The concepts defining information, information needs, information seeking and information (e.g. Wilson 1981(e.g. Wilson , 1996Krikelas 1983;Ellis 1989;Kuhlthau 1991) and information searching and retrieval (Ingwersen 1996; Turnbull 1999, 2000) that focus on these concepts for greater clarity and an understanding of their relationship and application in LIS research. This in turn may be of interest to researchers and students within this field. The article concludes that context should be the foundation for any research within this field, with the observation that many of the models discussed describe general information seeking behavior, without catering for variations. Keywords: Information Seeking; Conceptual Framework BackgroundThe field of Information Seeking behaviour in Information Science can broadly be defined as that which is concerned with determining user's information needs, searching behaviour and subsequent use of information (Julien, 1995:1). Disciplines concerned with understanding how people seek and make use of information, the channels they use to get information, and the factors that inhibit or encourage information use include: the study of personality in psychology, consumer behaviour, innovation research, health communication studies, organisational decision-making, and information requirements in information system design (Wilson, 1997:551). Thus, there exists a strong recognition amongst information scientists of the interconnectivity of disciplines involved in research on all aspects of information.One could claim that the roots of information 'finding and gathering' are as old as the human race. What is new, is perhaps the fact that information seeking is researched under the relatively young domain of Information Science. During the 1940s -1970s, focus was placed on the evaluation of information collections, concentrating on information services and systems and how to make them more relevant to their users (Meho & Tibbo, 2003). By the early 1970s -1980s this position changed, as attention shifted: from looking at physical information systems as sources of information, to information seeking both as concept and process. Research conducted during this period attempted to depict the characteristics of users as a sociological group, which inter alia explains the steps people take to satisfy their information requirements (Itoga 1992). The studies focused on discovering useful information about the research habits of individuals or groups such as geologists, engineers, etc., in order to design appropriate information systems and services for the defined groups (Belkin, Oddy & Brooks, 1982a, 1982bEllis, 1989Ellis, , 1993Marchionini, 1995). Since the 1980s, researchers realized that deciphering questions concerning information requirements could not only be done from a systems point of view, but also from an individual's perspective. Evidence of this shift is mapped in the works of Taylor 1. Robert Ikoja-Odongo (PhD) is Professor and