Ecological modelling of individual and contextual influences: a person-in-environment framework for hypothetico-deductive information behaviour research.

Introduction. This paper discusses the person-in-environment framework, which proposes the inclusion of environmental factors, alongside personal factors, as the explanatory factors of individual-level information behaviour and outcome. Method. The paper first introduces the principles and schematic formulas of the person-in-environment framework. It then presents the findings of an empirical verification study. Analysis. A multi-way ANOVA test was conducted to verify the person-in-environment framework. The main and interaction effects of eight individual and information environment variables on individual academic performance were tested. Results. Four main effects (baseline academic grade, outcome expectation, home computer resources, and public library usage) and two interaction effects (home computer resources x public library usage; public library usage x neighbourhood public library resource level) were significant. Conclusions. The the person-in-environment framework framework can help identify significant environmental interaction effects that would have been missed in studies that included only personal factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]