Reflections of affect in studies of information behavior in HIV/AIDS contexts : an exploratory quantitative content analysis

摘要

Information seeking and use are critically important for people living with HIV/AIDS and for those who care forpeople with HIV/AIDS. In addition, the HIV/AIDS context is characterized by significant affective or emotionalaspects including stigma, fear, and coping. Thus, studies of information behavior in this context should be expectedto take account of emotional variables. In information behavior scholarship, emotional variables have beenmarginalized in favor of a focus on cognitive aspects, although in recent years greater attention has been paidto the affective realm. This study used quantitative content analysis to explore the degree to which informationbehavior studies across a range of disciplines actually include affect or emotion in their analyses. Findings suggestthat most studies pay little or no attention to these variables, and that attention has not changed over the past 20years. Those studies that do account for emotion, however, provide excellent examples of information behaviorresearch that can lead the way for future work.