Information Needs and Seeking Behavior of Distance Learning University Students of Pakistan

Information is a major element for development of human society. Human being is able to get power with the help of thinking and decision making and ultimately ruling the universe, but it is possible only if he is empowered with information. Information also provides center for growth of knowledge and a basic key for improvement of society. This study was carried out to find out the information needs and information seeking behavior of distance learning university students. A focus group was arranged in this regard. There were nine members in a focus group. There were three tutors currently teaching, one representative of university and four students enrolled in post graduate programme at different levels. The duration of the session was 120 minutes. The author and coauthors of the study conducted the focus group themselves. The environment of discussion was very pleasant. Majority members of focus group were agreed that the main information needs and seeking behaviour were related to “Lectures”, “Information relating to their programs of study”, and “Completing assignments”. The internet and library were the main channels for meeting the information needs of both groups of students; however the usage of the library was infrequent. It was also concluded that among different information sources available to the students, the main reliance was on books and lecturers/tutors, but the usage of electronic resources such as e-journals and databases was very low; there was no significance difference between the groups in their usage. The participants agreed that print format was their preferred format for the required information. Computer and information technology skills were insufficient. The majority of the participants of the group opined that distance students face barriers when attempting to acquire their needed information. The main barriers were lack of institution library for distance students.