Utbytesstudenters digitala PIM-strategier : En kvalitativ studie bland data- och systemvetare vid Uppsala universitet

Sammanfattning: Introduction. The aim of this master thesis is to examine how students at Uppsala university manage, organize, and preserve their study-related information in a digital environment. It also investigates the motivations for personal information management (PIM) among students, and explores the concepts of sense making as both an activity and a desired outcome. The thesis focuses on the respondents’ experiences and behaviours in terms of PIM in relation to their digital collections.  Method. The research is based on 12 interviews with 9 exchange students, which were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcripts constituted the data for analysis.  Analysis. Interview data was analysed qualitatively with Nvivo software. Concepts were defined so that they could be used in the survey. Results. The study found that the five metalevels of PIM activities proposed by William Jones (2008) were applicable to the interview data, and that the respondents used a variety of digital tools and storage options, including cloud services, text editors and desktop applications, to organize and manage their information collections. Results are also presented in relation to Soo Jin Park’s (2011) three types of organizing and managing information collections.  Conclusion. The results showed that reflection on PIM and planning over time can lead to meaning-making and motivation for personal development. The degree of effort in organizing and managing information collections varied according to the individual values, personality, and contextual situations. The participants’ most common software for data storage were cloud services, text editors and web pages, with laptops, computers and mobile phones being the most popular devices for data storage. Some also had external hard drives as backup solutions and strict rules for discipline regarding PIM. While many participants trusted cloud storage when it came to privacy, some participants were skeptical of large IT companies and tried to find their own strategies to become less dependent on them. The majority made informed choices due to the risk of data loss and fragmentation. They had a profile of cognitive skills that included the ability to use visual messages to create unification and transparency in systems. They had a mix of dynamic and large collections of data.  They preferred to structure their files in a specific and structured system. Some preferred to file in more well-defined locations, while others used a more flexible method of organization. The majority had a one folder filing strategy. Some had file systems with a top-down approach, while others used incremental bottom-up strategies. They used a variety of PIM tools and strategies to meet their changing needs, such as using descriptive file names, splitting projects into smaller collections, regularly reviewing and deleting older files and categorize files by date. The study provided valuable insights into the process of managing digital information and the importance of continuous evaluation and adaptation of PIM tools and strategies to meet the changing needs of participants.  This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.