TY - JOUR

T1 - Information Seeking Abroad

T2 - An Everyday-Life Study of International Students

AU - Hertzum, Morten

AU - Hyldegård, Jette Seiden

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Purpose – We investigate how four international students at a Danish university cope with their study-related and everyday information needs, behaviorally as well as affectively, and how their information seeking blends with their cross-cultural adaptation.Design/methodology – Each of the four participants contributed ten diaries and took part in three interviews during the first semester of their stay.Findings – International students’ information needs and seeking behavior are shaped by their host university but also by cross-cultural, personal, and situational issues. While the cross-cultural issues set international students apart from domestic students, the personal and situational issues create individual differences that call for more individually tailored support. The studied international students lacked information about both study-related and everyday issues. These two types of issues were intertwined and experienced as equally stressful. However, study-related information needs were more important, whereas everyday information needs were more difficult to resolve. In addition, participants tended to feel on their own when it came to finding needed information, but studying abroad also had elements of personal growth in meeting life's challenges.Research limitations/implications – More participants are needed to investigate how international students' information seeking evolves over time.Originality/value – This study contributes detailed information about international students' study-related and everyday information seeking during their first semester abroad. The study has implications for everyday-life studies of international students' information behavior and the international classroom in general.

AB - Purpose – We investigate how four international students at a Danish university cope with their study-related and everyday information needs, behaviorally as well as affectively, and how their information seeking blends with their cross-cultural adaptation.Design/methodology – Each of the four participants contributed ten diaries and took part in three interviews during the first semester of their stay.Findings – International students’ information needs and seeking behavior are shaped by their host university but also by cross-cultural, personal, and situational issues. While the cross-cultural issues set international students apart from domestic students, the personal and situational issues create individual differences that call for more individually tailored support. The studied international students lacked information about both study-related and everyday issues. These two types of issues were intertwined and experienced as equally stressful. However, study-related information needs were more important, whereas everyday information needs were more difficult to resolve. In addition, participants tended to feel on their own when it came to finding needed information, but studying abroad also had elements of personal growth in meeting life's challenges.Research limitations/implications – More participants are needed to investigate how international students' information seeking evolves over time.Originality/value – This study contributes detailed information about international students' study-related and everyday information seeking during their first semester abroad. The study has implications for everyday-life studies of international students' information behavior and the international classroom in general.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - information seeking

KW - Information behavior

KW - everyday life information seeking

KW - cross-cultural adaptation

KW - international students

U2 - 10.1108/JD-11-2018-0183

DO - 10.1108/JD-11-2018-0183

M3 - Journal article

VL - 75

SP - 1298

EP - 1316

JO - Journal of Documentation

JF - Journal of Documentation

SN - 0022-0418

IS - 6

ER -