Keyword

First - year PhD students, Information need, Information seeking Behavior, Online Ghana, Postgraduate students, Quality education

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to contribute to sustainable development in higher education by exploring the online information behaviour (OIB) of first-year full-time PhD students. In the case of first year PhD students, there is a high demand for information to complete their tasks and to finalise their studies. The quality of the education these postgraduate students acquire is dependent on their ability to access quality information devoid of barriers. In other words, there seems to be a lack of research on the online information behaviour of postgraduates in their first year of doctoral studies.

Design/methodology – The study examined this phenomenon through the case study method, using the interpretivism paradigm and the quantitative approach. Using convenient and purposive sampling methods, 10 first-year PhD students were sampled from the University of Ghana's student population for 2023.  A structured interview schedule was used as the instrument for data collection from the participants of the study.

Findings – First-year PhD students are faced with online information-seeking barriers such as poor internet connectivity, limited access to online databases and resources, inability to access the needed paid online resources due to financial constraints, information overload, difficulty in acquiring requisite information and lack of information literacy skills and financial resources. These challenges tend to influence the quality of education they receive negatively given the inequalities in their information literacy skills against the literacy skills of second to final-year PhD students. 

Practical Implications and Conclusion –   The study will contribute to literature on the information-seeking behaviour of first-year PhD students. The lack of information on the subject in Ghana is an issue this study seeks to address. The study has shown that postgraduate students at the University of Ghana do not understand their information needs, although they depend heavily on information for their work and survival.


Full Text : PDF
References
  • Afzal, W., 2017. Conceptualisation and measurement of information needs: a literature review. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 66(2), pp.116-138.
  • Agosto, D.E. and Hughes‐Hassell, S., 2006. Toward a model of the everyday life information needs of urban teenagers, part 2: Empirical model. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 57(11), pp.1418-1426.
  • Ajiboye, J.O. and Tella, A., 2007. University Undergraduate Students' Information Seeking Behaviour: Implications for Quality in Higher Education in Africa. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 6(1), pp.40-52.
  • Asogwa, C. and Daniel, T.M., 2021. Information needs and information seeking behaviour of the postgraduate students at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic studies, Abuja. Information Impact: Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 12(2), pp.62-72
  • Bexell, M. and Jönsson, K., 2017, January. Responsibility and the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. In Forum for development studies (Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 13-29). Routledge.
  • . Budd, J.L., 2015. Self-Regulation in the Doctoral Research Context: Exploring Students’ Responses to a Self-Monitoring Process during PhD Candidature.
  • Case, D.O. and Given, L.M., 2016. Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behavior.
  • Chikonzo, A. C. & Aina, L. O. (2006). Information Needs and Sources of Information Used by Veterinary Students at the University of Zimbabwe. Quarterly Bulletin International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD), 46(1-2), 24-28
  • Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K., 2002. Research methods in education. Routledge.
  • Creswell, J.W. and Poth, C.N., 2016. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.
  • Farashi, B. I., 2022. exploring the information seeking behavior of colleges of education students in northeast Nigeria. International Journal of Innovative Information Systems.
  • Gordon, I.D., Meindl, P., White, M. and Szigeti, K., 2018. Information seeking behaviors, attitudes, and choices of academic chemists. Science & Technology Libraries, 37(2), pp.130-151.
  • Hamid, S., Bukhari, S., Ravana, S.D., Norman, A.A. and Ijab, M.T., 2016. Role of social media in information-seeking behaviour of international students: A systematic literature review. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 68(5), pp.643-666.
  • Horta, H., 2009. Holding a post-doctoral position before becoming a faculty member: does it bring benefits for the scholarly enterprise? Higher Education, 58(5), pp.689-721.
  • Kerins, G., Madden, R. and Fulton, C., 2004. Information Seeking and Students Studying for Professional Careers: The Cases of Engineering and Law Students in Ireland. Information Research: An international electronic journal, 10(1), p.n1.
  • Kundu, D.K., 2017. Models of information seeking behaviour: A comparative study. International Journal of Library and Information Studies, 7(4).
  • Lowery, K., Geesa, R.L. and McConnell, K., 2019. Self-regulated learning of mentees and mentors in an education doctorate peer mentoring program. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 31(2), pp.186-209.
  • Lu, T. and Franklin, A.L., 2018. A protocol for identifying and sampling proxy populations. Social Science Quarterly, 99(4), pp.1535-1546.
  • Mansour, E., 2017. An explanatory study into the information seeking-behaviour of Egyptian beggars. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 49(1), pp.91-106.
  • Mertens, D.M., 2023. Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage publications.
  • Mohammed, R.N., 2020. POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR IN THE FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO, NIGERIA. American International Journal of Multidisciplinary Scientific Research, 6(4), pp.1-14.
  • Mooko, N. and Aina, L., 2006. Information needs and information seeking behaviour of artisan fisher folk of Uganda.
  • Rubinić, D., 2014. Information behaviour of university students: a literature review. Libellarium: časopis za istraživanja u području informacijskih i srodnih znanosti, 7(1), pp.105-118.
  • Russell, J.M., Baik, C., Ryan, A.T. and Molloy, E., 2022. Fostering self-regulated learning in higher education: Making self-regulation visible. Active Learning in Higher Education, 23(2), pp.97-113.
  • Sharma, G., 2017. Pros and cons of different sampling techniques. International journal of applied research, 3(7), pp.749-752.
  • Van Damme, D. and Kärkkäinen, K., 2011. OECD Education Today Crisis Survey 2010: The impact of the economic recession and fiscal crisis on education in OECD countries.
  • Wilson, T.D., 1997. Information behaviour: an interdisciplinary perspective. Information processing & management, 33(4), pp.551-572.