Undergraduate information behaviors in thesis writing: A study using the Information Search Process model

Abstract

The study investigates whether information-seeking behavior models and theories obtained in previous research are applicable to more complex tasks. It also aims to gather students' opinions on the importance and helpfulness of various traditional and online information sources in their thesis-writing process. This study would help to develop a better understanding of the roles and impacts of these information sources in the current networked academic infrastructure. Inspired by the Information Search Process model, we divided the process into six stages and conducted three separate surveys that covered students' feelings, thoughts and actions, as well as other important factors that might affect their behaviors in each of the stages. Our study shows that both the feelings and thoughts of students changed during the different stages of the process, and that they were generally consistent with the descriptions in the Information Search Process model. The study indicates that it is beneficial to use the Information Search Process model as the starting point for studying the student thesis-writing processes. As the outcome of the study, we ultimately proposed a multi-stage model for Chinese undergraduate students' thesis-writing process.

Bilgi Arama Süreci Tutum Ölçeği (BASTÖ): Güvenirlik ve Geçerlik Çalışması

“…For this reason, the names of the dimensions of ASISP do not correspond with the names of the stages in Kuhlthau's ISP model; this can be linked to the differences between the cultures and the educational systems (Çakmak, 2016). This result is consistent with the findings of Chaura (2015); Krubu et al (2017), andWu et al (2017). Chaura (2015) found that inconsistent with Kuhlthau, university students do not feel anxious, uncertain, confused or doubtful regarding ISP's initiation stage and they do not think to quit whenever they are not successful in finding the required information in the conclusion step of the process.…”

“…However, when the scale items were being created in the present study, these three elements were treated as attitude's elements. However, while Kuhlthau (1983), as well as the previous studies (Haley & Clough, 2017;Kracker, 2002;Kracker & Wang, 2002;Krubu et al, 2017;Stewart,Seifert & Rolheiser, 2015;Wu et al, 2017) used different qualitative and quantitative techniques to investigate students' ISP over the tasks assigned to the students (research assignment-essay, thesis writing, group assignment, library and internet search etc. ); the students were not assigned a task in the present research (such as essay, writing, library or internet search).…”

“…Kuhlthau et al (2008) showed that it could be used as a theoretical framework for many studies regarding subjects such as digital environment, information retrieval systems, relevance judgments, adult information seeking in work and everyday life, and educational contexts. Literature concerning LIS after the year 2008 showed that the model still presents a basic theoretical background for research regarding undergraduates' (Hendahewa & Shah, 2017;Krubu, Zinn, & Hart, 2017;Wu, Dang, He, & Bi, 2017), middle school students' Cole, Beheshti, & Abuhimed, 2017;, graduates' (Al-Samarraie, Eldenfria, & Dawoud, 2017), information seeking, ISP, information-seeking behaviour, information retrieval and critical thinking practices; in higher education sector, academicians', researchers' and students' uncertainty in information seeking and retrieval (Chowdhury, Gibb, & Landoni, 2011). Affective factors of information seeking (Savolainen, 2015a) and relevance criteria (Taylor, 2012) were studied as well.…”

Effects of Information Technologies on Information Retrieval: A Qualitative Study Based on Literature

“…Sekiz farklı veri seti test edildikten sonra geleneksel arama motorlarına göre hassasiyet oranı %97 oranına ulaşılmıştır. Wu, Dang, He ve Bi (2017) Çinli lisans öğrencilerinin tez yazımında çeşitli geleneksel ve çevrimiçi bilgi kaynaklarından yararlanmaları konusunu incelemiştir. Çalışmada anket yöntemi kullanılmış ve teknoloji etkisi veya teknoloji kullanılmadan elde edilmeye çalışan bilgi erişim sürecinin farklı aşamalarında, öğrencilerin bilişsel süreçlerinin değiştiğini ve genellikle ISP modelindeki açıklamalarla tutarlı olduğu belirlenmiştir.…”

How do students' information world maps change while developing their thesis topics? A longitudinal study using arts‐based elicitation interviews

“…Developing the research topic is a challenging task which involves many information activities with different sources at different places. Studies on students' topic exploration and development tended to focus on high school students (e.g., Cole et al, ; Kuhlthau, ), undergraduate students (e.g., Hulseberg & Twait, ; Wu et al, ), and doctoral students (e.g., Holliman & Jones, ; Isaac et al, 1989). Relatively few studies examined issues regarding topic development of master's students (e.g., Huang & Chen, ).…”