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

پژوهشنامه کتابداری و اطلاع رسانی

Article 3, Volume 2, Issue 1 - Serial Number 3, June 2012, Pages 53-72   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/riis.v2i2.13324

Author

Amin Erfanmanesh^*

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

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

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