Perceived values to personal digital archives and their relationship to archiving behaviours: An exploratory research based on grounded theory

Personal digital archiving (PDA) is a type of personal information behaviour related to personal memory and identity construction. The aim of this study is to discover and define individual’s perceived values in relation to personal digital archives, and to explore their relationship between PDA behaviours. Based on the grounded theory, drawing on in-depth interviews with 14 Chinese college students, both the perceived values in relation to personal digital archives and the PDA behaviours were coded through open, axial, and selective coding processes. This study found the perceived values in relation to personal digital archives mainly include subject value, object value, intermediary value, value to other subjects and social value, PDA behaviours mainly include accumulation behaviour, use behaviour, appraisal behaviour and disposal behaviour. Moreover, the value cognition of personal digital archives is the intermediary link between perceived values and PDA behaviours and is the core connecting the two. Value cognition can be divided into judgement on whether personal digital archives are valuable, subdivision of value types of personal digital archives, value evaluation of personal digital archives, and cognition of enhancing or weakening the value of personal digital archives. The study comprehensively analysed the perceived values, value cognition that drive PDA behaviours, built the relationship between perceived values, value cognition and PDA behaviours, and answered the question of why individuals want to archive from cognitive and behavioural perspectives. The findings of the study can help librarians to conduct more targetted PDA education and improve the public’s awareness and literacy in PDA.