The impact of information finding and keeping activities on personal information management capability among university students: A pilot study in China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/xxcap449Keywords:
Information finding activities, Information keeping activities, Personal information management capability, University students, Digital learning environment, PLS-SEMAbstract
Effective personal information management (PIM), including finding, keeping, and refinding information, is essential for university students in digital learning environments, yet it remains underexamined in teacher education research. This pilot study investigates whether students’ information finding and keeping activities predict their personal information management capability (PIMC), grounded in Jones’ PIM process perspective. Survey data from 201 university students in Guangxi, China were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Results show that both finding (p < 0.001) and keeping (p < 0.001) activities positively predict PIMC, collectively explaining 40.8% of its variance. Descriptively, students reported moderate levels of finding and keeping behaviors but relatively high PIMC, suggesting a competence–behavior gap. By refining a keeping activities scale and testing both dimensions jointly within a single model, this study provides pilot evidence for designing targeted learning supports. Implications for teaching and teacher education include integrating explicit PIM strategies into digital literacy instruction and scaffolding students’ transition from effective keeping to confident refinding.
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