Information seeking behavior pattern of UiTM Terengganu diploma students: a case study / Nik Ruslawati Nik Mustapa and Hazlifah Mohd Rusli

This study was undertaken to determine the information seeking behaviour and use of information resources by Diploma students of University Technology Mara, Terengganu. The purpose of the study is to determine their information sources, type of information requirements and approaches used in seeking information. The study collected empirical data on the information requirements of Diploma students. Data were gathered from 278 students from twelve Diploma programs. Result of the study showed that, the students mostly seeked information to be used to complete their course work and course project. The top three information sources most frequently used by the students are Internet, lecture notes and Handout. The Internet was found to be the main source of information, medium and also information seeking approach used by the students. The result also showed that, students often seek assistance from their classmates and groupmates for completing assignment. Finding also showed that time drift is one of the most popular problem for the students. We can see that students prefer to use the Internet but they spend a lot of time surfing. Based on these finding, it is recommended that the students be given formal training on how to search information using the Internet.