Purpose:

Information behaviour research in Japan has evolved into various forms since the early 1990s. To grasp the changes and achievements of information behaviour research over the past 30 years in Japan, a literature review was conducted. Health-related information behaviour research was also reviewed, as a prominent topic.

Methods:

Candidate literature were identified from database searches and other sources. Starting with 1153 identified articles, from 163 candidates, 67 final literature samples were selected according to certain criteria.

Results:

In the first half of this paper, we review the evolution of information behaviour research over the past 30 years. Although theoretical research in information behaviour has been continuously conducted from the beginning of the 1990s to the present, research in social practice has received significant interest in recent years. From the viewpoint of research targets, research in Japan can be categorised into two types, i.e. information seeking and media use. In the second half of this paper, we introduce studies on health-related information behaviour by citizens. In the early stages, fact-finding surveys regarding health information behaviour that target a wide range of people were conducted extensively. Subsequently, studies investigating the factors that affect health information behaviour, such as health literacy and the effect of health information, gradually increased. Additionally, specific topics, such as cancer, COVID-19, and the issues among the elderly, have garnered increasing attention.

Conclusion:

It is expected that information behaviour research in Japan will be further developed to focus on specific contexts and information environments.

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