Individuality and Diversity among Undergraduates’ Academic Information Behaviors: An Exploratory Study

• Main Author: Diane Mizrachi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Research Institute for Knowledge Content Development & Technology 2013-12-01
• Series: International Journal of Knowledge Content Development and Technology
• Subjects: Information behaviors; personal information management; college students
• Online Access: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/01028/01028.pdf

The purpose of this study is to explore the information management behaviors of undergraduate students in their dormitory rooms, using Personal Information Management (PIM) as the theoretical framework. Ethnographic methods were applied to study how students devise their own systems combining digital and traditional tools to collect, create, manipulate, organize, and manage the information they need to fulfill their roles as university students. Results show a broad diversity of behaviors influenced more by individual learning styles and preferences than high-tech gadgetry. It is proposed that just as every individual has unique learning styles and preferences, so too do we have individual information styles, and we apply our tools and gadgets in our own ways to best accommodate our own styles.