON WEB SEARCHING BEHAVIOR AMONG BLACKS AND WHITES: A CASE OF HEALTH INFORMATION SEARCHING

Open Access
- Author:
- Morgan, Allison Janeice
- Graduate Program:
- Information Sciences and Technology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 03, 2008
- Committee Members:
- Eileen M Trauth, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Eileen M Trauth, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Lynette Kvasny, Committee Member
Bernard James Jansen, Committee Member
Dr. Ronald Jackson II, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Human information behavior
Individual differences
Race
Health information
Web searching
Diversity
Human variation - Abstract:
- While the commercial introduction of the Internet has been a key influence in the concept of access to information, the benefits commonly ascribed to this technology do not appear to be enough to motivate its utilization by all. In 2006, 74% of households in the United States reported having the Internet, according to the Nielsen/NetRatings Enumeration Study. Though the penetration of the Internet among households in the U.S. is rising, there are still a significant number of people who do not have access to this important technology. Thus, in order to understand the gap in participation, it is necessary to enlarge the scope of investigation. I argue that studies in social access and related topics may provide new insight into the disparity of Internet users and non-users. Access is an important issue in terms of the digital divide, so the search for health information was used as an exemplar of social access, to understand how attributes of individual people influence the process. In studying health information searching, the population that was chosen was individuals with diabetes. Diabetes was chosen because it is a chronic disease which requires a high degree of self management. As a result of this high requirement on the part of the patient to monitor his or her condition, the activity of health information seeking becomes critically important. Therefore, this fact provides a potential source of motivation for these individuals to search for health information that is relevant. The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of human variation on people’s perspectives about, and approaches to, the activity of information searching, on the topic of health. This research employed an interpretive epistemological approach which consisted of a three part mixed method study. The study was comprised of a user search task, an individual differences questionnaire, and in-depth interviews with fifteen Black and fifteen White participants in central Pennsylvania and southern Maryland. It was found that differences such as race, gender, age, socio economic class, and geographic location all influence searching behavior. However, it was also found that these factors work together to influence behavior, rather than independently. Therefore, it is suggested that researchers of health information searching behavior look at the intersection of characteristics rather than single attributes of individuals. Also, the Internet was found to augment traditional information resources instead of acting as the central information resource. This finding is supported by factors which were found to be mediators of health information searching such as personal social networks, trust, and frustration. Lastly, stereotypes were challenged as participants in the study exhibited behaviors which were contradictory to research about Internet experience and searching. This research has created a contribution to theory, to the literature, to methodology, and to practice. The contribution to theory has been developed through the support for and extension of the explanatory power of the Individual Differences Theory of Gender and IT. The findings in this study showed evidence that users of technology have rich and unique experiences, backgrounds and beliefs, which impacted their usage of technology. In addition, the findings in this research project enhance knowledge about health information sources and their importance in the lives of individuals with chronic illnesses. New knowledge was developed about many factors which lessen the motivation to search, and subsequently about how life, health and technology intersect in the existence of thirty individuals all living with diabetes. This research contributed to the knowledge base on methodology as a mixed-methodology study which utilized an interpretive epistemology. This study utilized a three part research design in which data was collected to better understand user behavior and perceptions for the purpose of integrating information to answer the research questions. Lastly, this research contributed to practice through the development of a research process which can be used as a technique to inform personas. The data collection process used in this research can be used as an effective aid to gather empirical information about a user. The information gathered in this research represents an embodied view of the user, or rather a comprehensive view which provides information about individual demographics, experiences, influences, behaviors, and perceptions of technology use.