Examining the Information Behavior of Law Students in the Country

Purpose: The information behavior of law students in the country, as one of the key aspects of
the learning and research process in this field, plays a significant role in shaping their analytical
and reasoning abilities. The aim of the present study is to examine the information behavior of law students in the country.
Methods: The current research was conducted in terms of practical purpose and in a survey way. The statistical population is all law students in the country. And the sample of this research has been selected in a stratified manner. The data collection tool is a researcher-made questionnaire and its validity has been evaluated based on the content validity method. "Content validity is a type of validity that is usually used to check the components of a measuring instrument" (Sarmadi et al., 2017, p. 171). Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and single-sample T-test were used for the reliability of multiple-choice questions. In order to collect information, a questionnaire consisting of 35 questions was designed in 1 section and to collect the required data, a questionnaire was designed online and provided to the students, and 591 questionnaires were analyzed. The number of female students is 377 (64%) and male students is 214 (36%). Also, the age of the students includes 81 people (14 percent) of the sample less than 20 years old, 178 people (30 percent) between 21 and 23 years old, 63 people (11 percent) between 24 and 27 years old, 47 people (8 percent) between 28 and 31 years old. and 222 people (37%) are over 32 years old. On the other hand, there are 535 (91%) undergraduate students, 50 (8%) master's students, and 6 (1%) PhD students. Also, 6% of the sample in the first semester, 17% in the 2nd semester, 12% in the 3rd semester, 24% in the 4^th semester, 11% in the 5^th semester, 15% in the 6^th semester, 6% in the 7^th semester, and 9% in the 8^th semester. They are studying. The place of study of the students includes 77% of the sample in Payam Noor University, 18% in public university, less than 1% in Azad University and 4% in international units. The GPA of the students includes the GPA of 13% of the sample below 14, 44% between 15 and 16.99 and 43% above 17. The mother tongue of the students is 94% of the sample Persian, 3% Turkish, 2% Kurdish, other languages ​​are less than 1% each.
Findings: The findings indicated that the first and second hypotheses regarding the educational level and university can significantly predict the variance in information behavior scores of students. Thus, the information behavior of students is influenced by the educational level and the university they attend. This finding reflects educational differences, available resources, or various teaching methods across different universities and educational levels. The results for the hypothesis regarding the information-seeking behavior of law students were at a moderate level. This may mean that students relatively possess the ability to seek information but may still need improvement in certain areas. According to the findings of the fourth hypothesis, the information evaluation behavior of students is also at a moderate level. This means that students are capable of assessing the quality and credibility of information, but may still require further skills in this area. In the results for the fifth hypothesis, the information application behavior of students is also at a moderate level. This indicates that students effectively utilize the information they acquire, but may need better strategies for applying that information. Finally, the findings of the sixth hypothesis showed that the overall information behavior of law students is also at a moderate level. This result generally indicates that law students are at a moderate level in all dimensions of their information behavior (searching, evaluating, applying).
Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that law students possess a moderate level of information skills, which are influenced by their educational level and university. It may be necessary for educational programs and support resources to be designed in a way that helps improve the information skills of students.