The Information Anxiety Management Model of the University of Tabriz Students Based of Grounded Theory Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• ali imanzadeh ¹
• maryam marandi heidarlou ²

¹ Associate Professor of Education, University Of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

² Asistant Professor of Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, P.O.BOX: 14665-889, Tehran, Iran.

10.22067/infosci.2024.85688.1188

Abstract

Introduction and purpose: Information anxiety is one of the emerging challenges of human life, which has emerged and expanded with the development of rhizomatic thinking under the shadow of post-structuralist thinking. Information anxiety actually comes from the growing gap between the amount of available information and our ability to process and understand it, and this type of anxiety is fundamentally different from concepts such as library anxiety and internet anxiety. The aim of the present research is to presenting the information anxiety management model of students of Tabriz University based on grounded theory approach.

Research Method: The research method is qualitative content analysis, based on grounded theory approach, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were used. The statistical sample included 18 students of Tabriz University, and the sampling continued until the theoretical data saturation stage. The analysis was done through manual coding inspired by Glaser's theory, and after extracting the primary and core codes of related categories, extraction and pattern design was done.

Findings: Based on the findings of the research, in open coding there are 367 primary codes, in axial coding there are 59 core codes and in selective coding there are 23 core categories in the form of causal, contextual, intervening conditions, strategies/actions, results and the main phenomenon (management information anxiety) were classified.

Conclusion: Considering the growth and spread of information anxiety among students, by using this model, it is possible to control and manage students' information anxiety and keep them away from its possible harm.

Keywords

• Information
• Anxiety
• Information Anxiety
• Grounded Theory

Main Subjects

• Human and Information interaction

---

©2024 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

References

Al-Youzbaky, B. A., Hanna, R. D., & Najeeb, S. H. (2022). The effect of information overload, and social media fatigue on online consumers purchasing decisions: the mediating role of technostress and information anxiety. Journal of System and Management Sciences, 12(2), 195-220. DOI: 10.33168/JSMS.2022.0209

Aquilina, A. (2023). The ontology of death: the philosophy of the death penalty in literature. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/110585

Ayala, E. E., Winseman, J. S., Johnsen, R. D., & Mason, H. R. (2018). US medical students who engage in self-care report less stress and higher quality of life. BMC medical education, 18, 1-9. doi: 10.1186/s12909-018-1296-x

Bawden, D., & Robinson, L. (2009). The dark side of information: overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies. Journal of information science, 35(2), 180-191. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551508095781

Belabbes, M. A., Ruthven, I., Moshfeghi, Y., & Rasmussen Pennington, D. (2023). Information overload: a concept analysis. Journal of Documentation, 79(1), 144-159. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-06-2021-0118

Brown, J. S., & Duguid, P. (2017). The social life of information: Updated, with a new preface. Harvard Business Review Press.

Cadier, A., Ding, J., & El Khazzar, S. (2021). Information Anxiety on Mobile Social Media.

Catedrilla, J., Ebardo, R., Limpin, L., De la Cuesta, J., Ching, M. R., Trapero, H., & Leano, C. (2020). Loneliness, boredom and information anxiety on problematic use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceedings of the 28th international conference on computers in education,

Chalita, M. A., & Sedzielarz, A. (2023). Beyond the frame problem: what (else) can Heidegger do for AI? AI & society, 38(1), 173-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2015.01.001

Chen, M.-F., Wang, R.-H., & Hung, S.-L. (2015). Predicting health-promoting self-care behaviors in people with pre-diabetes by applying Bandura social learning theory. Applied Nursing Research, 28(4), 299-304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2015.01.001

Coeckelbergh, M. (2023). Introduction: Time, Existence, and Technology. In Digital Technologies, Temporality, and the Politics of Co-Existence (pp. 1-16). Springer.

Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2014). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Sage publications.

de Oliveira, M., de Vargas Corrêa, M., & Caregnato, S. E. (2023). Ansiedade de informação: efeitos no comportamento informacional de estudantes em mobilidade acadêmica no exterior. e-Ciencias de la Información. https://doi.org/10.15517/eci.v13i2.53038

Fox, J. (1998). Conquering information anxiety. Relief from your data glut starts here. Institute for Business Technology. Retrieved, 12, 28-99.

Girard, J., & Allison, M. (2008). Information anxiety: Fact, fable or fallacy. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 6(2), pp37‑50-pp37‑50. available online at www.ejkm.com

Hartog, P. (2017). A generation of information anxiety: Refinements and recommendations. The Christian Librarian, 60(1), 8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2572-7478.1007

Hofweber, T. (2019). Idealism and the Harmony of Thought and Reality. Mind, 128(511), 699-734. https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzy086

Igwe, I. C., & Ekemezie, I. B. (2023). Heidegger’s Concept of Authenticity: A Critical Evaluation. Trinitarian: International Journal Of Arts And Humanities, 1(2).

Imanzadeh, A., Karimi, J., & Farajpour Bonab, F. (2020). The effectiveness of media literacy education on reducing information anxiety among students of Tabriz University. Communication Research, 26(100), 173-207. [In Persian]. DOI:10.22082/CR.2019.107908.1837

Jones, E. (2022). An interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological exploration of patients’ and student mental health nurses’ lived experiences of the time they share together on secure personality disorder units for men University of Central Lancashire.

Katopol, P. F. (2012). Information Anxiety and African-American Students in a Graduate Education Program. Education Libraries, 35, 5-14.

Lu, L., & Chang, H.-M. (2022). Rhizomatic encounters with inter/transmedia art: A pedagogy for learning and teaching experiential contemporary art. Studies in Art Education, 63(1), 9-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393541.2021.2007726

Memmi, D. (2014). Information overload and virtual institutions. AI & society, 29, 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-012-0428-9

Naveed, M. A., & Anwar, M. A. (2019). Modeling information anxiety. Library Philosophy and Practice, 2758. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/2758

Raffoul, F. (2016). Responsibility for a secret: Heidegger and Levinas. Heidegger, Levinas, Derrida: The Question of Difference, 133-147. DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-39232-5_10

Riddle, L. J. (2012). Infoglut: Does it hinder the online learning experience of nontraditional students? Northcentral University.

Schick, A. G., Gordon, L. A., & Haka, S. (1990). Information overload: A temporal approach. Accounting, organizations and society, 15(3), 199-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-3682(90)90005-F

Shi, X. (2022). Intelligent Relaxation System for Information Anxiety. Rochester Institute of Technology.

Terrile, V. C. (2023). Finding the answers: Community college students’ non-Academic information behaviors. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 47(3), 165-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2021.1985014

Tsai, M.-J., & Wu, A.-H. (2021). Visual search patterns, information selection strategies, and information anxiety for online information problem solving. Computers & Education, 172, 104236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104236

Withy, K. (2014). Situation and limitation: Making sense of Heidegger on thrownness. European Journal of Philosophy, 22(1), 61-81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0378.2011.00471.x

Wurman, R. S. (2001). Information anxiety 2. (No Title).

Xu, C., & Yan, W. (2023). The relationship between information overload and state of anxiety in the period of regular epidemic prevention and control in China: a moderated multiple mediation model. Current Psychology, 42(25), 21842-21859. DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03289-3