Information Source and Need Hierarchies of an Adult Population in Five Michigan Counties

In a 1965 survey of five counties in the Grand Traverse Bay region, data concerning information sources and needs were ob tained from a 2 per cent sample of households. Adult subjects were asked to identify: 1. topics of importance in their everyday lives about which they had found it "particularly difficult to ob tain useful and reliable information," and 2. sources of informa tion presently being utilized concerning these topics. Results were analyzed in terms of the hierarchial patterns of information needs and information sources by residence, education, age, and sex. The local population was found to rely heavily upon the mass media and various kinds of reading matter for all topic areas and upon institutional sources and officials in certain cases. Young adults relied also upon friends and relatives and exhibited the highest level of need for new information. Adult education pro grams were significant sources in few topic areas and for only selective clienteles. Observations were made about the implica tions of the data for adult educational program development.