Naomi J. Munthali

 The study of Information Behaviour has undergone a significant transformation over the years, shifting its focus from information systems to a user centered approach. In the past, research concentrated on the artifacts and avenues of information seeking such as libraries and other formal channels of information. In the 1970s, studies began to branch out focusing on the person as a finder and user of information. Terms like “information seeking “ and “sense making” emerged to describe the phenomena of interest of a growing number of scholars in Information Science. There are two primary approaches to studying how people interact with information, person oriented and system oriented. A person oriented approach focuses on the individual, their needs and behaviours as seen in question, “ How do small business owners in Malawi seek information when starting a new venture?” In contrast, a system oriented approach focuses on the information systems and technologies, exemplified by the qu...