A day at work : 9 nurses‟ information practices

The aim of this thesis is to create an understanding of nurses' information practices. To be able to search, find, use and critically evaluate information is important, not just during studies, but also in professional life. This study is intended to deepen our understanding of nurses ' information literacy in a workplace context.The main questions are: What information do nurses need on a daily basis and how do they experience information activities? What factors determine the sources they use? Do information practices vary in the workplace? Do nurses‟ professional experiences impact on their information practices? Nine nurses were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The interviews have been analysed through a hermeneutic approach. I use a model of the information seeking of professionals created by Leckie, Pettigrew and Sylvain as well as the concept of cognitive authority as developed by Wilson in the analysis. I reach the conclusion that information practices differ within the same context and occupational group. Differences in information needs and information seeking practices emerged between the different groups who were identified during the interviews. Professional experience proved to be important in information activities. It also became clear that oral sources had a dominant role as a source of information and that different sources are given different authority. An experienced colleague is seen as a cognitive authority as well as established textual sources. There was often an interaction between written and oral information. It was found that there were shortcomings in the system that makes information available.Program: Bibliotekari