Information-Seeking Behaviour Among the Rural Dwellers

Sarawak is vastly different from geographical, economic, political and other socio-cultural structures compared to other states in Malaysia. Heading towards a high-income and digital economy initiative, it is vital to ensure that the distribution and sharing of the right information is achieved to reach the right target so that all Sarawakians are involved in the State’s agenda. The two-way communication between the government and its people, regardless of urban or rural areas is critical to spur the state’s socio-economic growth and advancement. Therefore, this study is designed to investigate the informational behaviour among the rural dwellers in Sarawak.

Research Background

Information-seeking behaviour refers to the behaviours, activities or actions taken by a person in identifying information need, searching for information, Information-seeking as well as selecting and using a relevant information to satisfy their identified needs. Predominately, the studies on the information science mostly focus on the effectiveness of the library’s services and institutional communication (Islam & Ahmed, 2012). The lack of empirical data on information needs is one of the obstacles to narrow the communication and information gap between urban and rural population, and thus, local authorities and government agencies have deep commitment to bridge the gap. However, Cheunwattana (1998: 2) argues that there is not much empirical data available on rural information needs, gathering habits of the rural community and information support through information services. Besides, rural dwellers do not always know what their information needs are, how they can meet their needs, and from where they can get their required information (Islam & Ahmed, 2012).

It is evident that the lack of knowledge on their Information-seeking behaviour makes it even more challenging to serve the rural dwellers according. Rural dwellers in Sarawak are known to engage themselves in various economic activities such as agriculture, trading, and services. Rural dwellers may also include employees of public and private sectors stationed in the rural areas. In this study, rural dwellers include school children, working adults, and people of the community. Their information needs may shape the patterns for Information- seeking Behaviour (ISB) in the area. These rural dwellers may not only need information on updates of government initiatives, but also information on leisure and recreation.

For rural dwellers among primary school students, they could seek information to meet the needs of their Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) curriculum. Similarly, for secondary school students, they seek information that is required for their coursework and school projects, especially for the fulfilment of the public examinations such as PMR and SPM. For school leavers, they often seek information on employment, job opportunities, and information to pursue tertiary education. Accessible information is a necessity among the rural dwellers in Sarawak. In view of the above scenario, this study is necessary to ascertain the information needs, the main sources of information, and the information skills needed by rural dwellers.