Academic Papers | Analysis |
Behavioral Information | Biographies |
Calendars | Case Studies |
Comparisons | Concepts |
Contracts | Court Rulings |
Cultural Information | Data Sets |
Definitions | Descriptions |
Diagrams | Directions |
Experiment Data | Facts |
Feedback | Fiction |
Financial Information | Formulas & Equations |
Guides | History |
Hypotheses | Instructions |
Laws & Regulations | Lessons |
Location Data | Maps |
Market Information | Media |
News | Notes |
Opinions | Plans |
Podcasts | Policies |
Procedures | Processes |
Quotations | Records† |
Requirements | Research |
Reviews | Schedules |
Sensor Data | Social Information |
Specifications | Standards |
Statistics | Stories |
Strategies | Survey Data |
Theories | Time & Timestamps |
Transcripts | Trends |
Tutorials | Videos |
Visual Information | White Papers |
Detailed Examples
The following are typical examples of an information need:Consumer
Researching a purchase of a product or service.Business
The data and information required for the strategy, planning and operations of a business.Professional
Information required to do a job.Research
The data, concepts and guidelines required to conduct research.Administrative
The information required to complete an administrative task such as filling your taxes.Work
Information about careers, firms, positions and professions that are useful to individuals in the labor market. For example, a review of what it is like to work for a particular company.Learning
The process of learning such as a student who looks up a concept.Philosophy
Seeking to understand the nature of knowledge, reality and existence.Technology
Technology information such as how to configure a web server.Transport
Information about transportation systems such as a train schedule.Geographical
Geographical information such as directions.Health
Information about health such as the symptoms of a disease.Food
Food and nutritional information such as a recipe for a healthy meal.Social
Information that fulfills social needs such as updates from friends or gossip about a celebrity.Entertainment
Entertainment related information such as a movie review or sports score.Arts & Music
Art and music related information such as the history of a painting or lyrics to a song.Community
Community information such as a list of parks in Tokyo or volunteer opportunities in Berlin.Language
Definitions, grammatical rules, translations and language learning materials.News
Information about current events.Political
The information required to make political decisions such as the positions, reputation and history of a political candidate.Risk
Data and information about risk. For example, statistics for the risks of injury related to a sport or activity.Emergency
Information that is required in an emergency such as a tsunami warning.Overview
An information need is the information that may benefit an individual, team or organization at a point in time. Everything that we can sense is information. However, the term information need is typically used to denote verbal, numerical or visual information.
Summary
The following are common types of information that people may need. These can include books, documents, media, databases and other datasets.
| Overview: Information Needs | ||
Type | ||
Definition | Facts that a person wants, needs or expects in an information source. | |
Related Concepts | ||
