Information behaviour of undergraduate students using Facebook Confessions for educational purposes

Introduction -- This research investigates the information behaviour of undergraduate students seeking academic help via anonymous posts to a university Facebook Confessions page. While Confessions pages have gained popularity in post-secondary contexts, their use for educational purposes is largely unexplored. Method -- Researchers employed a mixed methods content analysis to investigate information behaviour and the thematic contents of the 2,712 confessions posted during one academic year. Analysis -- Using generic qualitative strategies informed by constructivist grounded theory, as well as quantitative descriptive statistical procedures, researchers found that 708 (26.1%) of these confessions supported various student-student learning exchanges. Results -- Qualitative analysis demonstrated that students use Facebook Confessions to inform their undergraduate learning and support their academic experience through four main types of information behaviour: help seeking, advice giving, information seeking, and moderating behaviours. Quantitative analysis of the distribution and frequency of these types illustrated a range of information needs during particular times of the academic year. Conclusions -- While Facebook Confessions can enable rich peer-to-peer academic help seeking and other information behaviour, those in official post-secondary education roles should use caution when considering whether to engage in student-driven social media spaces. Recommendations include further development of students’ digital literacies for social media.