农民工信息行为特征研究:基于社会网络分析视角

Migrant Workers' Information Behavior Characteristics:Based on SNA Perspective

城市化进程中,农民工信息行为特征一直是信息管理与社会学研究问题,并且是社会服务管理的重大问题。本文基于广州三个农民工聚居点及其它非农民工群体的调查数据,采用社会网络分析方法研究了在马斯洛分层模型下农民工信息行为特征,并比较了农民工与其它群组的马斯洛信息需求社会网的差异。本文发现:有着"小世界"结构群组的信息需求社会网同质性较高,并且其信息需求社会网也呈现"小世界"的图结构特点;外来工与非外来工信息需求社会网有着显著差异;迁移是本研究群体信息需求与信息获取途径网络聚类的重要影响因素。

During the urbanization process, information behavior characteristic of migrant workers is not only the research problem of information management and sociology, but also a significant issue of service management. The current researches in China have studied the information demandformigrant workers, their information acceptance behavior and information need for integration into urban society via the survey method. However, most of these studies lack certain theoretical support. Only few researches about the information need of migrant workers were reported in foreign countries, which mainly focus on studying the information need of migrant workers. These studies contribute to the establishment of theories and practical implications in the Library and Information Science field. For empirical studies, relevant litvratures emphasizeon investigating peasants＇information need content of specific region or specific populationin developing countries. For theoretical model establishment, researches have established various information behavior theoretical models from multidisciplinary and multi-perspective, such as cognitive behavior and sociology. The early researches were mainly carried out from individual cognition or relationship between individual and social environment. The research methods mainly involvethe classic approaches of sociology and cognition behaviors. Therefore, researches applying the multidisciplinary methods, such as modem statistics, modem information retrieval and data mining, are still inadequate. Based on the survey data of migrant workers in Guangzhou and other non-migrant worker population, this paper investigatesthe information behavior characteristics of migrant workers based onthe Maslow＇s hierarchy modeland through social network analysis. This study compares the Maslow＇s information need social network difference between migrant workers and other groups. It discoversthat information need social network of group with ＂small world＂ structure has higher homogeneity and graphic structural characteristics of ＂small world＂. Significant difference in information need social network was observed between migrant workers and local workers. Migration is an important influencing factor of information need and information access channel network cluster of the involved research group. In Chapter I, information behavior model and associated theories of social network analysis are introduced. Furthermore, a social network model based on the similarity of Maslow＇s information need is established in view of Maslow＇s hierarchy of needs theory. We propose two hypotheses that can influence the information need of groups： ＂migration＂ and ＂small world＂. Chapter II introduces data and samples as well as variable definition and explanation. Additionally, a multiple regression model is established based on the theoretical analysis of Chapter I. Chapter III uses descriptive statistics to analyze the empirical results and conclude the information needs of different groups. Significant information need difference is found between migrant worker groups with different education backgrounds as well as between migrant workers regardless of their working experianee in factory. Migrant workers need more information of lower Maslow＇s hierarchy. In addition, the cluster analysis in this chapter demonstrates that ＂small world＂ groups have stronger integrative information need and their social network also has the characteristic of＂small world＂ graphic structure. The multiple regression analysis result reveals that migration is the common influencing factor of Maslow＇s information need and cluster of information channel preference. Migrant workers and local workers are classified into different clusters. To sum up, during the urbanization process the ＂small world＂ formed by the original grouping living habit of migrant workers influences their information behavior significantly. Migrant workers of the same＂small worlds＂ represent homogeneous information need, information acquisition and information channel preference. The Maslow＇s information need for social network of groups with the＂small world＂ structure also has the characteristic of＂small world＂ graphic structure. Our findings show that the＂small world＂appears within the groups according to their Maslow＇s information need network structure.