Factors influencing students' information seeking habits from the university management communication platforms during covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has extended its influence across the globe affecting in an unprecedented manner many facets of human life including education. In response to the Malaysian government’s directive on strict adherence to protocols such as Movement Control Order (MCO) and social distancing among others, the International Islamic University employed online learning system to replace face-to-face (physical) classes. Social media platforms are very common in modern education system everywhere, especially in Malaysia universities. The main objective of this study was to examine the factors influencing students’ information seeking habits from the university management communication platforms during COVID-19 pandemic. The specific objectives of the study include: (1) to identify the types of communication platforms students preferred for information seeking from the university management during COVID-19 pandemic; (2) to determine students’ preference and utilization of communication platforms for information seeking from the university management during COVID-19 pandemic; (3) to examine the effect of student’s attitude on information seeking habits from the university management during COVID-19 pandemic; and (4) to determine factors influencing students information seeking habits from the university management during COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a quantitative research design with survey method. A total of 200 students from undergraduate and postgraduate programmes were randomly selected for the study. The research found that students preferred using WhatsApp, Facebook and Email to seek information from the university management. Students have positive attitude on information seeking habits from the university management. Information seeking habits are significantly influence by preference, utilization, attitude and source of the message. The findings support the information seeking theory.