Analysis of Japanese undergraduate students' information behavior during academic tasks in a Canadian university

Abstract

Abstract This poster session will report preliminary results from doctoral research that investigates how Japanese students, as a sample of international students in Canadian universities, perform their academic tasks and to what extent they are information literate. The number of international students, particular from non‐North American and non‐European countries, has greatly increased in recent decades in North American post‐secondary academic institutions. Although their intellectual and financial contributions are significant, their experience after enrolment is often neglected, which leads to dissatisfaction. Thus, it is important for academic institutions to improve international students' experience to facilitate their academic success. Among various potential solutions, improvement of information literacy skills is especially important for students' academic success in today's information intense environment. However, academic libraries struggle to answer the question of how they can provide support for international students with diverse needs, experiences, and expectations. Before planning strategies to improve their skills, it is critical for academic institutions to understand how students conduct research and to what extent they are information literate. Using multiple qualitative methodologies, Japanese undergraduate students' information behavior will be investigated and assessed using information behavior models (how students behaved) and information literacy standards (how well the behavior was conducted). This research will generate knowledge of how they perform their research and the extent to which their behaviors during their research tasks are information literate. An understanding of how various factors affect their behavior will deepen understanding of why students are or are not information literate. The research findings will contribute to the capacity of North American academic libraries to facilitate international students' success in academia.