Information Behaviour Of Undergraduate Students Using Facebook Confessions For Educational Purposes

Introduction. This research investigates the information behaviour of undergraduate students seeking academic help via anonymous posts to a university Facebook Confessions page. While Confessions pages have gained popularity in post-secondary contexts, their use for educational purposes is largely unexplored.Method. Researchers employed a mixed methods content analysis to investigate information behaviour and the thematic contents of the 2,712 confessions posted during one academic year.Analysis. Using generic qualitative strategies informed by constructivist grounded theory, as well as quantitative descriptive statistical procedures, researchers found that 708 (26.1%) of these confessions supported various student-student learning exchanges.Results. Qualitative analysis demonstrated that students use Facebook Confessions to inform their undergraduate learning and support their academic experience through four main types of information behaviour: help seeking, advice giving, information seeking, and moderating behaviours. Quantitative analysis of the distribution and frequency of these types illustrated a range of information needs during particular times of the academic year.Conclusions. While Facebook Confessions can enable rich peer-to-peer academic help seeking and other information behaviour, those in official post-secondary education roles should use caution when considering whether to engage in student-driven social media spaces. Recommendations include further development of students' digital literacies for social media.