Revisiting user studies and information needs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to respond to Bawden's review of Wilson's 1981 paper, “On user studies and information needs”. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reflects on the context of the original paper, and on subsequent developments. Findings – The paper comments on a variety of issues relating to information science as a discipline, and its research programme and methods, with specific emphasis on the understanding of human information behaviour. Originality/value – The paper provides a unique perspective on the development of this aspect of the discipline.