Prospects for developing a toolkit for researching informational behavior with respect to environmental information in war conditions
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Abstract
The relevance of the study is that studying information behavior regarding environmental information during war and post-war reconstruction is crucial for reducing immediate environmental risks and supporting sustainable recovery, as pro-environmental attitudes and behavior, as well as behavior in response to existing environmental and man-made risks, are significantly influenced by how people interact with information. Currently, there are no specialized tools for studying the unique characteristics of information behavior in an environmental context, and the development of such a tool is important for further research in this area, as well as the results obtained can be used in practical areas such as risk communication and the formation of environmental literacy.
The purpose of the article: to present the questionnaire “information behavior regarding environmental information”, which is in the process of development, the initial psychometric indicators of its reliability and validity, and to present the results of an empirical study.
Method: Exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with Varimax rotation was conducted on the responses of 129 participants to the proposed 37 questions that related to various aspects of information behavior regarding environmental information. The internal consistency of the items included in the factors was assessed using the Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient.
Findings: The components of information behavior are identified: information search, unintentional information acquisition, engagement in information (cognitive and affective components), avoidance and ignoring of information, and information exchange. The conducted factor analysis allowed us to identify a four-factor structure, the factors of which can be characterized as certain typical patterns of behavior, among which the following were identified: Skeptical and indifferent information behavior, Proactive information behavior, Receptive and reflective engagement with environmental information, Avoidance of environmental information due to emotional and informational stress. The items that were included in the factors demonstrated good internal consistency among all the identified factors. In particular, factor 1 had an alpha of 0.86, factor 2 - 0.79, factor 3 - 0.73, and factor 4 - 0.75.
Prospects for further research lie in verifying the initial findings on a larger sample of subjects and confirming the results obtained.
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