International students' information needs and use of technology

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a pilot study that assessed the information seeking behaviors and priority information needs of international students and barriers they face in using various information and communication technologies (i.e., Web search engines and the Internet, library resource technologies, and online databases) for academic work. Results from this study provide understanding of the critical cultural clues associated with international students' information seeking and information needs. They also have implications for overcoming system design barriers for users from different cultural backgrounds to effectively interact with various technologies and for providing user-centered services that are supportive of their information needs.