Information Seeking Anxiety: Concept, Measurement and Preliminary Research

Abstract

This study aims to introduce the information seeking anxiety construct as a phenomenon among postgraduate students. It also presents the Information Seeking Anxiety Scale (ISAS) as a valid and reliable instrument. Further, the current study investigates the prevalence of information seeking anxiety among postgraduate students at a research-intensive university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Results of the study revealed that while information seeking anxiety is present among the studied students, the overall level is not high. Additionally, Different levels (low, mild, moderate and severe levels) of the information seeking anxiety construct were reported to have experienced by 96.5% of the postgraduate students at the sampled university.