The authors discuss the relative strengths of using the social approach to examine interpersonal information behavior in academic contexts. Many researchers investigating the information activities of scholars, undergraduates, and graduate students have focused on work-related aspects using information seeking behavior frameworks derived from the cognitive approach. However, the cognitive approach suffers from lack of sufficient explanations about interpersonal sources and often regards people solely as intermediaries whose role is limited to providing referral services. Using the social approach, however, allows researchers to explore both work-related and daily life information activities comprehensively and to understand interpersonal sources in a much broader sense. Future work will investigate interpersonal information behaviors in mentoring using the social approach.ye
