Information overload among researchers

A literature review

Abstract

With the increasing reliance on information and its resources, and the rapid technological transformations in the scientific research environment, researchers have found themselves facing a phenomenon known as "Information Overload” which requires attention and investigation of its impact on researchers' information behavior, the efficiency of their interaction with information and its resources, as well as the development of strategies and solutions for facing it. This situation has contributed to changes in the methods of searching for information resources and in the diversity of the sources on which researchers rely, consequently affecting their ability to organize and make the best possible use of information, especially when this enormous volume of scholarly output becomes an obstacle that deprives researchers of the ability to control the situation and makes them feel unable to deal with this amount of information. This study aims to review the literature related to scientific Information Overload by surveying and analyzing the Arabic and English literature published on this topic during the period (1999–2026). The study depends on the literature review approach to present, analyze, and classify the literature according to its characteristics and its chronological and linguistic trends. To facilitate the presentation and analysis of the literature related to the subject of the study, the reviewed literature was organized into two main themes. The first theme focuses on the theoretical history of information overload in terms of its concept and causes, and the second theme focuses on researchers’ behavior and their strategies for managing information resources to face Information Overload. The study revealed that there is a limited amount of Arabic literature on Information Overload, particularly empirical studies of faculty members and researchers and the practices that can help them manage information overload and face its implications in the contemporary scientific research environment.