Abstract :
The aim of this research was to develop a conceptual
framework that would help to collect and understand the
information needs of a target community. Even though
many information behavior frameworks already exist,
they tend to focus on different aspects of the person and
their interaction with information. It was proposed that a
synthesis of the existing frameworks could lead to one
comprehensive framework. Previous research was analyzed
and an initial framework defined. It was piloted,
adapted, and then applied to data on informal carers,
who are people caring for another person, generally a
relative, for more than 14 hours per week, and who are
not paid for it. The data stemmed from 60 interviews that
were transcribed and coded. This paper presents the
data on informal carers and their information experience
using the final framework. It serves to demonstrate how
the framework sensitizes the researcher to certain types
of significant data, enables the organization of the data,
indicates the relationships between different types of
data, and, overall, helps to provide a rich picture of the
target community’s information needs. In conclusion,
the paper discusses the differences and advantages of
the framework in relation to previous work, the limitations
of the study, and possible further research
