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Abstract

This study explores how first-generation students (first in the family to attend university) enrolled in the Mastering Academic and Professional Skills (MAPS) programme, a bridging course with mandatory information literacy training for students who did not initially meet the requirements for direct entry into degree programmes, experience uncertainty during the transition from home life to academic life. It examines how this uncertainty is expressed through their information seeking behaviour and how information literacy support is experienced as an enabling resource for making sense of unfamiliar academic information practices rather than as a mechanism of behavioural change. A qualitative phenomenological research approach was employed, using a purposive convenience sample of 17 MAPS students who completed the information literacy course. Data were collected through interviews using an interview schedule consisting of open-ended questions and analysed using qualitative data analysis procedures with inductive reasoning. The findings indicate that participants viewed their academic transition as a time of increased uncertainty, influenced by the social, cultural, and technological contexts of their home environments. This uncertainty manifested in their continued dependence on familiar information practices from their daily lives, which often did not align with academic expectations. Participants’ accounts further suggest that information literacy instruction served as a helpful tool, assisting them in understanding academic information practices rather than a mechanism of behavioural transformation. By situating information seeking within lived experiences of uncertainty, this study contributes to a contextualised understanding of academic transition among first-generation students. This study extends information behaviour research by reframing transition as a condition in which uncertainty is negotiated through information practices, offering insights relevant to information literacy support in higher education, particularly within Global South contexts.

Keywords

first-generation students information literacy information seeking behaviour transition uncertainty

Introduction

Transition is widely recognised as a period of change and disruption that shapes how individuals engage with information. Ruthven (2022b) describes transition as a process in which people must adjust their information practices in response to new environments and circumstances, while Heinström et al. (2020) emphasise that such adjustments are embedded in everyday life experiences. During transitions, cognitive and affective factors intersect with social and contextual conditions, influencing how information is sought, interpreted, and used (Savolainen, 2020; Wilson, 2022).

For students, moving from home life to academic life represents a particularly demanding transition. Academic environments require independent engagement with unfamiliar information systems, conventions, and expectations, often without the support structures that shaped students’ earlier information practices (Kuhlthau et al., 2015). This shift commonly intensifies uncertainty, especially for students who have limited prior exposure to academic information environments. Uncertainty, understood as a state of confusion and unease (Keller et al., 2020; Kuhlthau, 1993), becomes a defining feature of how students experience and navigate academic information practices.

First-generation students, typically defined as those whose parents have not completed higher education and who are the first in the family to attend university, often enter university without inherited academic capital, institutional familiarity, or exposure to formal knowledge systems (Tsai, 2012; Van Zyl, 2016). They frequently navigate higher education without established family guidance regarding academic expectations, disciplinary discourse, or institutional procedures (Van Zyl, 2016). First-generation students are especially vulnerable during this transition because their home environments may not provide access to academic knowledge, institutional guidance, or formal information infrastructures. Their prior information practices are often determined by everyday life contexts where informal and socially embedded strategies are effective, but these may not translate easily into academic settings. As a result, uncertainty is not only experienced emotionally but is also expressed through how these students seek, evaluate, and use information.

Research on information behaviour has shown that uncertainty plays a central role in information seeking (Kuhlthau, 1993; Ruthven, 2022a; van Lieshout et al., 2021), and that transitions alter information practices through changing environments and expectations (Hicks, 2022; Willson and Given, 2020). However, much of this work has focussed on structural challenges or skills acquisition, with less attention to how uncertainty is lived and negotiated through everyday information practices, particularly among first-generation students in Global South contexts. Similarly, research on information literacy has often emphasised measurable competencies rather than its role as a contextual and experiential form of support during transition.

This study addresses this gap by examining how first-generation students experience uncertainty during the transition from home life to academic life and how this uncertainty is articulated through their information seeking behaviour. It further explores how information literacy support is experienced not as a mechanism of behavioural transformation, but as an enabling resource that helps students make sense of unfamiliar academic information practices. By situating information seeking within students’ lived experiences of transition and uncertainty, this study contributes a contextualised perspective to information behaviour research and offers insight into how information literacy can support academic adaptation in higher education, particularly within Global South settings.

Background

This study was conducted at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), a large public university in South Africa with approximately 60,000 students, of whom 53.3% are first-generation students (Muloiwa-Klenam and Maistry, 2022). To support the transition from high school to university, UJ offers structured academic support initiatives for students who did not initially qualify for direct degree enrolment, including the Mastering Academic and Professional Skills (MAPS) bridging programme. MAPS is a year-long foundational programme within the Faculty of Humanities designed to provide extended academic preparation, disciplinary grounding, and structured skills development to facilitate students’ transition into mainstream degree studies (Faculty of Humanities, 2023).

This study specifically investigated first-generation students enrolled in the MAPS programme. Within this institutional context, many first-generation students come from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and face distinct academic and informational challenges during their transition to higher education (Heymann and Carolissen, 2011; Inman and Mayes, 1999). These contextual conditions shape how uncertainty is experienced and expressed through information seeking behaviour, positioning the UJ context as a situated setting for examining how uncertainty is negotiated in academic information environments.

A 2022 study by Muloiwa-Klenam and Maistry at UJ identified multiple factors contributing to first-year student dropout, including financial issues, psychological stress, health problems, and lack of support. These factors create a complex web of challenges such as heightened uncertainty during transition to university, influencing how students engage with academic expectations and information practices.

The literature further indicates that first-generation students’ socio-economic backgrounds significantly influence their information seeking behaviour as they move between home and academic environments (Du Toit et al., 2022). Such contextual changes often disrupt familiar everyday information practices, requiring adjustment to more formal academic practices. Within the MAPS programme, students participate in mandatory information literacy training integrated into the broader academic support curriculum. Information literacy, understood as the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information within specific contexts (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2016), functions in this setting as structured support for managing unfamiliar academic information environments. UJ Library’s information literacy programme is informed by the conceptual orientation of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, which shaped the design of the instructional content delivered to MAPS students.

Despite these institutional efforts, there remains limited understanding in the research literature of how first-generation students’ information seeking behaviour evolves during educational transition. This study therefore explores how uncertainty during the move to university is expressed through participants’ information practices.

This study aims to address the following questions:

RQ 1: How does the transition from home life to academic life have an impact on first-generation students’ information seeking behaviour?

RQ 2: How is uncertainty manifested in first-generation students’ information seeking practices during the transition from home life to academic life?

RQ3: How do first-generation students experience information literacy support in managing uncertainty in their academic environment?

Literature review

Considering the increasing number of first-generation students entering universities, understanding their adaptation to academic life requires conceptual clarity regarding information behaviour and transition. This review first outlines key concepts in information behaviour research and their interrelationships, then situates them within higher education and first-generation student contexts, before introducing transition theory and uncertainty as the central analytical components of this study. While this study builds on earlier work examining contextual influences on first-generation students’ information seeking, it is reframed to emphasise transition and uncertainty as primary interpretive perspectives, focussing on how uncertainty is experienced during the shift from home life to academic life.

Information behaviour and related concepts

Information behaviour broadly refers to the activities individuals engage in to seek, access, and utilise information to fulfil their information needs (Wilson, 2022). Information seeking is a deliberate aspect of information behaviour that involves the purposeful processes of identifying information needs, selecting sources, assessing relevance, and applying information to resolve a problem or achieve a goal (Savolainen, 2016; Wilson, 2022). Information needs represent gaps in knowledge that arise from contextual or situational changes (Ruthven, 2022a; Savolainen, 2023).

Everyday life information practices refer to the information habits people engage in within familiar, social and cultural environments, such as their home life (Savolainen, 1995, 2020). When individuals move between contexts, such as from home life to university, these everyday life practices may not align with institutional expectations. Information literacy, understood as the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information within specific contexts (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2016), can support adaptation to such new information environments. Together, these concepts are interrelated: contextual change reshapes information needs, which influence information seeking practices within broader patterns of information behaviour.

Information behaviour in higher education and first-generation students

In higher education, students must adapt to applying formal information practices that require an understanding of disciplinary conventions and expectations associated with independent learning. Research shows that educational transitions often intensify information needs and reshape information seeking strategies (Savolainen, 2023; Willson and Given, 2020). While many students experience uncertainty during this transition, first-generation students may face additional challenges due to limited familial experience with higher education and reduced prior exposure to academic information environments.

Studies indicate that first-generation students often rely on socially embedded everyday information practices and informal networks when managing academic demands (Du Toit, 2021). Compared to continuing-generation students, they may have less familiarity with institutional processes, academic terminology, and formal information sources (Heymann and Carolissen, 2011; Inman and Mayes, 1999). Research on first-generation students has largely focussed on retention, adaptation, and institutional support (Gist-Mackey et al., 2018; López et al., 2023), with less attention to how uncertainty shapes their information seeking behaviour during educational transition.

Transition theory as an analytical lens

Transition theory conceptualises change as a socially situated process in which individuals reposition themselves in response to changing environments (Hicks, 2022; Ruthven, 2022a). Ruthven (2022a) characterises transitions as phases of sense-making, negotiation, and reorientation, during which uncertainty reshapes information needs and triggers shifts from emotional to more strategic information seeking as individuals attempt to make sense of the changing environment. Hicks (2022) similarly conceptualises transition as a socially positioned process in which unfamiliar academic, financial, and cultural conditions initiate information literacy practices. Hicks further explains that transition often involves individuals having to adjust to institutional expectations and repositioning themselves within new knowledge communities, transforming their identity from engaging with information to becoming a competent member. While these theories provide strong conceptual foundations, much existing work focuses on adult populations and structural change rather than on how first-generation students experience uncertainty during educational transition.

Information behaviour research further reinforces the importance of examining transitions as situationally shaped processes. Wilson (2022) defines information behaviour as the actions involved in seeking, accessing, evaluating, and using information, reflecting individuals’ needs and cognitive processes. A situational perspective highlights how information behaviour adapts to contextual challenges during periods of transition, demonstrating that behaviour shifts across life phases and environments (Savolainen, 2023; Wilson, 2022). This approach has been applied in studies of refugees (Oduntan and Ruthven, 2021), LGBTQ communities (Pohjanen and Kortelainen, 2016), early career academics (Willson and Given, 2020), and first-generation students (Du Toit, 2021), illustrating how movement between environments intensifies information needs and reshapes information practices.

In educational contexts, the move from home to university represents a significant social, cultural, and academic transition (Settersten and Thogmartin, 2018; Volet and Jones, 2012). Such transitions alter information needs and strategies as students adapt to unfamiliar academic norms (Willson and Given, 2020). However, empirical insight into how first-generation students experience these transitions through their information practices remains limited, particularly in Global South settings.

Context and person-in-context

Context refers to the dynamic interplay of social, cultural, technological, and institutional conditions that shape how individuals engage with information (Meyer, 2016; Savolainen, 2021). Transitions reposition individuals within new information environments, requiring adjustments in established everyday life practices (Ruthven, 2022b). For first-generation students, the move from home to academic life entails negotiating unfamiliar expectations while drawing on prior socially embedded information practices.

A person-in-context perspective emphasises that information seeking during transition is influenced by cognitive, affective, and situational factors (Savolainen, 2020; Wilson, 2022). Uncertainty emerges at the intersection of personal experience and contextual disruption, shaping how students interpret academic expectations and prioritise information needs (Gaston et al., 2013). This perspective underscores the importance of examining information seeking as embedded within lived experience rather than as isolated skill acquisition.

Uncertainty in information seeking

Uncertainty is central to information seeking, particularly during periods of change. Kuhlthau’s (1993) Information Search Process identified uncertainty as a cognitive and affective condition shaping how individuals recognise information needs, select sources, and evaluate relevance. Subsequent research conceptualises uncertainty as multifaceted, encompassing cognitive uncertainty (lack of clarity or conflicting information), affective uncertainty (anxiety or doubt), and situational uncertainty arising from contextual disruption (Keller et al., 2020; Willson, 2019).

Educational transitions frequently heighten uncertainty due to unfamiliar academic expectations and institutional cultures (Gaston et al., 2013; Ruthven, 2022b). Such uncertainty may stimulate exploratory information seeking and curiosity, but when accompanied by anxiety or low confidence, it can also restrict engagement and result in information avoidance (van Lieshout et al., 2021; Wilson, 2022).

Although research on information behaviour, transition, and uncertainty is well established, limited attention has been given to how first-generation students experience and deal with uncertainty during the transition from home to academic life, particularly in Global South contexts. Furthermore, information literacy research has often adopted skills-based approaches rather than examining its role as a contextual resource during transition.

In this study, information literacy is understood as a socially situated practice that supports students engaging in unfamiliar academic information environments. While informed by the conceptual orientation of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, the framework guided the design of the UJ Library’s information literacy programme rather than serving as the primary analytical lens for this study. Addressing this gap, the present study examines how uncertainty shapes first-generation students’ information seeking behaviour and explores information literacy as an enabling resource during educational transition.

Research methodology

This study, derived from the author’s (2021) doctoral thesis, adopts a phenomenological approach to examine first-generation students’ information seeking behaviour. As Creswell and Poth (2018) note, qualitative research is a suitable approach for exploring meanings and complex experiences that are not easily captured quantitatively. First-generation students enrolled in the year-long MAPS bridging programme were recruited through the learning management system and programme facilitators, with voluntary participation approved through institutional ethical clearance and all participants provided informed consent prior to participation. Seventeen students participated in individual, in-depth interviews that were recorded and transcribed verbatim. For confidentiality purposes, each participant was assigned a unique identifier (P1–P17), which is used when presenting direct quotations in the findings.

The original interviews explored socio-economic factors, information needs, and academic services, but this paper focuses specifically on transition, uncertainty, and information seeking behaviour. Interviews were conducted after participants had completed the information literacy programme to allow for reflection on their experiences. Data were analysed using inductive reasoning and thematic analysis, supported by ATLAS.ti 8.2 and triangulation. As a qualitative study and conducted at a single institution, the findings offer contextualised insights into lived experiences of transition rather than generalisable conclusions.

Findings

Together, these findings show that the transition from home to academic life does not produce immediate behavioural change, but reshapes information seeking by introducing unfamiliar expectations, systems, and standards that are experienced through heightened uncertainty. The interconnected themes of transition, uncertainty, and information seeking illustrate how uncertainty was experienced and expressed through participants’ information practices during transitions.

Cultural influences

The findings suggest that participants’ information seeking during the transition to university was influenced by the social and cultural conditions of their home environments, where limited exposure to academic resources and support intensified their sense of uncertainty when engaging with unfamiliar academic contexts. Participants described feelings of anxiety, isolation, and social difficulty, which framed how they navigated both social and informational challenges at university. One participant’s (P7) response best reflects this situation:

It was very stressful. At home no-one went to varsity. So, they don’t know the experiences I experience every day. I don’t have anyone to talk to, even regarding social issues. They will just tell me that “you are the one at varsity and you are the one who wanted to study. . ., We can’t help you”. . . Even at the res [student residence] you are alone because your friends come from different backgrounds and you can’t pressurise them to help you. Even if you try and talk to them, they have their own problems, and you don’t want to be a burden. You truly learn to be alone.

The reference to talking reflects the participant’s reliance on everyday life information seeking practices, where asking others is a primary way of finding information, in contrast to academic contexts where formal sources and systems are expected. This illustrates how familiar practices are carried into an unfamiliar academic environment and may intensify feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. From this perspective, uncertainty becomes visible in participants’ continued dependence on socially embedded information practices and their hesitation to engage with formal academic information systems. This finding aligns with research on persistent uncertainty, which shows that uncertainty can occur at any stage of the information seeking process and shape how individuals interact with information (Chowdhury et al., 2014).

Motivation

The findings indicate that participants were strongly motivated to pursue their academic goals despite significant social and cultural limitations associated with their transition from home to university life. Participants described persistent efforts to access information and resources necessary for enrolment and academic participation, even in the absence of institutional or familial academic support. One participant, for example, recounted visiting a public library daily to use time-limited computers and internet facilities to complete the university’s online registration process. Another participant (P9) reflected on how limited access to information in her earlier educational experiences delayed her entry into higher education:

Yes, it affected me a lot. It affected me negatively. I am only starting to learn things now. That is why I started so late. Back in high school I didn’t get much information, I didn’t understand information. I had to find out for myself. Hence, I only enrolled this late.

This account highlights how participants’ motivation to pursue higher education coexisted with their reliance on familiar everyday life information seeking practices. As opposed to indicating a lack of effort, such practices reflect the boundaries within which participants sought information during transitions. As Ruthven (2022a) notes, transition involves ongoing adjustment to new situations; however, participants’ accounts suggest that uncertainty influenced how these adjustments were processed.

Despite lacking computers and internet access at home, some participants demonstrated resourcefulness. Two participants mentioned using their mobile phones and purchasing data to engage in academic work when working from home. These findings are in line with Wilson’s (2022) affirmation that when individuals recognise that they need information to achieve a specific goal, motivation drives them to seek information to satisfy their information needs. Notwithstanding their resourcefulness, the participants mainly depended on familiar search techniques from their everyday lives, such as asking for information, to overcome this uncertainty. This reliance can be interpreted as an expression of uncertainty, observable through information seeking behaviour that prioritises known and trusted practices over unfamiliar academic resources.

Social support networks

When asked whether they perceived a disadvantage as first-generation students, most participants described feeling disadvantaged because of the absence of academic support within their home environments. Approximately half of the participants reported relying on friends with prior university experience for guidance on navigating their academic lives. One participant (P5) explained as follows:

So I had to ask people from outside. I had to ask friends. Some of my friends are already at varsity [university] here. Some of the friends I have, had already finished, so I had to ask them. Mmm . . . you see not being able to ask someone at home is an inconvenience, because you feel you burden people, because you feel that they are busy and you are forced to ask them [friends] for anything about academics.

The quote suggests that the participant recognises differences between everyday and academic search practices, yet continues to rely on familiar everyday life strategies during transition. Rather than reflecting a lack of awareness of academic resources, this reliance can be understood as an expression of uncertainty and anxiety in an unfamiliar environment. As Savolainen (2014) shows, emotional factors such as familiarity, anxiety, and uncertainty influence the choice of search techniques, particularly in intimidating contexts. In this study, turning to friends functioned as a trusted way of managing uncertainty, highlighting the central role of social support networks in participants’ information seeking behaviour. Consistent with Savolainen’s (2014) work, anxiety and uncertainty influenced participants’ choice of information seeking practices, particularly during their transition into an unfamiliar academic environment. In this context, relying on friends became a trusted and accessible way of managing uncertainty, showing how social support networks were central to information seeking during transition.

The findings also indicate a notable reluctance among the participants to seek information from authoritative academic figures such as librarians and lecturers, showcasing the continuity of their reliance on social networks from their home life to their academic environment. Despite awareness of available library services, the preference for seeking academic information from peers persists as reflected in this response: ‘I will ask someone who has already done what I am busy with now, like a senior’’.

The findings highlight the interconnectedness of social and cultural influences with the uncertainties inherent in their information seeking behaviour throughout participants’ transitions to university life.

Prior library experience

Participants from rural areas with limited library access faced challenges due to unfamiliarity with library resources when they entered university. Geographic distance, relocation, and the absence of libraries influence their prior information environments and limit their exposure to formal library systems. This unfamiliarity manifested as uncertainty and apprehension about using academic library resources, as reflected in the following response (P4) about not knowing how to use a library or access its materials:

We didn’t have a library in our school. I actually went to different schools. We moved around a lot. So, from school to school. From grade 8 to 10 the community had a library, but I didn’t use it. I didn’t know the process how to use a library or how to get a book.

Using the library catalogue is a search technique required in academic settings, yet the participant’s response suggests limited proficiency and readiness to adopt such practices. Adapting to academic information seeking therefore involves learning, recognising the relevance of new techniques, and applying them in unfamiliar contexts. Drawing on Higgins et al. (1995), this process can be understood through dimensions of cognition (sense-making), acceptance, and application. Rather than tracing stages of adaptation, this study shows how prior information environments influence how uncertainty is experienced and managed during transition. In this context, information literacy instruction can serve as an enabler, supporting participants in making sense of and engaging with academic information practices.

The findings show that moving between everyday and academic environments influenced participants’ information needs, particularly as limited prior knowledge of academic requirements and feelings of uncertainty emerged in the unfamiliar university context. This supports Sonnenwald’s (1999) and Allen’s (1996) view that information needs are context dependent, with informal and formal environments generating different demands.

Prior knowledge of an academic environment

Participants from rural backgrounds often entered university with little exposure to formal library systems due to the socio-economic conditions of their everyday life information environments, which contributed to uncertainty about using academic library resources. As one participant (P11) explained: ‘The one [library] at school was not technological advanced, so coming to varsity and having to learn information literacy, it was difficult to adjust, but as time went by with assistance I got used to it’.

This finding highlights that participants’ uncertainty was not simply a result of individual lack of skill, but reflected a mismatch between their prior everyday life information environments and the expectations of formal academic systems. Participants from rural schooling contexts were not previously exposed to technologically mediated library practices, positioning them at a structural disadvantage when entering higher education. From a transition perspective, this illustrates how movement between information environments requires not only the acquisition of new skills but also the renegotiation of what constitutes legitimate ways of engaging with information. At the same time, this shift reshaped participants’ information needs, as uncertainty emerged from limited prior knowledge of academic requirements.

At the same time, the shift from everyday to academic environments reshaped participants’ information needs, as uncertainty emerged from limited prior knowledge of academic requirements. This supports Sonnenwald’s (1999) and Allen’s (1996) view that information needs are context dependent, with informal and formal environments generating different demands.

Academic information needs

De Clercq et al. (2017) observed that first-year students undergo a significant transition from the familiar structures of high school to the more complex and demanding academic environment of university. De Clercq’s observation also reflected the participants’ accounts of their information needs and perceived limitations of prior knowledge. One participant (P15) noted: ‘Because here [university] it was not like in high school where like I would just use my general information [knowledge]’. The initial stages of transitions to university represent a critical period in which participants need to adapt to a more independent and self-directed learning environment. Uncertainty about the ability to succeed in a new academic environment can motivate students to seek information that helps build their academic confidence. Therefore, it seems evident that uncertainty can trigger information seeking.

Such reflections indicate that previously sufficient forms of knowledge are no longer adequate in academic contexts. Uncertainty emerged through this misalignment between prior knowledge and academic expectations, influencing the academic information that participants perceived as necessary. Thus, the participants’ accounts reflect different aspects of sense-making and engagement with information, rather than the sequential stages of transition.

Understanding academic expectations

The findings indicate that uncertainty emerged in relation to understanding coursework expectations, particularly in the absence of academic support and resources in participants’ home environments. This uncertainty was expressed through participants’ descriptions of their information needs when attempting to gain clarity on academic tasks and terminology. The following responses illustrate these participants’ motivation to understand their coursework, which was driven by uncertainty, coupled with a lack of resources and support in their home environment. This recognition stems from the understanding that proficiency in coursework is crucial to academic progress. The following responses reflect the participants’ (P6) and (P15) experience: ‘You first need someone to explain to you what your research is about to get clarity about everything, then you need to find sources’ and ‘I don’t want to ask because everybody knows them [terminology] and when I come up with a question, they look at you in a way that you are funny. So, I have to look up the information. So, I would say I need information to explain my coursework terms to me’.

In academic contexts, explanations of disciplinary terminology are typically embedded in formal sources such as textbooks rather than through interpersonal interactions. This shift in information practices is part of the transition to university and may introduce uncertainty regarding academic expectations and coursework complexity, prompting students to seek information in new ways. This aligns with Kim and Shin (2020), who note that academic uncertainty manifests through students’ information needs and efforts to understand coursework demands.

The need for information to understand academic work reflects an adjustment to the university learning environment, where greater independence is required. Uncertainty about academic success therefore acted as a catalyst for seeking information and building confidence.

Trust

Participants’ reliance on familiar informal sources reflects an early engagement with the information literacy notion that authority is constructed and contextual, where trust is negotiated through social relationships rather than formal academic conventions. Their perceptions of trust were shaped by everyday information environments, leading them to prefer friends and peers, whose shared experiences made them seem more approachable and trustworthy than lecturers, tutors, or librarians. This preference is reflected in participants’ (P6) and (P13) responses, such as: ‘No, you first need someone to explain to you what your research is about to get clarity about everything, then you need to find sources’ and ‘I need people who will understand my needs for assignments’. This reliance reflects participants’ uncertainty about making decisions and a fear of making mistakes, which is common during transitions (Hicks, 2022). It also mirrors parental influences in traditional communities, where dependence on elders’ opinions shapes cognitive development (Meyer, 2009).

Although initially driven by uncertainty, reliance on others may also support development, highlighting the need for longitudinal research on how perceptions of authority evolve. From an information literacy perspective, participants’ trust in peers reflects early engagement with authority and credibility, which is grounded in shared experience rather than disciplinary expertise.

Problem-solving

Across participants’ accounts, problem-solving difficulties reflect how uncertainty is experienced when everyday information practices are applied to unfamiliar academic contexts. Participants’ accounts indicate that their approaches to problem-solving were influenced by everyday life information environments, where informal and experience-based strategies were commonly employed. When encountering academic information tasks, participants described difficulty in applying these familiar approaches within a more formal and structured academic context. This misalignment was reflected in participants’ descriptions of their information seeking experiences and outcomes.

Participants described their information seeking experiences using affective terms such as annoyed, frustrated, confused, disappointed, and lost. These findings suggest that cognitive skills shaped in everyday-life information environments contribute to uncertainty when addressing academic information tasks. Reliance on informal problem-solving methods, effective in everyday contexts but less suited to academic settings, often results in dissatisfaction with search outcomes.

This finding aligns with Kuhlthau’s (2021) emphasis on the affective dimension of information seeking, where feelings of uncertainty are commonly articulated during encounters with unfamiliar information tasks. Participants’ need to improve their ability to address academic information problems reflects an awareness of the differences between everyday and academic problem-solving contexts, rather than a demonstrated progression or adaptation over time.

Technology

Participants described limited access to computers and the internet in their home environments, often due to financial constraints and family perceptions that such technologies were not essential. As one participant (P4) explained:

Well, because no one uses a computer at home. They [parents] don’t think it important to buy one. So, if I would have to get a computer, I would have to buy it myself. There is no funding for something like that.

Upon entering university, this limited exposure was reflected in participants’ uncertainty about using computers and online platforms for academic purposes, particularly when contrasted with their prior experience of mobile phone use, as illustrated by the comment from this participant (P4): ‘It is different from using a cell phone to using everything of the computer. Not only to type, but also to use it for online classwork’.

These accounts highlight how limited prior exposure to academic technologies influenced participants’ information seeking experiences at university. Uncertainty emerged through their unfamiliarity with institutional systems and digital tasks. This shows how access to and familiarity with technology function as contextual conditions for information seeking during transition, rather than as determinants of behavioural change.

Information literacy as intervention

The findings suggest that limited search skills hinder effective information seeking and that alleviating uncertainty is central to supporting transition, with information literacy functioning as a key support tool. After completing the library’s information literacy programme, participants reported greater awareness of academic information sources and increased confidence in using books, journals, and online resources. They moved beyond reliance on informal networks and began to draw on a wider range of academic sources, particularly textbooks and journals, which were valued for their evidence-based content, as one participant (P13) noted: ‘information in books and journals are based on evidence’.

The findings show that participants reflected on connections between learning and information seeking practices. When asked about this relationship, most indicated becoming more aware of approaching information critically. One participant (P8) explained:

Yes, definitely, I can. It helped me improve how to look for information. Back then you just looked for information on the Internet. You only use what you see. You don’t really check the credibility, the reliability and the content of the information. As long as it is there you just use it; you can copy and paste the information. So now I use information much differently.

This account demonstrates how first-generation students utilised information literacy support to manage uncertainty, particularly by building greater confidence in assessing the credibility and reliability of academic information.

Rather than demonstrating a definitive change in information seeking behaviour over time, these findings show that information literacy instruction functioned as a supportive framework through which participants made sense of academic information practices. Participants described greater awareness of information sources and increased trust in evidence-based academic materials, indicating that information literacy acted not as a driver of transition but as an enabler for managing uncertainty in unfamiliar academic contexts. This aligns with Willson and Given (2020) and Hicks (2022), who argue that information literacy supports individuals during transitions by strengthening their ability to locate, evaluate, and use information confidently.

Despite limited academic support at home, participants showed a clear understanding of academic information needs, as reflected in the comment by one participant (R4): ‘We cannot write without referencing and citing anything’. ‘So that is when I need information for my assignments and for class’. This illustrates an emerging awareness that academic work requires formal sources and practices, marking a shift from reliance on everyday-life resources towards academically defined information needs, even as uncertainty remained.

These findings directly address RQ3 by showing that students experienced information literacy as a form of guidance and reassurance rather than as a mechanism of behavioural change.

Discussion

This study shows that the transition to university is experienced by first-generation students as a period of heightened uncertainty, which is expressed through how they engage with information. Extending Ruthven’s (2022a) conceptualisation of transition as a process of sense-making and reorientation, the findings demonstrate that uncertainty is not only a temporary affective state within information tasks, but a sustained condition influenced by prior information environments. Rather than demonstrating behavioural change over time, the findings reveal how transition creates conditions of uncertainty that shape information seeking as a situated and lived practice, strongly influenced by social, cultural, personal, and technological contexts.

Dalmer and McKenzie (2019) suggest that everyday life cannot be positioned only in one environment, but also as an interplay between family and organisational contexts. It seems evident that first-generation students experience transitions as a complex phenomenon where their information seeking behaviour is influenced by both their home and academic environments. Participants described how the lack of support and resources in their home settings influenced their feelings of uncertainty when they started university, which subsequently affected their approach to information seeking. This highlights the interconnectedness of their social and academic contexts during these transition periods. Savolainen’s (1995) ELIS model, which focuses on how people seek information in the context of their daily lives, highlights the crucial role of bridging gaps in daily life, but become a hurdle for first-generation students when adapting to a new information environment. For first-generation students, everyday life information strategies function both as coping mechanisms and as sources of uncertainty when misaligned with academic norms. This highlights transition as a dynamic interplay between continuity and disruption, rather than a linear shift from informal to formal information practices.

Uncertainty played a central role in influencing participants’ information seeking behaviour during transitions, particularly as challenges associated with their home environments, such as low socio-economic capacity and limited academic support, intensified feelings of uncertainty upon entering university. These experiences reflect broader conceptualisations of uncertainty in information behaviour literature (Kuhlthau, 1993; Ruthven, 2022b; van Lieshout et al., 2021), where uncertainty influences how individuals recognise information needs and engage with information. At the same time, participants demonstrated strong resilience and motivation to overcome social and cultural obstacles, driven by the need to understand coursework and academic expectations. This aligns with Dubnjakovic’s (2017) notion of cognitive motivation, which highlights goal-oriented behaviour as a key driver of information seeking.

Viewed through a person-in-context perspective proposed by Gaston et al. (2013), these findings show how cognitive, affective, social, and personal factors intersect to influence first-generation students’ experiences of transitions. The lack of support and resources in their home environments, combined with the demands of navigating a new academic environment, meant that uncertainty and motivation jointly influenced how students approached information seeking. In this context, information literacy instruction emerged as a supportive resource that helped participants make sense of academic information practices and cope with uncertainty, while analysis of their information seeking habits provides insight into the specific challenges they face and points to strategies for supporting their academic success.

The findings show that information literacy programmes help transform uncertainty into confidence by strengthening students’ ability to locate, evaluate, and use information. Participants demonstrated greater awareness of academic sources and increased confidence in using information for their studies, supporting Wilson’s (2022) view that proactive information seeking signals successful academic transition, as also noted by Hicks (2022) and Kuhlthau (2021). Together, these results highlight how contextual, cognitive, and affective factors interact to shape information seeking during the transition to university.

This study shows that first-generation students experience university transition through heightened uncertainty in their information-seeking behaviour rather than clear behavioural changes. This study enhances the understanding of information seeking as a coping mechanism during transition. It shows information literacy as a critical support for students navigating unfamiliar academic environments, emphasising the need for literacy initiatives that consider students’ transitional experiences and uncertainty.

Limitations

This study is based on a qualitative, phenomenological design conducted at a single institutional context, focussing specifically on first-generation students enrolled in the MAPS bridging programme within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg. As such, the findings reflect the lived experiences of a particular group of students navigating a structured academic support programme and cannot be generalised to first-generation students in other institutional settings, disciplines, or degrees. Furthermore, participation was limited to students who had completed the compulsory information literacy course, meaning the findings do not represent the experiences of first-generation students who did not receive this structured support.

The phenomenological approach prioritised participants’ subjective accounts of transition and uncertainty, which may be shaped by retrospective reflection and individual interpretation. Although this approach provides rich insight into how uncertainty is experienced and negotiated through information seeking behaviour, it does not measure observable behavioural change or skill application over time.

Conclusion

This study examined how first-generation students experience information seeking during the transition from home life to academic life, with particular attention to uncertainty. It shows that transition is primarily experienced as heightened uncertainty, which becomes visible through students’ information practices rather than through observable behavioural change over time. Students’ continued reliance on familiar strategies influenced by their home environments highlights how prior information contexts remain influential as they enter academic environments.

By highlighting uncertainty as the central condition through which information seeking is experienced, this study contributes to information behaviour research by reframing transition not as a direct driver of behavioural change, but as a context in which information practices are negotiated and adapted. It demonstrates how uncertainty, prior information environments, and institutional contexts intersect in determining students’ engagement with information.

The findings also indicate that information literacy instruction functions as an important form of contextual support. Rather than producing measurable behavioural transformation, information literacy provides students with a framework for understanding academic information practices and managing uncertainty more confidently. This positions information literacy as an enabling resource that supports adaptation during transition.

Methodologically, the qualitative, interview-based approach offers insight into the lived dimensions of uncertainty and information seeking, highlighting experiences that are often overlooked in studies focussed on skills acquisition or institutional structures. These findings underline the important role of academic libraries in designing information literacy programmes that respond to students’ emotional, contextual, and transitional needs, alongside technical competencies.

Future research could build on this study through longitudinal designs that examine how uncertainty and information seeking evolve over time, as well as comparative studies across institutional and cultural contexts. Such work would further clarify how prior information environments shape academic transitions, particularly within Global South settings.

In conclusion, this study positions academic transition as a process that is experienced and navigated through information practices shaped by uncertainty. By centring lived experience, it offers a conceptual shift in how information seeking during transition is understood and provides a foundation for more context-sensitive approaches to supporting first-generation students in higher education.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Professor Hester Meyer for her valuable guidance and input during the development of this research.

ORCID iDs

Gertruida Elizabeth Du Toit

Madely Du Preez

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data availability statement

The qualitative data generated and analysed during this study are not publicly available due to the sensitive nature of the interview data and the need to protect participant confidentiality. Data may be available from the author upon reasonable request and subject to ethical approval.

Author biographies

Gertruida Elizabeth Du Toit is a Specialist Librarian: Teaching and Learning at the University of Johannesburg. Her work focuses on supporting student success through the development and integration of information literacy into curricula. Her research interests include information literacy, information behaviour, and curriculum and instructional design in teaching and learning.

Madely Du Preez is a research fellow in the Department of Information Science, University of South Africa where she taught information organisation and retrieval. Her own research interests are information behaviour with a focus on social networking, social media and information literacy. She currently is a guest lecturer at the Department of Information Science, University of Pretoria for modules pertaining to her research interests and information organisation.

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Understanding information seeking in transition: How uncertainty influences first-generation students’ information seeking behaviour

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Background

Literature review

Information behaviour and related concepts

Information behaviour in higher education and first-generation students

Transition theory as an analytical lens

Context and person-in-context

Uncertainty in information seeking

Research methodology

Findings

Cultural influences

Motivation

Social support networks

Prior library experience

Prior knowledge of an academic environment

Academic information needs

Understanding academic expectations

Trust

Problem-solving

Technology

Information literacy as intervention

Discussion

Limitations

Conclusion

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

ORCID iDs

Funding

Declaration of conflicting interests

Data availability statement

Author biographies

References