Abstract :
This is the first part of a two-part article that offers a
theoretical and an empirical model of the everyday life
information needs of urban teenagers. The qualitative
methodology used to gather data for the development
of the models included written surveys, audio journals,
written activity logs, photographs, and semistructured
group interviews. Twenty-seven inner-city teens aged
14 through 17 participated in the study. Data analysis
took the form of iterative pattern coding using QSR
NVivo 2 software (QSR International, 2002). The resulting
theoretical model includes seven areas of urban
teen development: the social self, the emotional self,
the reflective self, the physical self, the creative self, the
cognitive self, and the sexual self. The researchers conclude
that the essence of teen everyday life information
seeking (ELIS) is the gathering and processing of information
to facilitate the teen-to-adulthood maturation
process. ELIS is self-exploration and world exploration
that helps teens understand themselves and the social
and physical worlds in which they live. This study
shows the necessity of tying youth information-seeking
research to developmental theory in order to examine
the reasons why adolescents engage in various information
behaviors.
