How Chinese parents of children with autism spectrum disorder seek orienting information? An exploration of information source horizons, preference criteria, and information-seeking pathways

Abstract

This study revealed the orienting information seeking behavior of Chinese parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) based on three aspects: information source horizons, preference criteria, and information-seeking pathways. Data were collected using interviews and the information horizon mapping method. Three findings were identified through qualitative analysis. First, the information source horizons of parents were relatively narrow and primarily focused on social media sources (WeChat public accounts and groups). Second, the source preference criteria that they considered were limited and mainly based on experiential, proactive, and professional aspects in selecting the appropriate sources. Third, the information-seeking pathways consisted of either monitoring a single information source or using up to two sources, without the formation of longer pathways. This study proposes a research framework for the orienting information seeking of parents of children with ASD, providing deeper insights into information seeking, and thus, potentially inspiring studies on information seeking in other groups.