Information Seeking Behaviour of Medical Undergraduate Students in India

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the information seeking patterns of medical students at Sree Narayana Institute of Medical sciences (SNIMS), Kerala State, India. A questionnaire was designed and administered to the randomly selected 120 medical students of the four batches of the course to investigate their information-seeking behaviour. The investigator could collect 120 filled in questionnaires from the respondents that constituted a response rate of 91.66 per cent. The data collected through questionnaires were analyzed through simple statistical techniques. The survey reveals that nearly half of the students visit the library 2-3 times a week and use the library mainly for reading reference books and text books. The findings show that, although similarities exist between female and male students of MBBS students with regard to information-seeking behavior, there are significant differences as well. This paper highlights the students perspective on information seeking behaviour. Paper establishes the importance of a cross-sectional study in understanding the difference in students gender wise information needs.

Keywords: Information Seeking Behavior, Medical Students, Undergraduate Students India

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