This Bachelor thesis investigates how young feminists seek information related to their political engagement, the sources they use and what they use the information for. The study focuses on feminists aged 16-23 years old who are active in an alternative political movement. Qualitative interviews were carried out with four feminists. Theoretically, the study takes its departure point in the notion of communities of practice developed by Wenger (1998). In this view feminist groups and their circle of like-minded friends are seen as communities of practice where they share information, learn and create a common history together. McKenzie’s (2003) model of information practices was used in the analysis. The findings show that active scanning is the most common method of keeping informed about feminist issues. The informants often scan Internet sources for information about feminism, but seldom search for information on specific questions. It was also found that information was used as a form of resistance in order to meet challenges. It was also used in conversations and discussions with other feminists as a way of creating deeper knowledge on specific issues.

The aim of this thesis is to compare scholarly articles published in 2009–2019 that have used “information behavior” or “information practices” to denote the research, in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the two concepts have been used in the scientific literature. The research questions are: 1. What journals, countries and subject areas are the most prominent for each concept? 2. Which researchers constitute the research front of each concept? 3. What areas of interest can be distinguished within each concept? 4. What domain analytic similarities and differences can be seen between the two concepts? The study uses the bibliometric methods of author bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence analysis of author keywords, content analysis to determine subject areas and visualizations of networks using VOSviewer to examine the data. The results of the study indicate that information behavior is the dominating concept of the two. There are also indications of two separate research fronts in regard to researchers and their geographic locations. There is an overlap between the areas of interest of each concept. The general nature of the concepts, in addition to the different discourses that exist regarding them seems to be contributing factors to the confusion surrounding the definition, implication and use of each concept.

In a time when digitization is increasing, the importance of the physical bookshelf has been questioned. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between book enthusiasts and their bookshelf. This was done by conducting ethnographic interviews in combination with observations and by applying practice theory based on Reckwitz (2002) and the theoretical framework developed by Shove, Pantzar and Watson (2012) which is based on the concepts material, meaning and competence. By exploring the bookshelf's materiality and location, its content and organization as well as what thoughts and feelings the informants have in relation to their bookshelf we were able to show the complexity of the bookshelf's importance. The result shows that the bookshelf has several meanings, including as storage furniture, interior detail, memory holder and character descriptor. These meanings are then expressed in the material aspects of the bookshelf, such as the type of shelf used or what may be placed on it, as well as the practices that book enthusiasts carry out in relation to their bookshelves; interior design practices, organization practices, and reading practices.

All leisure activities lead to interaction with information. This study explores the role of the body in information practices in sport as a serious leisure activity. The purpose of the study is to contribute to more knowledge being gathered concerning how the body, both of the performers of serious leisure activities and those around them, is used to interact with information related to the leisure activity in question. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with four participants were conducted to answer the following research questions: how do the participants use their bodies in information practices related to sport as a serious leisure activity? In what ways are other peoples` bodies a source of information in their serious leisure activity and how are their own bodies` a source of information for others?   Theories of embodied information were used to investigate three aspects of embodied information: information gathered from the senses externally, information gathered from the senses internally and information gathered from interaction with other peoples` bodies. The study finds that embodied information is an integral part of information practices in sport as a serious leisure activity. The information is often related to the physical aspects of training such as the environment and to measure progress in the sport, in both the long and short term. Other individuals are important sources of information for the participants, especially when learning new elements within the sport. The study also finds that there is need for further studies within the field.

The purpose of this Master's thesis is to contribute to a betterunderstanding of children's free time reading book practices by studyingpupils in the school library and their processes of finding and borrowingbooks for themselves to read silently in the classroom, so called free timereading books. The study also includes observations of the staff's role,particularly the school librarian's in supporting pupil's book selection.The empirical material consists of field notes from an etnographic studywhere pupils in 4th grade (aged 10-11) and staff were observed duringthree school library visits. The theoretical framework is inspired byLennart Björneborn's concepts of information practices in libraries:serendipity, integrative library interface, mediation flow and affordancespaces.The study shows that pupils' search for free time reading books in theschool library is relatively routine-based at the same time as it isspontaneous. The process is an interplay with factors such as time,display and interaction in the integrative library interface. In the presenceof adults, finding books becomes an imposed task for the pupils. The staffworks within a set hierarchy in the school library where the teacherssupport the librarian by administrating the visit and the librarian helps thepupils to find books. A library practice of selecting books, a free timereading book practice, emerges as rather routine and instrumental. / Program: Masterprogram: Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap, Digitala bibliotek och informationstjänster

This Bachelor’s thesis is related to the area within library and information studies that focuses on information seeking and information practices. The study deals with how politically engaged young people seek information in relation to their political interests. The purpose of the study is to create an understanding of the roles that different forms of information-related activities play within the framework of political interest and of the feelings, experiences and challenges that such activities may give rise to for those involved. The study also discusses purposes and motivation for information seeking and use in political engagement. In order to address the problem statement I have conducted a qualitative interview study where I interviewed four politically active young people. The findings of the study indicate a number of recurring trends but also variations in the information practices of the informants. Daily news updates and the social interaction appear to be among the most important information-related activities. Some of the information-related activities are connected to the elements of the engagement that are more personal and private in nature, while other information activities are related to the social dimensions of the engagement. It would seem that political engagement is divided in two different spheres, a social and another more individual sphere. This finding is important for our understanding of how the different information-related activities are linked to each other. The findings and the conclusions of the study are presented in a theoretical model.

This an explorative interview study of the information-seeking behaviour of a group of antique dealers. Using a qualitative approach, the aim of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of how antique dealers describe their search for information. This is accomplished using semi-structured interviews. The transcriptions of these interviews were analyzed using the theory constructed by Leckie, Pettigrew and Sylvain (1996) to describe the information seeking of professionals. Previous studies have elucidated the information-seeking behaviour of other professionals within the arts sector. Our findings build upon those findings and specifically examines the informationseeking-behaviour of antique dealers in relation to various factors affecting their practices. The results of this study reveals several implications of what precedes an information search, as well as the procedure of information seeking for antique dealers. These implications include factors such as experience, workplace and assignments. In addition to this, differing views on knowledge were expressed by the respondents which reflected the depth of their tasks. Further findings were made regarding information as a commodity where information is regarded as something valuable. In conclusion antique dealers’ information-seeking behaviour shifts depending on contexts and further research is essential in several areas of this study.

The information behaviour in closed Facebook groups differ from the one in people’s feed. Using Cox’s theory of information in social practices, Haythorntwaite’s theory of ties in computer mediated communication, McKenzie’s theories of cognitive authorities in information and Metzger and Flanagin’s theory of credibility heuristics the aim of this bachelor thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how the members of three closed Facebook groups handle the information shared and if the groups act as a filter bubble for the information obtained. The researcher applied a netnographic approach and used an online questionnaire to collect the data. In the empirical data the researcher found that the members used the group rules as norms for what and when they post and that they were very critical when it comes to the information shared in the groups. The researcher also found that the groups acted as filter bubbles and that the members saw that as the groups purpose.

Students' usage of print versus e-book formats has been a subject of interest for research since the e-book started gaining popularity. These studies tend to emphasise student preferences and the reasons behind them which has led to a fairly well explored subject around the world. However, less emphasis is put on students’ information practices when using these formats.  This master’s thesis aims to add to the knowledge about the information practices of university students when using course literature in print versus e-book formats. To do this, semistructured interviews through Zoom were conducted with eight students. With practice theory as the theoretical lens, qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the material. The results shows that easy access to course literature is a main factor when choosing format, which indicates that preferences does not necessarily solely shape the information practice. E-books are used extensively by the students for easy access, even though there is a clear overall preference for print. The print format however seems to be providing a better overview of the whole book that favours the search process. The students also describe a feeling of deeper connection with print books and these are therefore used to understand complex texts, as well as when the students better want to remember what they have read. However, information practices described in regards to the e-book is not portrayed as a bad alternative. Rather, it is described as fitting for information practices that require shallower information processing.

I norra Sverige sker just nu två samhällsomvandlingar som en följd av det statligt ägda bolaget LKAB:s järnmalmsutvinning i området. Dessa samhällsomvandlingar påverkar inte bara platsen och naturen utan också invånarna i området. En stor del av dessa invånare påverkas då de behöver flytta till följd av den fortsattagruvbrytningen som gör att deras hem måste rivas. Syftet med denna uppsats var att analysera informationsbeteendet hos personer som påverkas avsamhällsomvandlingen just på det sättet, på en av gruvorterna - Kiruna, samt att ta reda på hur informationsprocessen runt samhällsomvandlingen kan se ut. Fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med personer som har, eller kommer behöva flytta. Tillsammans ger de en bild av en situation som innebär att leva under ständig förändring, där både platsen och informationen är föränderlig. I analysen framkom det att informationsdelningen har en ledande aktör och det är LKAB; som delar information via olika kommunikationskanaler och möten. Vidare söker, delar och skapar intervjupersonerna information genom olika informationspraktiker, bland annat då de observerar platsen som är i omvandling.