Children's Conceptualizations of the Word 'Information'

Although information has become increasingly prevalent in young people's lives, minimal research has addressed children's attitudes to the word itself. This paper scrutinizes questionnaire-based data to explore how 45 eight- to ten-year-old Canadians understood the term. "Information" was often considered to be material that met a need, covered particular territory or was associated with action by an individual. The youngsters identified many features they believed characteristic of "good information"; where these requirements were not met the material was frequently deemed "bad information". The research findings have implications for teachers and librarians, as well as for researchers investigating children's information needs. (Contains 3 tables.)