Finding Their Way around: International Students’ Use of Information Sources

Abstract

There has been some research on the information behaviour of international students that is related to their academic issues (e.g. coursework and patterns of library use). However, little research has explored other non-academic issues (e.g. access health services and accommodation) of international student everyday life. This paper therefore explores the sources of information that international students rely on for academic and everyday living as well as the patterns students use in accessing these information sources. By analyzing interview data from a series of 7 focus groups, this study shows that international students rely on a wide range of information sources and display different patterns in using these sources depending on the source type, origin and amount as well as the students' education level. Some practical implications to effectively provide information to international students are suggested.  Index Terms-information behaviour, information sources, International students, social media. I. BACKGROUND Nearly all institutions that attract international students provide information on everyday living. However, this information is not well accessed by the students because of the lack of understanding on how international students search, access, use, rely on or share information. Disseminating crucial information to international students has been a challenge (e.g. [1] and [2]). Challenges range from providing relevant information in a timely manner, understanding information sources accessed regularly, and more recently, the use of social media in facilitating information exchange amongst international student communities. At various levels, key service providers and governments have tried to produce information portals specific to international students in the hope that they find these sites useful. Yet, there is very low

Digital Journeys: A Perspective on Understanding the Digital Experiences of International Students

“…In addition, as indicated earlier, even when international students do seek out information online, they do tend to rely on tried and tested sources. Alzougool, Chang, Gomes & Berry (2013) found that due to accessibility, international students can continue to rely on home country sources for online information. If students are able to find the information they are looking for in 'home sources', they are likely to be satisfied with that despite any perceived risk of relevance or reliability.…”

Commitment to Academic Exchanges in the Age of COVID-19

“…Pre-arrival preparation typically includes providing information about visas, housing, class registration, and health insurance along with students' admissions packets, as well as through existing online channels such as the international student section of a university's home page, or through social media platforms (Ammigan, 2019;Andrade, 2006;Yi, 2007). However, while presumably all universities provide this information, students may not necessarily utilize it or may receive information with varying degrees of credibility elsewhere (Alzougool et al, 2013), compounding incorrect assumptions, expectations, or misinformation (Chang et al, 2012). In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the half-life of pre-arrival information is increasingly short as policies continually shift as a function of the evolving and dynamic nature of the pandemic.…”

Communications Preferences Among International Students: Strategies for Creating Optimal Engagement in Programs and Services

“…In Australia, several have mapped the information seeking of international students both before their arrival to Australian institutions and after matriculation (Alzougool et al, 2013;Chang and Gomez, 2016). These studies have found that while there are many available online and offline sources, in general, students look to a single source for their information.…”