Information-seeking behaviour of Iranian extension managers and specialists

• Main Authors: Gholamreza Pezeshki-Rad, Naser Zamani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Borås 2005-01-01
• Series: Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
• Subjects: Information seeking behaviour of agricultural extension managers
• Online Access: http://informationr.net/ir/10-3/paper229.html

<br><b>Introduction.</b> We report an investigation designed to explore information-seeking behaviour of extension managers and specialists in Iran, and to identify the factors that correlate with their information-seeking behaviour. <br><b>Method.</b> A questionnaire was developed to explore information-seeking behaviour of extension managers and specialists. <br><b>Analysis.</b> Data collected were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). Appropriate statistical procedures for description (frequencies, percent, means, and standard deviations) were used. <br><b>Results.</b> Results showed that the main motivation for seeking job-related information by both public extension managers and specialists was because they were interested in developing their own job-related information. The top three mostly used information sources by extension managers and specialists were <em>Persian books</em>, <em>Persian scientific magazines</em>, and <em>scientific-technical reports</em>. Concerning communication channels, <em>interpersonal communication with colleagues</em>, in-service training courses and <em>scientific-technical conventions</em> were ranked respectively as the three top communication channels used by respondents. There was a negative correlation between managers' years of extension work and their information-seeking behaviour. For specialists, a significant positive correlation was found between years of education and level of job satisfaction with their information-seeking behaviour. <br><b>Conclusion.</b> Providing valuable information sources, and removing information seeking barriers, can improve information-seeking behaviour of extension specialists and managers.