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Information-Seeking Behavior and the Intercultural Learning Process: Experiences of International Graduate Students from China: A Qualitative Sense-Making Case Study

Rodriguez, Elisabeth (2014) Information-Seeking Behavior and the Intercultural Learning Process: Experiences of International Graduate Students from China: A Qualitative Sense-Making Case Study. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

In 1976, Deng Xiaoping opened China’s economy to help modernize the country. This decision created a need for an educated work force to develop China’s economy. In turn, China’s citizens experienced educational opportunities to travel and/or live abroad, and gain knowledge from higher-education institutions located in developed economies.  Students from China began traveling to the United States to obtain higher-education degrees in the 1980s, and since 2009, China has sent more international students to the United States than any other country (Open doors, 2013).
Many higher-education institutions have focused efforts on supporting their Chinese international student populations, as it represents growth and relevance to the institution.  Academic service departments such as libraries often assist students in the completion of their studies through user-centered services, relevant collections, and instruction in support of information literacy skills. In spite of the great effort that academic libraries undertake in researching user needs, unique populations, such as Chinese international students, can inadvertently be ignored when designing services or collections.
This study seeks to investigate the institutional learning cultures in China and the United States in relation to the information-seeking behavior of a specific population of students, and to aid in the development of evidence-based research for detecting student information needs. Utilizing Brenda Dervin’s sense-making method as a framework, this study investigates the information-seeking behavior of Chinese graduate students from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Information Sciences.  A total of 20 qualitative interviews were conducted with these graduate students.  Interviews were transcribed, imported into Atlas.ti, and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis approach.
Results from the study detected varied practices to identify and utilize authoritative and reliable sources of information in support of participants’ information-seeking behavior. These include: reliance on personal networks, assumptions of reliability of information, and awareness of resources that help. Participants’ opinions on authority and reliability of information offer insight into the need to further investigate the detection of information literacy skills among similar populations of international graduate students.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Rodriguez, ElisabethErr17@pitt.eduERR17
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairBowler, Leannelbowler@sis.pitt.eduLBOWLER
Committee MemberChu, ClaraCmchu@ucng.edu
Committee MemberHe, Daqingdah44@pitt.eduDAH44
Committee MemberCurrier, James Davidkipcurrier@yahoo.com
Date: 17 June 2014
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 24 April 2014
Approval Date: 17 June 2014
Submission Date: 28 May 2014
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Number of Pages: 163
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: School of Information Sciences > Library and Information Science
Degree: PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Doctoral Dissertation
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Intercultural, international student, international students, foreign student, foreign students, information behavior, information-seeking behavior, sense-making, qualitative research, content analysis, cross-culture, qualitative interview, cross-culture interview protocols,
Date Deposited: 17 Jun 2014 14:08
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 14:20
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21713

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