Examining the Epistemological Foundations of Information Behaviour Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Meta-Analytical Study

This study critically examined the epistemological foundations underpinning information behaviour research conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, with particular emphasis on Nigerian contributions to the field. Information behaviour research has been dominated by Western theoretical frameworks developed in high-income country contexts, raising questions about their transferability and validity in African social, technological, and cultural environments. A systematic review and meta-analysis design was employed, drawing on 210 peer-reviewed information behaviour studies published between 2018 and 2024 in journals indexed in Scopus, African Journals Online, and Google Scholar. The analysis examined the theoretical frameworks adopted, research methodologies applied, populations studied, and the extent to which contextual African factors were theorised rather than treated as background variables. Findings revealed that Dervin's Sense-Making and Wilson's model of information behaviour dominated the literature, while distinctively African frameworks appeared in fewer than fifteen percent of studies. The study proposed an original Contextualised African Information Behaviour Framework integrating Ubuntu philosophy, community information networks, and oral communication traditions. Keywords: information behaviour, epistemology, meta-analysis, sub-Saharan Africa, theoretical framework.