An interdisciplinary approach to the study of the end user of information: Conceptual and methodological bases

IN RESPONSE TO THE LACK OF A CLEARLY RECOGNIZABLE CONCEPTUAL BODY OF LITERATURE ON INFORMATION USERS, THE AUTHOR SHALL ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH THE CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BASES FOR THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF INFORMATION END USERS. TO THIS END, AN INTEGRATING, THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK IS PROPOSED IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE AN IN-DEPTH, INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF THE INFORMATION END USER WORKING WITHIN THE DOCUMENTARY-INFORMATIONAL PROCESS. A DESCRIPTION OF THE SCOPE, SITUATION AND OBJECTIVE OF THE LITERATURE ON END-USERS IS ALSO PROVIDED, INCLUDING A DISCUSSION OF RELATED DISCIPLINES. THE PAPER CONCLUDES WITH A METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL, FROM PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO DOCUMENTS, THE KINDS OF USERS, AND AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THIS TRIAD.