Idrottstränare och information : En intervjustudie med idrottstränare om deras informationsbehov och deras informationssökning

Sammanfattning: The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to find out what kind of information need sports managers have and how they search for the information that they think will solve their need. No studies about sports managers’ information need has been made with a library- and information science perspective, but instead with a pedagogical or sports scientific perspective. Most of the previously published studies have been based on surveys and/or interviews. This study is no different with its data gathering method being semi-structured interviews. The interviews meant to answer the following questions: How do sports managers describe their information need? How do sports managers search for information to satisfy their information need? Using a directed content analysis, the transcribed interviews were analysed with two theoretical standing points: information need according to Höglund and Persson and information seeking according to Bates. With the term “information need” in this study being used as something a person feels when it lacks knowledge in an area has made the two terms “information need” and “knowledge” very interconnected. The result of this study shows a varied range of information needs described by the sports managers. Mentioned information needs were a need of tactical knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, mental knowledge, knowledge of how to be a leader, theoretical knowledge and no need at all. Sports managers tend to use personal contacts, the internet, videos such as broadcasts of previous competitions but also recorded lectures, books, scientific publications and coaching courses in their information seeking process.