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

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.