Investigation of Nursing Students' Online Information Searching Strategies and Attitudes Towards Informatics Ethical Values

TL;DR

This study explores how nursing students search for online information and their attitudes toward informatics ethics, finding that better search strategies correlate with stronger ethical attitudes.

Contribution

The novel contribution is identifying a positive relationship between online information searching strategies and informatics ethical attitudes among nursing students.

Findings

Nursing students with better online information searching strategies showed higher attitudes toward informatics ethical values.

Significant differences in information searching scores were found based on gender, class, and internet access.

A low-level but statistically significant correlation (r=0.339) was observed between ethical attitudes and search strategies.

Abstract

Information technologies used in accessing online information also bring ethical problems. Informatics ethics are affected by students' socio‐demographic characteristics. This study was conducted to examine nursing students' online information searching strategies and attitudes towards informatics ethical values.

A descriptive, cross‐sectional study design was employed. A non‐probability sampling method was used to determine the research sample. Data for the study were collected from students aged ≥ 18 years who were studying at the faculty of nursing of a university located in the west of the country between 15 September 2021 and 15 June 2022 and who agreed to participate in the research voluntarily. Data were collected using a ‘Descriptive Information Form’, the ‘Online Information Searching Strategy Inventory’ and the ‘Attitude Scale towards Informatics Ethical Values’.

Data were collected from a total of 710 first‐, second‐, third‐ and fourth‐year nursing students. Of the nursing students participating in the study, 40.1% were between the ages of 20 and 21, and 61.5% were female. A statistically significant difference was determined between their mean scores on the total information searching strategy scale and gender, class, the status of having a personal computer, level of computer use, the status of having an internet connection and the frequency of searching for information on the Internet (p < 0.05). In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between their mean scores on the total attitude scale towards informatics ethical values scale and age, gender, school year, the status of having a personal computer, the status of having an internet connection, frequency of searching for information on the Internet and the duration of searching for information online a week (p < 0.05). A positive, low‐level, statistically significant relationship was found between nursing students' attitudes towards informatics ethical values and online information searching strategies (r = 0.339, p = 0.000).

In conclusion, it was found that when online information searching strategies increased, attitudes towards informatics ethical values increased as well. It is thought that our study results will be a guide for nursing students to develop online information search strategies throughout their educational lives and raise awareness about informatics ethics. It may be recommended that students' information search strategies be determined, information sources be found, information be used and necessary arrangements be made to meet their needs.