Investigating Information Seeking Anxiety among Postgraduate Students: A Case Study of Iranian Students in Malaysia

Document Type : Research Article

Author

• Amin Erfanmanesh

PhD in librarianship and information, faculty of computer science and information technology, U. M. Malaysia

10.22067/riis.v2i2.13324

Abstract

Objectives: The current study aims to investigate the prevalence of information seeking anxiety among a group of Iranian postgraduate students at a research intensive university in Malaysia.

Research Methodology: Applying a stratified random sampling method, a sample comprised of 375 students was drawn from a population of 850 students. The study subjects were required to fill up the Information Seeking Anxiety Scale (ISAS).

Research Findings: The results of the study revealed that while 96.5% of the students reported to have experienced different levels of anxiety, the overall level was not severe. Additionally, based on the mean score for various sub-scales of the Information Seeking Anxiety Scale (ISAS), “barriers associated with information resources” was found to be the most important source of information seeking anxiety among postgraduate students. Also, the results of the study revealed that postgraduate students reported to have experienced the lowest level of information seeking anxiety related to “barriers associated with computer and the Internet” sub-scale.

Keywords

• Information seeking anxiety
• Information seeking process
• Iranian students
• Malaysian universities

---

References

Anwar, M. A., Al-Kandari, N. M. & Al-Qallaf, C. L. (2004). Use of Bostick’s Library Anxiety Scale on undergraduate Biological Sciences students of Kuwait University. Library & Information Science Research, 26, 266-283.

Ben Omran, A. I. (2001). Library anxiety and internet anxiety among graduate students of a major research university. PhD dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 20, 2013, from ProQuest database.

Bostick, S. L. (1992). The development and validation of the Library Anxiety Scale. PhD dissertation, Wayne State University, Michigan. Retrieved January 20, 2013, from ProQuest database.

Branch, J. L. (2001). Information seeking process of junior high school students: A case study of CD-ROM encyclopedia use. School Libraries Worldwide, 7(1), 11-27.

Chowdhury, S. & Gibb, F. (2009). Relationship among activities and problems causing uncertainty in information seeking and retrieval. Journal of Documentation, 65(3), 470-499.

Dalrymple, P. W. & Zweizig, D. L. (1992). Users’ experience of information retrieval systems: An exploration of the relationship between search experience and affective measures. Library & Information Science Research, 14(2), 167-181.

Erfanmanesh, M. A. (2012). Investigating information seeking anxiety among postgraduate students: Development and validation of a multidimensional scale. PhD dissertation, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Erfanmanesh, M. A., Abrizah, A. & Karim, N. H. A. (2012). The Information Seeking Anxiety Scale: Development & Validation. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 17(1), 21-39.

Hyldegard, J. (2006). Collaborative information behavior: Exploring Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process model in a group-based educational setting. Information Processing & Management, 42(1), 276-298.

Kohrman, R. A. (2003). Computer anxiety in the 21^st century: When you are not in Kansas any more. Paper presented at the eleventh Association of College & Research Libraries conference, Charlotte, United States.

Kuhlthau, C. C. (1991). Inside the search process: Information seeking from the user’s perspective. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42(5), 361-371.

Mellon, C. A. (1986). Library anxiety: A grounded theory and its development. College & Research Libraries, 47, 160-165.

Oberman, C. (1991). Avoiding the cereal syndrome, or critical thinking in the electronic environment. Library Trends, 39(3), 189-202.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (1997). Writing a research proposal: The role of library anxiety, statistics anxiety and composition anxiety. Library & Information Science Research, 19(1), 5-33.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Jiao, Q. C. & Bostick, S. L. (2004). Library anxiety: Theory, research, and applications. Lanham, Md.; Oxford: Scarecrow Press.

Otomo, Y. (1998). The relationship of computer anxiety, mathematics anxiety, trait anxiety, test anxiety, gender, and demographic characteristics among community college students. PhD dissertation, Columbia University, New York. Retrieved January 20, 2013, from ProQuest database.

Shoham, S. & Mizrachi, D. (2001). Library anxiety among undergraduates: A study of Israeli B. Ed. Students. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 27(4), 305-319.

Spielberger, C.D. (1983). State-trait anxiety inventory for adults. Palo Alto, CA: Mind Garden.

Van Kampen, D. J. (2003). Library anxiety, the information search process and doctoral use of the library. PhD dissertation, University of Central Florida, Orlando. Retrieved January 20, 2013, from ProQuest database.

Young, N. J. & Von Seggern, M. (2001). General information seeking in changing times: A focus group study. Reference & Users Services Quarterly, 41(2), 159-169.