Information needs of international students: the case of the Federal University of Minas Gerais

• Ano de defesa: 2022
• Autor(a) principal: Danielle do Carmo Pimenta Rioga
• Orientador(a): Renata Maria Abrantes Baracho Porto
• Banca de defesa: Gercina Angela de Lima, Ricardo Rodrigues Barbosa, Fernanda Farinelli, Beatriz Valadares Cendón, Frederick Marinus Constant van Amstel
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Gestão e Organização do Conhecimento
• Departamento: ECI - ESCOLA DE CIENCIA DA INFORMAÇÃO
• País: Brasil
• Palavras-chave em Português: Information Needs of International Students; Internationalization of Education; International Graduate Student; Information and Communication Technologies; Design Science Research
• Link de acesso: http://hdl.handle.net/1843/49124; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4111-2482

The Internationalization of Education highlights the increase in the flow of international students at universities in more developed countries. However, there is a growing demand for other destinations, such as Brazilian public universities. The information needs of these students lack further studies. However, it is still relevant in the context of Information Science and the Internationalization of Education. This research aims to contribute to the areas above, due to the deficiency of studies mentioned, in addition to an analysis that contemplates the characteristics and peculiarities of a Brazilian public university. In this context, the research questions are: 1) what are the characteristics and information needs of international graduate students studying at UFMG? 2) what requirements can be suggested to improve UFMG's Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)? The main objective is to understand and map the characteristics and information needs of International Graduate Students at the Federal University of Minas Gerais - UFMG to contribute to the institution's education internationalization process. The research has an applied nature, with a qualitative and quantitative approach – mixed methods and an exploratory objective. Different data collection methods were reconciled, including bibliographic and documentary background, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaire. The nine interviews were analyzed in the NVivo software and the fifty-one questionnaires using the SPSS software. The methodology used was Design Science Research, associated with mixed methods. From this perspective, the literature review was based on four theoretical pillars: Human Informational Behavior, Internationalization of Higher Education, Information Behavior of International Students, and Internationalization of Brazilian Universities - Graduate Programs. According to Information Science, the research has an interdisciplinary character, involving concepts and techniques from two areas of knowledge: Information Science and Internationalization of Education. All the proposed objectives were reached and generated as results: definition of the characteristics and information needs of international graduate students at UFMG; infographic with the information flow - enrollment at a UFMG graduate program; mapping of support networks used by the international graduate students at UFMG; solutions proposal to attract new international candidates considering their information needs; UFMG Information and Communication Technologies Improvements Recommendations.