Everyday Life Information Seeking Patterns of Resident Female University Students in Pakistan

Sadaf Rafiq, Abid Iqbal, Shafiq Ur Rehman, Muhammad Waqas, Muhammad Asif Naveed and Shakeel Ahmad Khan
Additional contact information
Sadaf Rafiq: Central Library, Government College University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Abid Iqbal: Central Library, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia
Shafiq Ur Rehman: Deanship of Library Affairs, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Waqas: Department of E-Commerce, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Muhammad Asif Naveed: Department of Information Management, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Shakeel Ahmad Khan: Department of Library and Information Science, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Purpose: Everyday life information seeking (ELIS) is essential for the mastery of life and plays a central role in the daily problem-solving activities of all human beings. This study aimed to investigate the everyday life information seeking of female university students residing at hostels in Lahore, Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research approach using a survey method was adopted to identify the dimensions of ELIS and to fill the paucity of research on the topic. Two-hundred and forty-eight female students living in various university and private hostels in Lahore, Pakistan, were surveyed, and the collected data was analyzed using Statistics Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Findings: Results of the study revealed that hostel living expanded the social circle of students, as it offered exposure to diverse multicultural social groups. Female students living in hostels required information related to their academic needs, safety concerns, social life, and self-help issues. They relied mainly on mobiles phones, the internet, social media, and inter-personal relationships for everyday information. Cultural differences, natural hesitation, language barriers, time concerns, and difficulty in identifying reliable information were the primary obstacles in meeting everyday life information needs. Originality/value: The findings of this study can be used as a premise for developing interventions and information services for female students that allow them to live comfortably in a safe environment in hostels and achieve their educational goals. The study results may also provide useful insights for university administrations to establish libraries in hostels to better cater to their female residents’ information needs.

Keywords: everyday life; information seeking; information behaviour; hostel; female; students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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