Perilaku Pencarian Informasi Petani di Desa Ajibuhara Kecamatan Tigapanah Kabupaten Karo

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to identify the information searching behavior of farmers in Ajibuhara Village, Tigapanah District, Karo Regency, based on Meho and Tibbo's theory. The research method used was descriptive with a qualitative approach and the data collection techniques were interview, observation, and documentation study. The informants in this research were 10 farmers selected through purposive sampling. The technique used to analyze the data was data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The results of the research showed that at the starting stage, farmers determined the topic of information needs first with initial searching through the internet and discussion with fellow farmers. At the chaining stage, farmers did forward and backward chaining. The browsing stage was done in a semi-directed way through online media, namely social media, and offline through social interaction. Monitoring conducted monitoring through information contact and social media, but monitoring was only limited to market information. At the accessing stage, farmers accessed information sources online and offline. At the differentiating stage, farmers evaluated and compared information sources based on accessibility, trust, and relevance. At the extracting stage, farmers identified and took relevant information digitally and manually. At the verifying stage, farmers did re checking of the suitability of information content by cross-checking. At the networking stage, farmers built correlation only informally with fellow farmers. Information managing, farmers stored information in an unstructured way on smartphones. The results of this research show that in general, farmers in Ajibuhara Village did all stages of information searching behavior proposed by Meho and Tibbo. However, the stages of monitoring, networking, and information managing need to be improved because they are not fully in accordance with Meho and Tibbo's theory.