Information needs of North American immigrants to Israel
| Pages | 185-205 |
| Date | 19 October 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14779960710837641 |
| Published date | 19 October 2007 |
| Author | Snunith Shoham,Sarah Kaufman Strauss |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Information needs of
North American immigrants
to Israel
Snunith Shoham and Sarah Kaufman Strauss
Department of Information Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Abstract
Purpose – The main goals of this study are identifying the information needs of new North
American immigrants to Israel and to ascertain which channels of information are used by the
immigrants before and after immigration to try to satisfy their information needs.
Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach was used for this study.
Qualitative interviews were implemented as the primary strategy for data with the application of the
grounded theory method for analysis.
Findings – General information needs categories included: housing, schooling, health, banking and
finances, drivers licenses, government-related issues, legal issues and practical information. Personal
information needs related to problems of “split” or prior immigration, changing over professional
licenses, starting a business, children with special needs, and alternative medicine. Many of these
needs were satisfied either prior to immigration or during the absorption process while others were left
open leaving the immigrants with gaps in their knowledge, feelings of uncertainty and, at times,
anxiety. During the preparations for immigration the greatest source of information came from the
internet. After immigration, during the absorption process, word-of-mouth and personal contacts
(social networks) were the main sources for the immigrants to satisfy their information needs.
Research limitations/implications – Additional research regarding immigration and immigrants
from all different backgrounds is needed. Such research will help us learn more about other specific
group’s information needs and information seeking behavior.
Practical implications – By learning and studying the information needs of immigrant’s
governments and immigration organizations can have a better understanding of how to assist
immigrants have a successful integration into their new society.
Originality/value – Prospective immigrants, governments and immigration organizations can gain
a deeper understanding of immigrant information needs and the channels used to satisfy those needs.
Keywords Information retrieval, Immigrants, Israel,Personal needs
Paper type Research paper
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Editors’note. The editors acknowledge that the migration mentioned in this paper takes place
in highly charged circumstances, particularly where it takes place under the law of “return.”
We recognize that a proportion of the readership of the journal may reasonably feel that it
would be morally better if the information needs of these particular migrants were not met
(because the migration did not take place). Although this journal is not an appropriate place to
fully air the issues behind the migration, we believe that the perceived information needs of
those who have made such a migration do fall within the scope of the journal, particularly as
they have parallels with the information needs of other migrants. As such, we publish this
paper without intending our publication of this paper to be interpreted as condoning (or
condemning) the migration involved.
North American
immigrants
to Israel
185
Journal of Information,
Communication & Ethics in Society
Vol. 5 No. 2/3, 2007
pp. 185-205
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/14779960710837641
1. Introduction
Immigration is a universal phenomenon. Many people leave their homeland and
immigrate to other continents and countries. In the year 2005 alone 6,464,750 people
immigrated to different countries all around the world (United Nations, 2006).
Israel is a country that absorbs Jewish immigrants. The country has developed
primarily through five waves of immigration which brought approximately 450,000
immigrants to Israel within the years of 1882-1948 and again during the mass
immigration from Eastern Europe and Arab countries after the Holocaust and the
establishment of the State of Israel. The Jewish population has grown from 649,000 in
1948 to 5,393,600 as of December 2006 (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2007).
There are many reasons why Jews from around the world chose to move to Israel.
Some come from countries of persecution and are looking to find a better life. Others
wish to be with family or to find employment and economic stability. Ideology,
Zionism and religion are three more reasons for immigrating to Israel and these are the
main factors for North American Jewish immigration. It is a “return” to a homeland
that one has never actually lived in, but has strong ties to. In the year 2006, 2,717
Americans (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2007). and 340 Canadians (Jewish
Agency Inf. on the telephone, 2 May, 2007) immigrated to Israel.
For all immigrants there are shared general information needs: where to live, how to
find employment, education, etc. For each immigrant there are also personal
information needs. The satisfaction of these needs is an important factor in the success
of an immigrant’s absorption into his or her new country and society. There are
difficulties which arise when trying to satisfy information needs of an immigrant. It
begins with the fact that in many instances an immigrant is not even aware that they
have information needs and will only realize it when they notice a gap in knowledge.
The main goal of this study is to obtain an understanding as to the information
needs of new North American immigrants to Israel.
Research questions that will be inquired into within this study include:
RQ1. What are the information needs of new North American immigrants to Israel?
RQ2. Which channels of information do the new immigrants use to try to satisfy
their information needs?
2. Literature review
2.1 What are information needs?
There are many definitions of an information need. According to Case (2002, p. 5)
“information need is a recognition that your knowledge is inadequate to satisfy a goal
that you have.” He explains that “having information” is not the same as “being
informed.” Therefore, the problem is not in obtaining information but, rather in
understanding the information that you do have. Each individual’s need is formed by
the actual situation and by the way the individual defines that situation.
Dervin (1998, 2003) has introduced the sense-making model to explain this situation.
With her model a person uses information to make sense of his world when he
is in a situation where there is a “gap” that needs to be filled. It is a triangle of
situation-gap-use that surrounds the individual’s experience or situation. Every step of
an experience is a potential sense-making step. The situation refers to time and space.
The gap is where the individual begins asking questions to try to make sense of his/her
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