Mudaliar, P Mageswary
(2022)
The Information Behaviour of Mature Online Doctoral Students at a University in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Exploratory Case Study.
Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.
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Abstract
Online doctoral students’ information behaviour is drawn from their experiences in the information behaviour process cycle, learning at the doctoral level and usability of information support services. It emphasises the behaviour of humans and their interaction with information, rather than the information system itself. This doctoral thesis focuses on the perceptions and experiences of the online doctoral students, as highly non-traditional adult learners, at two phases of the thesis stage: the pre-ethical and post-ethical approval phase. Wilson’s 1997 information behaviour conceptual framework is used to design this study, which identifies four main components of information behaviour: person-in-context, information-need, information-seeking, and information-processing-and-use. The research employs a qualitative single-case study design, in which 19 participants, 14 students and 5 faculty members were interviewed. The results showed there is a significant level of ‘socialness’ in the online doctoral students’ information behaviour through the information-sharing activities. As they undergo the information behaviour iterative process cycle, a transformation occurs. They acquire knowledge and skills that change their mental and emotional structures. Doctoral-level learning is transformative, wherein students experience an ontological, epistemological and methodological shift in ‘self’ (S S’). These findings help expand Wilson’s information behaviour conceptual framework by adding information-sharing as a new component. The study also found that the information behaviour process is not a linear sequential process but is one that is iterative, until a specific outcome is achieved. In addition, the study discovers Wilson’s intervening variables: social learning and self-efficacy theories are appropriate attributes of the person-in-context, rather than influencing variables in information-seeking. The outcome of information use through the person-in-context attributes changes knowledge, skills, and the mental and emotional structure of ‘self’ (S), making S = KNL (knowledge) + SKL (skill) + MTL (mental) + EMT (emotion). Further, the findings showed that information support services hold a significant influence on the students’ information behaviour in terms of user experience in the information and learning support environment, where socialness in the online information for adult learners, the adoption of usability and user experience concepts should be enhanced.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctor of Education) |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Mar 2022 16:01 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 21:14 |
| DOI: | 10.17638/03148280 |
| Supervisors: |
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| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3148280 |
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