Disnormatiivinen ja normatiivinen informaatio
Abstract
This article is based on the author’s doctoral dissertation about socially withdrawn people and their information needs and practices. The data used for this paper was gathered from a Finnish discussion forum (“Hikikomero” under the domain Ylilauta.org) for socially withdrawn people and it consists of 6 910 forum posts. In this study the focus is the types of information that were recognized from the collected data.
Because values, legislation and norms have an effect on the information seeking process, information needs and the answers given can also be studied from that aspect. The research showed that the distinction between misinformation and disinformation is not sufficient when classifying information needs and given answers in light of societal norms.
The analysis of the discussion group posts clearly indicated that the information needs fall into two separate categories: one where the needs adhere to the norms and values of society and another where societal values are opposed. Therefore a new concept was drawn for dividing information: Normative and disnormative information. The former supports the values and norms of society, the latter opposes them.
