Literature Review
2.2 Searching the Literature
Having set out the objectives of the present study (see Section 1.5), the researcher moved on to collate the work of experts within and outside the field of information science, to acknowledge and engage with key scholarly literature in order to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of extant theories and issues relevant to the aims and objectives of the present study. Before engaging in the literature search process, the researcher set out the following:
1. Criteria for relevant literature (e.g. year of publication, content type) 2. Literature sources (e.g. online repository, physical library)
3. List of keywords for the search
The literature review search process covers studies focusing on rural residents’
information behaviour (e.g. information needs, information seeking and information use), and the concepts of information accessibility, the cultural appropriateness of information and the interrelationship among these concepts in a holistic manner. Meanwhile, the inclusion of relevant literature was decided based on the following criteria:
18 1. Literature published from 2000 onwards.
2. Literature is written in English.
3. Literature covering the scope, or relevant to the scope of the present study.
4. Literature originates from peer-reviewed repositories.
5. Books and Conference papers on the subject area in the present study.
6. The literature on models and frameworks related to the present study.
After these elements were determined, the researcher-initiated the literature search process. During this, the principal source selection criteria included articles published in English from 2000 in order to capture the research trend in the past decade. The researcher implemented the double quotation marks (" ") on the keywords, the AND operator, and a combination of additional keywords to generate more related and relevant materials. A screenshot is provided to demonstrate the literature search process with some keywords in Figure 3.
Figure 3-Literature Search with keywords
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By implementing these keywords (“health” AND “information seeking”) and (“men” AND “Africa”), 144 materials were generated as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 - Literature Search Process with Advanced Search Features
The researcher also implemented other keywords to address the other main concepts of the study. Some of the keywords implemented include, "Health information seeking" AND "Rural Dwellers"; "Cultural Factors" and "Health";
"Information Needs" AND "Information Seeking" AND "Africa"; "Prostate Cancer"
AND "Rural Men" AND "Information Seeking"; “Information behaviour” AND
“accessibility and cultural issues” AND “Africa”.
A full description of the literature search process is conceptualised and presented in Figure 5.
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Figure 5 - The Literature Search Process Literature Search Process
Identify Repository Lists of Keywords Possible Search Filters Advanced Searches Citation and Storage
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The literature search process in Figure 5 generated studies that investigated the concept of information behaviour among rural dwellers in the Nigerian context (Islam and Ahmed 2012; Okwu, Yahaya and Obinne 2011; Anunobi, Ogbonna and Osuchukwu 2014). Similarly, studies that examined factors which influence health information seeking (Anyaoku and Nwosu 2016; Anker, Reinhart and Feeley 2011;
Manafo and Wong 2012) and health information use (Yates et al. 2012), cultural implications (Ojua, Ishor and Ndom 2013) and information on prostate cancer (Atulomah et al. 2010; Abamara et al. 2017) were explored by the researcher.
However, due to the paucity of scholarly literature in these subject areas in the Nigerian context, related studies from other developing countries within Africa were included to gain meaningful insight into the scope of the study and to observe the gaps in the literature. For example, the work of Mtega and Ronald (2013) exposed the state of rural information services in Ghana. Meanwhile, Kamba (2009) highlighted the challenges faced by rural communities in Tanzania regarding access to information. It was important to locate studies on rural dwellers’ information experience in other African countries to corroborate the experiences of rural dwellers in Nigeria. These studies provided the opportunity for the researcher to gain preliminary insight into existing research.
Citation and references from these generated articles were managed through the researcher’s RefWorks account which enabled the researcher to systematically keep track of the bibliographic references throughout the literature review process and to perform in-text citations and maintain up-to-date reference lists from the beginning of the study to the end. Given that the present study aims to understand the health information behaviour of rural men, and the cultural appropriateness and information accessibility issues associated with health information, the researcher concentrated specifically on those studies that investigated these concepts in developing countries. This helped to develop a comprehensive understanding of the extent of the study, and the existing gaps in the literature within the context of Africa and Nigeria especially. The reviewed literature assisted the researcher in answering the research questions.
In order to ensure relevant and current coverage of the literature, the researcher subscribed to the weekly Google Scholar’s alert for regular notification regarding
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new issues on health communication, information accessibility and health information. The researcher further facilitated the gathering of relevant sources through networking and presentation at conferences in the University of Glasgow;
Strathclyde University, Robert Gordon University, and Aberdeen University (Information Science Doctoral Colloquium 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). Also, an abstract was submitted to the 5th Global Congress on Prostate Cancer, Lisbon 2017.
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The themes from the search are presented in Table 1.
Table 1-Discussed Literature Review Themes, Rationale and Sources Literature
Themes
Themes and Sub-themes
discussed in this chapter. Rationale for the themes Literature Sources for the themes
Ukoli et al. 2003; Obertova et al. 2012; Abamara et al. 2017; rural south-east of Nigeria and all the relevant attributes of
To gain an in-depth knowledge of the experiences, perceptions, and information seeking behaviour of men in rural south-east of Nigeria and how best to provide health information to this research population.
Okeke and Okeibunor 2010;
Edewor et al. 2016; Rutten et al. 2005; Chaudhuri et al.
Woods et al. 2004; Napier et al. 2014; Dutta 2007; Hyder
A baseline used for analysis and interpretation of research data.
Johnson (1997) model
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The researcher created a literature review map with the themes identified from previous studies of other scholars as shown in Figure 6.
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However, additional themes are also discussed due to the progressive nature of the literature review process, to capture concepts appropriate to broaden knowledge and present a quality cohesive argument within the context of the present study. Each of the themes is now discussed in detail in a subsequent section drawing on the literature sources shown in Table 1.