Volume 12 Issue 1 (2023)

How Does Students’ Knowledge About Information-Seeking Improve Their Behavior in Solving Information Problems?

pp. 117-141  |  Published Online: March 2023  |  DOI: 10.22521/edupij.2023.121.7

Marioleni Parissi, Vassilis Komis, Gabriel Dumouchel, Konstantinos Lavidas, Stamatios Papadakis

Abstract

Background/purpose – This study investigates how the teaching intervention and familiarity with the search topic enhance Greek students’ behavior while solving information problems.

Materials/methods – Seven university students solved three information problems on the same search topic during an academic semester. Between the first and second information problems, a didactic intervention was implemented aimed at familiarizing the participant undergraduates with the information problem-solving process based on the Big 6 model of Eisenberg & Berkowitz (1990) and the use of essential online search tools. Qualitative data were collected via observation and the think-aloud protocol.

Results – The findings indicated that following the didactic intervention and familiarity with the search topic, the participants were able to realize a greater variety of actions in order to locate the required information.

Conclusion – The study’s findings deepen the comprehension of how students’ information behaviors evolve, and indicate suitable interventions that could help to support students in performing more effective Internet searches.

Keywords: Information problem, search engine, higher education, Big6 model, teaching intervention.

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