LSC 508 Webmeisters Information Theory Project

This theory describes the spread of a new idea and the process which it goes through before it becomes adopted or accepted by individuals in a society. Primarily a sociological theory, Rogers himself identifies that it also is a communication theory - dealing with one person communicating an idea to another person who doesn't know about it - and that it can be applied to other fields.

"We must understand how new ideas spread from their source to potential receivers and understand the factors affecting the adoption of such innovations" -Rogers

By identifying some of those factors that effect adoption, especially in libraries or any field that relies on information or technological advances, we can pinpoint exactly what may be hindering a user from getting their information. In the Shannon model, by using elements of Diffusion of Innovations, one can accurately determine what the "noise" is and eliminate it.

When using this theory in the field of Information Science, two elements of it become important to examine. The first is the Diffusion Process, which is the actual spread of an idea from its source of invention or creation to its ultimate users. Rogers' research on this encapsulates his famous Five Categories of Adopters - (1) Innovators, (2) Early Adopters, (3) Early Majority, (4) Late Majority, and (5) Laggards. He identifies personal characteristics and motivators for each category, and shows how each one reacts to or receives a new idea.

Along with the Five Categories of Adopters, Rogers also explains the Adoption process that the individual goes through when faced with an innovation, and divides that process into five stages; Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation, and Confirmation (see chart). According to Rogers, an innovations' success or failure to be implemented depends upon both the category of Adopter that an individual falls into and the way in which the larger Adoption process takes place. This theory shows how Diffusion is carried out on a personal level and how external factors in the Adoption Process can affect the resulting acceptance or rejection of an innovation. However, Rogers' work also deals with the wider social aspect of how a new idea becomes integrated, and identifies factors such as culture, social system, social position (of the user), and personal influence which have an important bearing on ability or willingness to adopt. For our purposes and the problem we have identified, we will be using the larger Diffusion Process and focusing, more specifically, on how examining the Five Categories of Adopters and the Adoption Process can help to explain the failure of technological innovations to be successfully implemented at a public library.

Here is a chart depicting the adoption process, according to Rogers:

Home Page

Introduction to Everett Rogers

The Theory

Our Application

A Glossary of Terms

References