Information Needs And Information Seeking Behaviour Of Namibian Pastors

Abstract

This study investigated the information needs and seeking behaviour of pastors in Namibia. The purpose of the study was to establish the information required by pastors to carry out their work, how they seek information and the problems they encounter in doing so. A mixed-method approach research was used to meet the objectives of the study. A stratified quota sample of 200 pastors was used based on Walpole’s formula for proportions. One hundred and thirty-eight (69%) participants responded to the questionnaire, while 16 pastors from different denominations in Windhoek, purposively selected as key informants, were interviewed. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) basic level descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data from the questionnaires, while content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data from the interviews. The findings of this research are that pastors need information for counselling, community development, administration, evangelism, preaching, teaching, public relations and leading a service. When pastors do not find information from formal sources (Bible concordances, Bible commentaries, Bible translations, etc.) in their personal libraries, they turn to informal sources of information (Holy Spirit and other experienced pastors). The respondents revealed that their information seeking behaviour is affected by the fact that existing information is either in languages they do not understand or is not relevant to their contexts. They also pointed out that they lack skills to search the Internet, and the majority have no money to buy computers or subscribe to the Internet.