INFORMATION NEEDS AND INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF HOUSEWIFE

[drp, draft]


Introduction

Housewife as a wife of her husband is required to fulfill several responsibilities. According to Sheikh Abu Bakar Jabir Al-Jazaairy, a woman need to observe daily prayers, obey her husband or her parent if she has no husband, educate her children on beneficial things and teach them good manner, manage household, do good to parent and communicate with them, maintain her dignity and fulfills the rights of the neighbors (1405H). Managing household includes to ensure cleanliness and well-organized of a house. In addition, housewife also needs to take charge of the required nutrition of the family while helping her husband on financial matters through working. As well, she is expected to hinder the household from the unwanted family conflict. Fulfilling the rights of the neighbors includes interacting with them, helping each other and preserving their delight. The most important things that women, including housewife, must know is about believe and religious obligations (Sheikh Abu Bakar Al-Jazaairy, 1405H).
Ridho Baak Najaad states that an effort by a wife to ensure happiness of her husband is rewarded (2001). He further adds that the specialty of wife is the ability to deliver a baby. This uniqueness makes mothers superior in one aspect over fathers. In fact, the prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam when asked who possess the right of being obeyed, he repeated the answer three times, “your mother”, and then only he said, “your father” (Khaled Abdurrahman Al-Ek, 1990, p218-219).
Beside taking care of nutrition of the family, a house wife is also expected to know a basic health care to ensure first aid on family members can be performed before asking further treatment in a health center. Also, if there is a family member who suffers from diabetes for example, she needs to act as a nurse if not as a doctor.
Financial problems always requires housewife to voluntarily assist the original person-in-charge. Housewife on this reason has exposed themselves on various field of financial acquisition including commerce, service and agriculture. These require them to know how to perform these economic activities in order for them to get more return on their effort. They need to know the way to grow vegetable, how to produce a marketable product and how to advertise the services provided for example. For instance, a group of housewives have run a traditional cake production in Negeri Sembilan (Muafakat Membawa Berkat, n.d.). Women staying at home also can run business through application of information technology through marketing and advertisement (Siti Fatimah Abdul Rahman, 2002).
As a mother, she is responsible to ensure her children to get the appropriate education. Of course in Islam, scholars put emphasized on the true aqidah in which it determine the destiny of individuals. Islam has put emphasized on educating the children with aqidah tawhid since his young age (Khaled Abdurrahman Al-Ek, 2000, p. 109). A mother is expected to keep her children away from bad influence of the evils. Besides, the children need to be schooled in appropriate and affordable school to guarantee a brighter future.
As a wife, it is actually a prescribed way for women to enter the paradise. The way to enter paradise is made different so that individual can act accordingly. Women indeed gain reward through her dressing. Also, jihad which is among the highest ranking of reward, for women is to perform hajj. Besides, women especially housewife is not preferable to out from home for da’wah. As shown by the wives of the prophet who were the most knowledgeable women on Islam. Their state of being in home is the best practice and highly rewarded as they are not permitted to spread Islamic call. Thus, for them is to learn on how they should act accordingly, as a housewife, in order to enter the paradise.

Statement of problem

The aforementioned responsibilities of housewife, if it is performed accordingly, it may bring the family institution to a level which beneficial to the society or at least preserve the peace of the society. A lot of problems such as apostasy, zina, rape, sumbang mahram, drug addiction, gangsterism, political division, prostitution, robbery, suicide, deviant teaching, unemployment, AIDS, terrorism, homicide will at least be reduced, if not totally solved.
Therefore it is a need to study on how housewife acquire the needed information in order for them to well perform their duties. The information needs of them also will be studied together with their information seeking behavior.

Research Questions

This study will try to investigate the information needs and information seeking behavior of housewife. In order to guide the investigation, there are several questions are outlined:

1. What is the information need of housewife?
2. What is their source of information?
3. How is their information seeking behavior?
4. Is there any barrier to information?
5. What is the best solution for the related problems?


Objective of the study
1. to identify their information needs
2. to identify their source of information
3. to investigate their information seeking behavior
4. to assess barrier to information, if any
5. to provide useful recommendation that can assist in designing a better information system for them

Definition of terms

Sungai Cincin
Housewife is the wife of a householder; the mistress of a family; the female head of a household. (Biology-Online.Org, 2006) or a married woman in charge of a household (Merriam-Webster Onine (2006). Regardless of whether they are working or not.
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Information needs
Information seeking behavior








Limitations and delimitations of the study

1. This study will investigate the information needs and information behavior of housewives in a Muslim society of Malaysia. (Limitation by respondents).

2. It will covers only housewives in a village called Kampong Sungai Cincin. (Limitation by geography).

3. It will covers only housewives from Pinggiran Dua, Kampong Sungai Cincin. (Limitation by group).

4. It will consider all level of academic qualification.
(Limitation by qualification).

5. It will cover married, single mother, working and non-working housewife. (Scope of status).

Significance of the study

It is known to the people that housewife is part of family institution. Fine family institution, will lead to a fine society. Being part of family member that constructed society, housewife plays significant role somehow in preserving the peacefulness of a society. This role of course can be successfully performed by housewife given a right quantity and format of information. the use of information is primarily on decision making and to act on something. For instance, best way to communicate with husband or children and best food for family nutrition.

LITERATURE REVIEW


Information is known to be very significant for each aspect of society and to understand the information needs of them is definitely crucial for librarians or service providers in order to provide better service. In fact, according to Alemna and Skouby (2000), information important to legislature as it is needed in decision making process in which may affect the whole nation. Dominic argues that immigrants need information for their self development and their environment (2005). On the other hand, Margaret observes that the lack of information in the right quantity and format is the cause for 70% of rural dwellers in Nigeria live in crusting poverty (2002). Information as well as communication also is important in helping people to cope with cancer (Layden, 2000).
Hence, there are a lot of studies done on various aspects of society related with information. For instance, information needs and information seeking behavior of immigrant (Dominic, 2005; Su and Conaway, 1995; Flythe, 2001; Fisher et al, 2004; etc), Information seeking of Somali women on maternity and health ((Myfanwy M. Davies and Peter A Bath, 2001), information needs and information seeking behavior of rural dwellers (Margaret, 2002), and etc.
However there has been relatively very little empirical research from a library and information science viewpoint on information needs and information seeking behavior of housewives. Generally there are several studies conducted on housewives on various topics such as healthiness (SG Haynes and M Feinleib, 1980), preparation of food (Ralph W. Jackson, Stephen W. McDaniel, C. P. Rao, 1985), dissonance reduction (Jagdish N. Sheth, 1970), reaction on husband retirement (Elizabeth A. Hill, Lorraine T. Dorfman, 1982), politic (Casey, Heather Gollmar, 2000), the role of women in marketing system (Layton, Merrilyn Fay, 2001) strategies of learning to live in foreign country (Inaba, Hisako, 2000), positive stress management (Kim, Jong Hyun, 1997), effect of coffee drinking (Goldstein A, Kaizer S., 1969), agoraphobic (Buglass D, Clarke J, Henderson AS, Kreitman N., 1977).
A number of studies on women on the field of information science is also found such as use of information on antenatal and post natal care by minority ethnic women (Myfanwy M. Davies and Peter A Bath, 2001), information seeking on web by women in IT profession (Chun Wei Choo and Christine Martine, 2003), and etc.




Research methodology of the previous study

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research design
According to Cresswell, researchers can adopt quantitative, qualitative or combination of both designs for research design. For this study, quantitative design is selected for some reasons.
First of all, the combination of qualitative and quantitative is not suitable for Directed Research Practicum as it is normally used for funded research because it is costly and time-consuming. Also, this study is carried out not by skilled researcher as required by the design.
Researcher also is familiar and comfortable to use survey and experimental instrument rather than being close with the object of the study. Beside that, data collection and analysis processes for this study also need to be accomplished in a shorter time period. Furthermore, the design also promises low risk and ambiguity avoidance for its fixed procedure.
Sample, population and subject
The sample will be housewife from Kampung Sungai Cincin. The subject covers only those who have at least a son or daughter. There are 30 academic scholars will be selected from IIUM (faculty of Islamic studies and law only), which randomly selected. Furthermore, sampling will be used to allow results to be generalized to a well-defined target group. In this study, random sampling will be used to make sure everybody of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Variables in the study
Instrument and materials
Pre-testing research instrument
Data collection
Data analysis








References

Khaled Abdurrahman Al-Ek (1990). Binaak al-Usrah al-Muslimah. Beirut: Dar Al-Makrifah.
Khaled Abdurrahman Al-Ek (2000). Tarbiyyah Abnaak wa al-Banaat fi Dhauk al-Quran wa al-Sunnah. Beirut: Dar Al-Makrifah.
Siti Fatimah Abdul Rahman (2002). Teknologi Maklumat (TM) Memperkaya Wanita. Retrieved on September 8, 2006 from IKIM website: http://www.ikim.gov.my/bm/artikel/bm.htm#2002