The Study of Information Seeking of Ethnic Minority with SmallPopulations in China under the Context of the Small Worlds

Abstract

Abstract: This study applies Chatman’s “small worlds” method to research the Dulong and Nu ethnic
groups located in Gong Shan County, Yunnan province. 72 ethnic groups with small populations were
selected from 5 villages as interviewees for in-depth interviews. In addition, data analysis is carried out
through three levels of qualitative data encoding to investigate the information seeking of EMSP in the
context of small worlds. As a result, this study finds that EMSP’s information seeking is deeply rooted in
its small-world situation. Under the influence of traditional customs, lifestyles and ethnic identity, although
they occasionally seek information out of the ethnic group, most of them still choose to look for information
within ethnic groups, which may have a negative impact on their information search.

Zhu Ming, Liu Yu. The Study of Information Seeking of Ethnic Minority with SmallPopulations in China under the Context of the Small Worlds[J]. Libraly Journal, 2020, 39(8): 16-23.

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