ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities

Information Needs and Seeking Behaviour of Postgraduate Students in the Digital Age: A Case Study of Chandigarh University

Information Seeking Behaviour (ISB) is the process by which users determine their information requirements and actively seek out pertinent information through the use of different sources and systems. ISB has been greatly transformed in the current digital and AI-driven academic landscape because of the incorporation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), digital libraries, and artificial intelligence tools. The current research explores information seeking behaviour of postgraduate students at the Chandigarh University in the Faculty of Social Sciences. The survey technique was used in the form of a structured questionnaire that was administered to 300 postgraduate students of which 260 respondents returned the questionnaires (response rate: 86.67%). The paper notes that online materials, search engines and AI-related applications have a substantial impact on the information seeking behaviors of students. Although use of libraries has been reduced, a hybrid between use of print and electronic resources is still predominant. The results indicate that students like to have access to digital information fast but still use textbooks and reference materials to gain the academic depth. Information overload, insufficient advanced search skills, and knowledge of institutional digital resources are among the critical issues. The research finds that academic libraries need to incorporate AI tools, digital literacy initiatives, and user-centric services to stay pertinent in the changing knowledge ecosystem.