Best of both worlds : The information seeking behaviours of Swedish gymnasium studentsregarding the vaccination against COVID-19

To add to the understanding of the COVID-19 information landscape, the aim of this thesis was to investigate the information seeking behaviours of Swedish gymnasium students regarding the vaccination against COVID-19. The theoretical framework used to guide this study was based on active and passive information seeking behaviour as defined by Bates (2002), and information avoidance as defined by Narayan et al. (2011). Within this context, relevant elements of the concepts of trust and decision were included as well, to see how they feature within the overall information seeking behaviour. This thesis implemented a mixed method approach to reach the aim, which was executed through an online survey for quantitative data, and semi-structured interviews for qualitative data. An analytical framework was also established to guide the study from the chosen variables to relevant research and finally for the analysis of results. The results showed that all three directions of seeking behaviour were present among the demographic but differed in execution and purpose. Passive seeking was the behaviour that occurred most often and had the strongest relation to trust and decision. A high trust in authorities, based on passive information received, combined with equally high trust in oneself proved crucial within the understanding of the information seeking behaviour regarding the topic. Information avoidance did hardly occur at all, while active information seeking existed, but not for the reason to make a well-informed decision. Rather, it was performed based on a curiosity to learn about conspiracies and experiences, not facts