| Information overload is a frequently used term describing a condition apparently agitated by the information age. No comprehensive analysis exists determining even the barest essentials: definitions, parameters, research results, or implications. The purpose of this research effort is to do an in-depth conceptual, citational, and research oriented explication of information overload as the term is used in three selected disciplines: library studies, psychology/psychiatry, and consumer science.; Searches in the Firstsearch databases of Article1st, Eric, LibraryLit, MedLine, PsychInfo, SocSciAbs, and WilBusAbs with the search term "information overload" identified a set of documents. Weeded out were documents indexed incorrectly, false drops, or documents published before 1960, or after July, 1996. Documents sharing similar perspectives formed researchable discipline specific threads.; Thread explication is an in-depth synthesis of what is explicit and implicit in the text(s) under consideration. Beginning with the most current document, a tri-level analysis examined definitions and semantics, citation activity and information transfer behaviors, and a discussion of what is implicit in each document. Thread analysis travels backward as citations are followed back to cited sources. Tables of citation figures show common citations through like-minded documents, through the discipline as a whole, and across all three disciplines. Citation frequency counts identify key overload researchers for each discipline and whether the researchers come from within or outside the discipline in question.; Gathering together the individual thread analyses creates a complete picture of overload literature by a discipline. The three complete overload literatures are then compared and contrasted.; Emergent patterns reveal citation linkages, citation ranking, within and without of discipline citing behaviors, definition issues, and methodologic and research oriented characteristics. A standard overload formula based on three commonly used variables is identified and discussed. Citation analysis leads to a new cross-discipline key overload researcher list. Additional issues include gender and age, the reason-to-believe syndrome, an element of researcher inter-activity, and a proliferation of medical terminology to claim overload.; An annotated bibliography of over 200 overload materials from twenty fields of study is appended. Fifty-seven citation tables also are included. |
