Empowering interviews: narrative interviews in the study of information literacy in everyday life settings

The main aim of this paper is to discuss how, within a sociocultural perspective, to design and conduct interviews for studying information literacy in everyday life. A methodological framework combining a sociocultural perspective with a narrative interview method is developed, in which visual tools are used to engage interviewees as active participants in the interview situation. This method was employed to study young women telling their stories about how they chose contraceptives and in particular to reflect on how they in the process engaged in information literacy practices. Use and evaluation of information sources when choosing a contraceptive can be viewed as information literacy practices in everyday life. The interviews became “empowering” arenas, providing opportunities for interviewees and interviewer to reflect on and ponder over what it means to choose and use a contraceptive. Information literacy practices of evaluating information sources about contraceptives can become a part of a story to tell about what it means to be a young woman, expressing one as leading a sexually active life. Consequently, a second aim of the article is to discuss how information literacy practices can relate to identity construction of young women.