”I just search the Internet” : An interview study about international students information seeking

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to investigate international students’ views regarding information seeking and use of information sources. A further aim is also to investigate the possible factors influencing information seeking in relation to everyday life for international students. Interviews were carried out with eight international students, 20-35 years old from three continents. They were to stay in Sweden for at least five months for the purpose of studying. Our theoretical framework is based both on user and context oriented theories of information barriers and on a model of information sources. We have also used a “themes on paper” method which involves constructing themes from the research questions on which the interview guide and analysis were built. Our analysis reveals that the students sought information daily and used a wide range of sources, mostly electronic ones. Internet was the most common information source; printed information and databases had a low usage. Oral sources were used in informal matters. When problems occurred in information seeking the students switched search strategy or asked friends and teachers. The major barrier students encountered lay in the information systems themselves. Teachers and librarians may provide the tools (guided tours, information seeking courses and brochures) but it is up to the student to use them. The major influential factor for seeking information in everyday life was the need to create a sense of security. This can be supported by increasing the amount of relevant information to students before and during their stay in Sweden.Uppsatsnivå: