Infodemic in a pandemic
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: Expanding the research perspective of informational behavior in the information science on the issue of cognitive errors, will allow to design more accurately the empirical research and interpret it. The context of the considerations was the COVID‑19 infodemia.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: An attempt to describe cognitive errors that affect informational behavior was made from an information science perspective. The theoretical approach was presented with the use of critical analysis of actual and representative subject literature supported by publications belonging to the field of cognitive psychology.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: A brief introduction to informational behavior theory was necessary for understanding the topic. Then, infodemia was characterized as their context. Against the background outlined in this way, the most common cognitive biases errors, which, in the author’s opinion, are related to the overload, complexity, distortions of information, thus, to the uncertainty of the recipient’s situation, and the informational behaviors undertaken, are shown.
RESEARCH RESULTS: The author proposed a more coherent theoretical perspective for pro‑ jecting empirical research and an indepth evaluation and interpretation supported by contextual examples.
CONCLUSION, INNOVATION, AND RECOMMENDATION: Broadening the perspective of informational behaviors with the awareness of cognitive errors creates a wide field for correcting and shaping the desired informational behaviors by various interested subjects.
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