IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
Information Seeking Behavior of S1 FISIP Students.
University of Bengkulu In Finding Reliable News Sources Through Tik Tok Delta Sapitra University Of Bengkulu Fransiska Timoria Samosir University Of Bengkulu Email:deltasapitra62@gmail.
ABSTRACT
This research analyzes the information seeking behavior of Bengkulu University FISIP undergraduate students in searching for information via TikTok.
This research uses a quantitative approach using survey methods.
Data collection was obtained by distributing questionnaires to respondents.
From the questionnaire results that have been obtained, data tabulation is then processed and analyzed using statistical data processing.
The measurement scale used in this research is the Likert scale.
The results of the research that has been carried out found that the majority of respondents in searching for information sources carried out stages in searching for their information needs.
Students have a positive attitude in seeking information about trusted news sources via TikTok.
They tend to be interested, driven by the course, choose topics carefully, search from a variety of sources, formulate questions well, evaluate the accuracy of information, and be satisfied with search results.
TikTok is used by students to get news or information, they still doubt the accuracy of the information found on TikTok.
Students attempted to evaluate and verify the accuracy of the information by looking for sources other than TikTok.
However, they also spend a lot of time searching for and accessing the information they need, and feel compelled to seek additional information from other sources after using TikTok.
Keywords: Information Needs.
Information Search Behavior.
Use of TikTok
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
INTRODUCTION
The entry of the information age is changing the way people search for and use information.
This change occurred due to the increasing need for information and the availability of new facilities to meet these needs.
Mainly, the information age makes people need information more and have easier access to get it through the available facilities.
Behavior change includes how people recognize the need for information, seek it, utilize it, and evaluate that Nowadays, social media has become an inseparable part of human life.
Social media seems to have become the main need in life.
This is because social media has become a place where information or news can be received and shared with others virtually with a very fast spread.
Social media makes it easy to disseminate information widely and instantly to many people.
(Istiani & Islamy, 2.
Information behavior is closely related to information seeking behavior.
Informational behavior begins when a person needs certain Searching for information is important to ensure that the information obtained can be trusted for its truth.
A person searches for information because there is an awareness in him to find a reliable news source according to his information needs.
By seeking information from credible sources, one can obtain accurate and reliable information.
There are many ways to find the information needed, such as accessing the internet, going to the library, or searching for information through social media accounts that provide the resources needed by students.
One way is to use TikTok social media.
Currently, social media has been used by various parties to gain knowledge and disseminate information, including through the TikTok application.
College students mainly use TikTok to find the reliable news sources they Rohmawati.
Ikhromah Eka & Mecca Arfa.
In a study on the information search behavior of students of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences.
Diponegoro University (Undi.
using the TikTok application, it was found that the students' information search behavior was diverse, but also had similarities in the process of finding the information needed.
Basically.
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
students of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Undip tend to choose to seek information through TikTok for information needs.
Some of the behaviors found when they search for information on TikTok, include getting other information that is not sought or needed at the time, using keywords and hashtags to make it easier to find information, looking at other reference sources related to the information being sought, paying attention to the latest information on the TikTok application, choosing information that is relevant to their needs, check the accuracy of the information obtained, as well as make conclusions from the information that has been obtained.
Another research conducted (Masari et al.
, 2.
In a study on the influence of TikTok @buiramira content on students' information search behavior, it was found that the intensity of watching TikTok content @buiramira by Communication Science students of the class of 2019 Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang had a significant effect on their information search behavior.
Social and political science students (FISIP) of the University of Bengkulu are students political ones who are often in the process of doing college assignments or in the campus world are looking for sources of information or news for their needs.
The faculty consists of 6 study programs for the average level 1, namely Bachelor of Journalism.
Bachelor of Social Welfare.
Bachelor of Communication Sciences.
Bachelor of Sociology, and Bachelor of Library and Information Science students.
Students use the TikTok application in searching for information, especially to find reliable news and access social media accounts that provide the information they need.
Students have many information needs that they want to meet and often get lectures from lecturers related to accessing information through the internet or social media.
The process of disseminating information happens very quickly, where each individual can easily generate and disseminate information through various social media such as TikTok, and the information disseminated through this application is often not properly filtered.
To meet these needs, a person seeks information from various sources, both from individuals and business entities, through electronic social media such as the TikTok application.
The IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
application is also very up-to-date in providing information or news that is trending and spreads very quickly through TikTok.
The research was conducted by researchers to determine the information search behavior of S1 FISIP University of Bengkulu students in seeking The researcher used the Kuhlthau model.
The use of the model is due to the stages in the search behavior carried out by students in the search for information related to trusted news in accordance with the stages in the kuhlthau model.
According to Khulthau .
the stages that need to be passed by a person in seeking information are Initiation, topic selection, prefocus exploration, focus formulation, information collection, search This research was conducted with the aim of looking at the behavior of S1 FISIP University of Bengkulu students in searching for trusted news sources through Tik Tok.
In finding the information or news they want, as well as how students determine the information or news can be trusted about information disseminated by a person, business entity, organization through Tik-tok social media.
METHODS
The research method used in this study is a quantitative method, which is based on digital data in the form of numbers and statistical data analysis.
This method is based on the positivism paradigm to research a specific population or sample.
Statistical analysis was carried out to describe the condition of the sample and test the hypothesis that had been established (Sugiyono, 2.
The data in this study was collected through a survey technique with share questionnaires as the primary data source.
The questionnaire contains questions answered by respondents in the form of The results of the respondents' answers to the questionnaire were then processed and analyzed using the statistical data processing method.
The type of scale used to measure respondents' answers in the questionnaire is the Likert scale.
Table 1 : Tablescale Likert
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
Responses Value Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree The population of this study is S1 FISIP students of the University of Bengkulu batch 2020- 2023.
Sample determination using the slovin formula.
The sample was obtained from 6 departments or study programs, namely the average level 1, including Bachelor of Journalism.
Bachelor of Social Welfare.
Bachelor of Communication Sciences.
Bachelor of Sociology.
Bachelor of Public Administration and Bachelor of Library and Information Science The analysis technique used is data tabulation.
At this stage, the data obtained from the answers of respondents who filled out the questionnaire will be calculated and processed.
Data analysis was carried out using the mean formula.
To analyze the respondents' answers, each answer will be assessed using a range of scores.
From the statistical data of the University of Bengkulu, active students of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences from the Class of 2020-2023 amounted to 1,847 with a total number of samples obtained using the slovin formula.
Table 2 : Sampling Jurusan Population Sample Journalism Public Administration Social Welfare Communication Science Sociology Libraries and Information Science Sum
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The need for student information in finding news sources is not only through tiktok, there are various other online platforms that are accessed by students, especially students of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences.
University of Bengkulu in meeting the information needs they need.
Information search activities are driven by a situation where a person feels that they still lack knowledge about something so they search for references or sources of information to be able to understand what they need.
TikTok is considered reliable to meet someone's information needs, so they feel informed obtained from TikTok makes it productive or can increase his knowledge (Oktaviani.
Information Seeking Behavior Information Seeking Behavior is an effort or action made by a person to find the information needed to achieve a certain goal.
This behavior includes various forms of interaction with information systems, both physical interactions such as using the mouse or clicking on links, as well as interactions at the intellectual level (Widiyastuti, 2.
Students of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) University of Bengkulu use TikTok as a way to meet their information needs, especially in finding news One of the reasons they use TikTok is to fulfill their coursework related to TikTok social media.
In an effort to find sources of information, students carry out several stages as follows:
Inititation Inititation is the initial stage in the search for information carried out in the khutlau model.
At this stage, a person has not been able to clearly identify the problem at hand.
All they realized was that they were having a problem.
The individual will feel anxiety and confusion that encourages him to seek and find information to solve the problem he is facing (Istiqoriyah et al.
, 2.
Students are looking for trusted sources of information through TikTok social
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
media because of their motivation and interest in using the platform as a means of getting the latest news or information.
Based on the research conducted, it shows that most of the S1 FISIP students are interested in using TikTok as a source of information because this social media is fast in spreading information.
This can be seen from the following data results:
Table 4.
Interested in trusted news information Interested in trusted news
Strongly Agree
Frekuensi
26,04
Agree
57,29
Disagree 15,63 Strongly disagree 1,04 Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Based on the results above, it can be seen that most of the S1 FISIP students of the University of Bengkulu feel interested in finding information about trusted news through TikTok.
Where from the results of the student respondents who answered strongly agreed with 25 respondents with a percentage of 26.
04% and who agreed with 55 respondents with a percentage It can be concluded that S1 FISIP students at the University of Bengkulu have a fairly high interest in finding information related to trusted news sources through TikTok.
So that the interest possessed by students makes students try to find information needs that are cool by students according to their needs.
At first.
TikTok was considered a social media platform that only contained useless content.
However, that view has now TikTok is currently seen as a useful means to convey education and disseminate information to the wider community.
Therefore.
TikTok social media can be used by the public as a means of fulfilling information (Widyanto et al.
, 2.
Initiation stages carried out by S1 FISIP students of the University of Bengkulu The search for sources of information through social media by IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
students is also driven by the desire to fulfill their coursework.
One of the social media used is the TikTok platform.
Students usually look for information related to political issues, social gaps in society, and this information is found faster through TikTok Some S1 FISIP students at the University of Bengkulu feel encouraged in looking for information because of the coursework that can be seen from the following data results:
Table 5.
Driven in the fulfillment of duties Interested in trusted Strongly Agree
Frekuensi
17,71
Agree
63,54
Disagree 16,67 Strongly disagree 2,08 Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Based on the results of the table above, it can be seen that most students feel encouraged by the importance of their coursework to find the information needed, one of which is related to the news sources they are looking for sources of information in fulfilling information.
It can be seen from the table above that 17 respondents with a percentage of 17.
71% of students agreed, 61 respondents with a percentage of 63.
54% agreed to have an impulse to seek information.
can be said that S1 FISIP students of the University of Bengkulu carry out inititation stages in information seeking behavior in order to meet the information needs they need.
The user's choice to watch short videos and the big data boost of TikTok's personalized algorithm are closely related Users expect fun and knowledge when using the TikTok App In addition to watching short videos to relax and spend time before bed, students are usually actively searching for the information they need (Pan, 2.
Topic Selection IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
The Topic Selection stage students will make a selection in the information they are looking for and be ready to search for information.
In searching for the topic they are looking for, students choose the search topic that will be searched carefully based on what is needed by the student, such as political issues, social disparities, information utilization or others.
This can be seen from the results of the following table.
Table 6.
Careful topic search
Interested in finding news
Strongly Agree
Frequency 22,92 Agree
69,79
Disagree 7,29 Strongly disagree Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Most respondents in searching for the information they need carefully choose search topics based on the interests and needs of the respondents.
From the results, it was found that 22 respondents with a percentage of 22.
strongly agreed, and 67 respondents with a percentage of 69.
79% agreed that they carefully chose the topic of information search based on personal interests and needs.
A person's ability to access information usually varies and depends on each individual.
In searching for information search topics through TikTok, respondents take information that is relevant to the needs of This can be seen from the following results:
Table 7.
Relevance of Information Interested in finding news information Frequency Strongly Agree
18,75
Agree
57,29
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
Disagree 22,92 Strongly Disagree 1,04 Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Students S1 FISIP of the University of Bengkulu in looking for search topics from respondents who strongly agreed with 18.
75%, and 55 respondents agreed with a percentage of 57.
29% said that the topics they chose in the search for information were topics relevant to the information needs of students they needed.
Tik Tok can meet the information needs of respondents by utilizing this can be strictly facilitated by the ability to find news related to events that occur in the surrounding environment through the application (Anggita et al.
, 2.
Prefocus Exploration.
At this stage before using TikTok, students tend to look for the information they need from various other sources first.
Other platforms are in the form of youtube, google search engine and others.
From the results of the questionnaire that have been distributed to student respondents before using TikTok as the main social media in looking for information needs, they tend to look for information through other social media.
This can be seen from the results of the following Table 8.
Search through other platforms Interested in finding news
Frequency Strongly Agree
22,92
Agree
60,42
Disagree 15,63 Strongly Disagree 1,04 Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Based on the results of the table above, it was found that most respondents with a percentage of 22.
92% strongly agreed and 58 respondents with a IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
percentage of 60.
42 agreed that they tend to look for information from various sources before deciding to use TikTok as a search platform.
In this stage, students in Looking for the topic they need Usually they have a specific topic that they want to search for through the TikTok platform before searching.
This can be seen from the results of the following table:
Table 8.
Search through other platforms Interested in finding news
Frequency Strongly Agree
23,96
Agree
61,46
Disagree 14,58 Strongly Disagree Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Based on the results above, it is known that respondents who strongly agree with 23 respondents with a percentage of 23.
96%, stated that in seeking information through social media tiktok students have special topics in searching for the information they need.
And 59 respondents with a percentage of 61.
46 agreed with the statement.
Focus Formulation At this stage, students focus more on the search topic they are looking for.
In the search for the topic, students formulate or make questions for information searches that are carried out before using TikTok in the information search process.
This can be seen from the results of the following table :
Table 9.
Search through other platforms Interested in finding news
Strongly Agree
Frequency 23,96 Agree
57,29
Disagree 14,58 Strongly Disagree IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Most respondents strongly agreed and agreed that they formulated a question or search goal well before using TikTok, with a percentage of respondents 23.
% strongly agree and the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement was 57.
At this stage, students read and understand the information that has been found, so that the information obtained is in accordance with their information needs.
This is necessary to obtain information, knowledge, and understanding about something.
This need is based on the desire to understand and master the environment, as well as satisfy curiosity.
(Herna, 2.
In finding the information needed, most students use special strategies such as using hashtags or accessing social media accounts that contain the information they need.
In this way, the desired information can be more focused.
From the results of the questionnaire, it was found that the following :
Table 10.
Use custom strategies Interested in finding news information Frequency Strongly Agree
32,29
Agree
41,67
Disagree 19,79 Strongly Disagree 6,25 Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Based on the answers given by the respondents, 32.
29% answered strongly that 31 respondents strongly agreed, and 41.
67% answered that they used a special strategy in formulating the focus of information search on TikTok.
The search for information is carried out in certain ways, the need for certain information encourages a person to strategize in an effort to find and obtain that information.
This strategy aims to ensure that the desired information can be fulfilled in the right way.
By developing a good strategy, the process of IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
searching for information becomes more directed and efficient to meet the needs of the desired information (Purnama, 2.
Information collections At this stage, students choose the information they want by evaluating the accuracy of the information they get compared to the information needed during the search process.
At this stage, information seekers make a selection of information that has been obtained previously.
The selection is carried out by relying on knowledge and information that has been previously owned as a reference.
This process involves identifying the sources of information that have been collected, then selecting sources that are considered more accurate and relevant to be used as the main reference (Purnama, 2.
From the results of the respondents, it was found that from 96 respondents the following results were obtained :
Table 11.
Information Evaluation Interested in finding news
Frequency Strongly Agree
19,79
Agree
70,83
Disagree 7,29 Strongly Disagree 2,08 Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Based on the results above, it is known that those who answered strongly agreed were 19 respondents with a percentage of 19.
79%, and those who answered in favor were 68 respondents with a percentage 70.
83% with this statement, most respondents evaluated the accuracy of the information found during the search process.
In the search for information carried out by students, they get obstacles in searching, such as information obtained that is not relevant to needs, information that is only partially obtained by students IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
or unstable internet connections in searching.
The results obtained are as Table 12.
Barriers to finding information Interested in finding news
Strongly Agree
Frequency 21,88 Agree
53,13
Disagree 21,88 Strongly Disagree 3,13 Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows The percentage of 21.
88% of respondents who answered strongly agreed with the obstacles they had during the search process carried out in dancing news And the respondents who answered yes were 53.
13 respondents for the obstacles that students have in collecting information during the search process carried out by students.
So that even though in the search process students have carried out the process of formulating, identifying, and using strategies obstacles in finding information cannot be avoided during the process of searching for information needs that cool students.
Search closure At this stage, students have a feeling of satisfaction in the search they have done so that they stop the search they are doing when the information they are looking for has been fulfilled.
Students are satisfied with the information they have obtained so they close the search that has been carried From the questionnaire that has been given, the following results are Table 13.
Student Feelings Interested in finding news information Frequency Strongly Agree
26,04
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
Agree
54,16
Disagree 18,75 Strongly Disagree 1,04 Sum Source: SPSS 23 for Windows Based on the data above, it can be seen that most of the respondents of S1 students FISIP University of Bengkulu stopped the search when it felt that they had received enough information for their needs.
From the percentage obtained, it is known that 26.
04% of respondents strongly agree and 54.
of respondents agree with the statement.
Students close the search when they feel satisfied and feel that the need for the information they are looking for has been met.
From the results of the questionnaire that has been given to the respondents, the following results are obtained :
Table 14.
Student Feelings Interested in finding news information Frequency Strongly Agree
35,41
Agree Disagree 7,29 Strongly Disagree 7,29 Sum Souce: SPSS 23 for Windows Based on the results of the data above, it is known that the students who answered strongly agreed were 34 respondents with a percentage of 35.
the respondents who answered in agreement were 48 respondents with a presentation of 50%.
So that most students in conducting information searches are carried out if the information search carried out is considered sufficient, students tend to close the search with a feeling of satisfaction with the information that has been found.
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
CONCLUSION
Based on the results of the above research, it can be concluded that the behavior of S1 FISIP students of Bengkulu University in finding reliable news sources through tik tok using the khutlau model from several important stages carried out.
At the inititation stage, students are interested in finding information related to trusted news through TikTok.
In this stage, students also feel that they are encouraged by the importance of their coursework to find information about reliable sources through TikTok.
The Topic Selection stage, in finding the information they need, carefully selects the search topic based on the interests and needs of the respondents.
Prefocus Exploration Stage.
they tend to seek information from various sources before deciding to use TikTok as a search platform.
In this stage, students in looking for the topic they need usually have a special topic that they want to search for through the tiktok platform before searching.
Focus Formulation Stages.
this stage, students focus more on the search topic they are looking for.
finding the information needed, most students use special strategies, so that the desired information can be more focused.
In the Information collections stage, students evaluate the accuracy of the information found during the search process.
Search closure stage.
At this stage, students have a feeling of satisfaction in the search they have done so that they stop the search they are doing when the information they are looking for has been fulfilled.
The use of TikTok as a source of information by S1 FISIP students of the University of Bengkulu has shown several significant patterns to get news sources of information in meeting their information needs.
TikTok is one of the platforms that is often accessed by students in looking for information.
In the information that has been obtained by students, they tend to check the accuracy of the information that has been obtained.
IQRAAo: Jurnal Ilmu Perpustakaan Dan Informasi
Volume 19 Nomor 1 Mei 2025
ISSN: 1979-7737 E-ISSN: 2442-8175
BIBLIOGRAPHY