Information seeking behavior of medical students in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Information seeking behavior involves identifying needs, searching approaches and the use of information. This study aims to explore the information seeking behavior of medical students in Sri Lanka. A qualitative study, using focus group discussions, was conducted with 85 final year medical students of four universities in Sri Lanka. 47 of the participants were males and their average age was 26 years. All focus group discussions were audio-recorded and the records were transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis of content was carried out. The themes identified varied from conceptualization of information seeking behaviour to needs, strategies, barriers, and facilitators. Students use limited sources of information in classroom-based learning and they confine mainly to material provided by teachers, i.e., teacher-directed behavior. This was primarily driven by exam orientation and the belief about in learning. They seek information from external sources, e.g., internet, while they learn in the clinical environment, i.e., self-directed behaviour, as they face more uncertainty in such settings. Web sources used ranged from informal, e.g., Wikipedia, to standard, e.g., PubMed, sources. Although the participants were millennials some tend to prefer printed material which gives them a higher sense of ‘confidence’. The role of a traditional library seems to be of weaning off with smartphones and tablets gaining popularity. The primary orientation of information seeking is academic needs. Learning environment and its level of intellectual challenge sophisticates the process; teachers and teaching play a vital role in widening the scope of information seeking.