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Positioning theory and the negotiation of information needs in a clinical midwifery setting

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  • Pamela J. McKenzie

Abstract

Studies of everyday life information seeking have begun to attend to incidental forms of information behavior, and this more inclusive understanding of information seeking within broader social practices invites a constructionist analytical paradigm. Positioning theory is a constructionist framework that has proven useful for studying the ways in which interactional practices contribute to information seeking. Positions can construct individuals or groups of people in ways that have real effects on their information seeking. This article identifies some specific types of discursive positioning and shows how participants in a clinical care setting position themselves and one another in ways that justify different forms of information seeking and giving. Examples are drawn from an ongoing study of information seeking in prenatal midwifery encounters. The data consist of audio recordings of nine prenatal midwifery visits and of 18 follow‐up interviews, one with each participating midwife and pregnant woman. The midwifery model of care is based on a relationship in which the midwife provides the pregnant woman with information and support necessary for making informed decisions about her care. Midwife–client interactions are therefore an ideal context for studying information seeking and giving in a clinical encounter.

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  • Pamela J. McKenzie, 2004. "Positioning theory and the negotiation of information needs in a clinical midwifery setting," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 55(8), pages 685-694, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:55:y:2004:i:8:p:685-694
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.20002
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    Cited by:

    1. Lindsay K. Brown & Tiffany C. Veinot, 2021. "Information behavior and social control: Toward an understanding of conflictual information behavior in families managing chronic illness," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 72(1), pages 66-82, January.
    2. Hicks, Alison, 2022. "The missing link: Towards an integrated health and information literacy research agenda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).

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