Information seeking is not merely a technical activity of retrieving documents from repositories or databases; it is a deeply human process shaped by cognition, emotion, social context, and lived experience. Over the last several decades, information science has moved away from system-centered approaches toward user-centered and process-oriented models that seek to understand how people recognize information needs, navigate uncertainty, and make sense of their environments. This article presents a comprehensive theoretical synthesis of major information-seeking and information-behaviour frameworks developed from the early 1980s to the early twenty-first century, with particular emphasis on the sense-making tradition, behavioral models of searching, and conceptual frameworks of information practices. Drawing strictly on foundational works by Dervin, Ellis, Kuhlthau, Wilson, Case, Krikelas, McKenzie, Godbold, Ikoja-Odongo and Mostert, and related contributions, this study integrates these perspectives into a unified interpretive framework for understanding how individuals interact with information in academic, professional, and everyday life settings.

The study conceptualizes information seeking as a dynamic process in which users confront gaps in understanding and attempt to bridge these gaps through interaction with formal and informal information sources. Dervin’s sense-making theory provides the philosophical and epistemological foundation, emphasizing the centrality of human meaning-making and the subjective experience of information needs (Dervin, 1983; Dervin, 1999). Ellis’s behavioral models contribute detailed empirical descriptions of how users engage in activities such as starting, chaining, browsing, differentiating, monitoring, and extracting during information seeking (Ellis, 1989; Ellis, 1993; Ellis and Haugan, 1997). Kuhlthau’s process-oriented approach adds an affective dimension, highlighting the role of uncertainty, anxiety, confidence, and clarity across stages of information seeking (Kuhlthau, 1991). Wilson’s model of information needs situates these individual processes within broader environmental and social contexts (Wilson, 1981), while Case’s principle of least effort offers insight into why users often prefer accessible, familiar, and convenient sources over theoretically optimal ones (Case, 2002). Contributions by Krikelas, McKenzie, Godbold, and Ikoja-Odongo and Mostert further extend the analysis beyond searching toward broader information behaviour, including everyday life practices and the influence of situational constraints.

Using a qualitative meta-analytic methodology grounded in conceptual synthesis, this article identifies recurring theoretical constructs, convergences, and tensions among these models. The results demonstrate that despite their diverse origins and emphases, all major theories converge on the view that information seeking is iterative, context-dependent, and shaped by both internal cognitive states and external social structures. The discussion critically evaluates these findings, explores their implications for contemporary digital environments, and identifies gaps in existing theories, particularly in relation to power, inequality, and the evolving role of algorithmic systems. The article concludes by arguing that a sense-making oriented, user-centered, and socially situated framework remains essential for designing equitable and effective information systems in an increasingly complex information landscape.