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Use and utility of information channels for self-help advocacy groups

University of British Columbia

In this study of self-help advocacy groups the research focused on how informal learners, as users of information, rate channels in society for their use and utility in the acquisition of functionally different kinds of information. A total of 105 respondents from 19 advocacy groups completed protocols. Data were submitted to conventional analyses for descriptive statistics using SPSS:9 and SPSS:X. Inferential statistics were calculated on a four-way, repeated measures, mixed effects analysis of variance using BMD-P8V. Intervening personal and group variables were tested for possible influence on the results. Results indicated that there was a core of multipurpose channels that were used a great deal, and a number of specialized channels that were each used only sparingly. Economic, environmental, and personal issue groups showed different emphases in their reported use of channels. Most channels received their highest rating for general background information. The pattern of user reports, as estimated by the analysis of variance main effects, reflected the structure of key variables. Two-way interactions were found to be significant between the channel categories and two other variables — types of information and kinds of user group.

Text

2010-06-14

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/25702

Educational Administration and Leadership

University of British Columbia

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