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An exploration of factors influencing the decision-making process and selection of academic help sources

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Abstract

This study identifies factors that influence undergraduate students’ selection of a source of help. Learners engage in intentional decisions to seek help from human and non-human sources to resolve gaps in knowledge. Previous research in academic help-seeking assumed learners sought only human sources of assistance, resulting in a narrow understanding of how learners resolve knowledge gaps. Methodological trends in help-seeking research consistently favor quantitative, survey-based tools with pre-defined options. As a result, the factors that influence the selection of a source in a real-world setting with both human and online sources remain unexplored. The findings support including online sources in help-seeking models. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate the importance of relationships and underscore the need for an integrated framework of help-seeking. A new theory of source selection emerged which integrates academic help-seeking and information-searching behavior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northeastern University, Chicago, USA

    Joan Giblin

  2. University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

    Jill Stefaniak

  3. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, USA

    Angela Eckhoff & Tian Luo

Authors
  1. Joan Giblin
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  2. Jill Stefaniak
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  3. Angela Eckhoff
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  4. Tian Luo
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Correspondence to Jill Stefaniak.

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Giblin, J., Stefaniak, J., Eckhoff, A. et al. An exploration of factors influencing the decision-making process and selection of academic help sources. J Comput High Educ 33, 1–18 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-020-09252-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-020-09252-0

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