Modelling information-seeking behaviour of graduate students at Kuwait University

Purpose - This paper seeks to report the results of research conducted to model the information-seeking behaviour of graduate students at Kuwait University and the factors influencing that behaviour. Design/methodology/approach - The research employed a number of different approaches: a questionnaire survey to 800 graduate students studying at Kuwait University; a questionnaire survey to 180 academics at the university; semi-structured interviews with eight academics; face-to-face and online interviews with 11 university library staff, four focus groups with 24 students and three focus groups with ten faculty staff. Findings - Significant factors influencing students' information-seeking behaviour were found to be related to library awareness, information literacy, organisational and environmental issues, source characteristics, and demographics (specifically gender and nationality). Research limitations/implications - The research focused on graduate students at a Kuwait University which is affiliated to the government sector, however, the information seeking model is more widely applicable, particularly to other developing countries. Originality/value - Proposed is an information-seeking model that extended two other relevant and influential models of information-seeking behaviour. The extended model shows promise for its intended utility in identifying factors that influence the information behaviour of graduate students.