The objective was to find various sources of college students prefer to update their knowledge on current affairs. 220 samples were taken and it is found that 75% prefer Internet and Newspaper comes second. Age and Social Circle influence the Medium of knowledge updation

1. Business Research Project Report
STUDY ON HOW COLLEGE STUDENTS UPDATE THEIR
KNOWLEDGE ON CURRENT EVENTS
Submitted to:
Dr. Aloysius Henry Sequeira
Submitted by:
Muhammed Anaz P K
Roll No: 16SM28
School of Management
National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal.

2. D E C L A R A T I O N
I hereby declare that the Report of the P.G. Project Work entitled
STUDY ON HOW COLLEGE STUDENTS UPDATE THEIR
KNOWLEDGE ON CURRENT EVENTS
This is being submitted to the National Institute of Technology Karnataka
Surathkal, in the School of Management, is a bonafide report of the work
carried out by me. The material contained in this Report has not been
submitted to any University or Institution for the award of any degree.
Muhammed Anaz P K
16SM28
School of Managemt
Place: NITK, SURATHKAL
Date: November 4, 2016
i

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am highly indebted to my seminar course instructor Dr. Aloysius Sequeira for encouraging me
to take such distinctive topic as my seminar subject and providing healthy and constructive
inputs and criticism which helped to shape my ideas on the topic in a structured manner.
The course helped me gain knowledge on research is to be undertaken and this knowledge will
be useful to me in my future endeavors. I am grateful to him for providing me the opportunity
to sharpen my skills on the subject.
ii

4. ABSTRACT
In this age of Digital Life there are numerous ways are there to connect each other and external
world due to the widespread deployment of the Efficient Internet and internet based services.
Keep this fact in mind which leads to tremendous changes in the lifestyle of the modern man.
His habits are mostly influenced by the digital life. This is also applicable to his information
gathering techniques. Most of the information gathering will be through the internet based
services and 24x7 cable networks than the conventional methods of newspapers, or magazines.
Fortunately the emergence of 24-hour cable as a dominant news source and the tremendous
growth of the internet have led to major changes in the Indian student’s knowledge domain.
Students have been influenced to a larger extent by social media, internet and their peers. Today,
there are numerous preferences when it comes to gathering information about current events, be
it friends, family, internet, paper, open up anything and you will get to know about everything.
This research paper intended to know about the ways that a graduate student will update his
knowledge on the current events. And the different medium using for the knowledge updation,
and the factors that influence the knowledge domain like Gender, Education, social groups,
background etc., on the knowledge of students in colleges. The survey was conducted by
probability stratified sampling method on 220 graduate students.
The results indicate that college students prefer internet over any other mode of media to update
their knowledge on current events, majority of the students prefer internet over other forms of
print or electronic media. Their preference is affected by the social environment but not by
gender, culture and family or social group.
iii

5. Contents
Chapter Title Page no.
Declaration i
Acknowledgement ii
Abstract iii
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Overview 1
1.2 Need and scope of the study 2
1.3 Objective of the study 2
1.4 Research Hypothesis 3
1.5 Research Questions & Investigative Questions 4
1.6 Research Objectives 5
2. Literature Review 6
2.1 Variables Identified 8
3. Research Methodology 9
3.1 Method 9
3.2 Data 9
3.3 Reasoning 9
3.4 Technique 9
3.5 Tool 9
3.6 Sampling 10
iv

6. 3.7 Sample Size 10
3.8 Questionnaire Design 11
4. Data Analysis And Interpretation 12
4.1 Demographic Presentation 12
5 Hypothesis Testing 15
5.1 Finding 17
6 Conclusion 18
References 19
Appendix 1 20
Appendix 2 23
v

7. List of Tables
Table No Description Page No
Table 2.0 Important findings of Literature review 7
Table 2.1 Variables identified from various secondary sources 8
Table 5.0 Responses on gender and their affects 15
Table 5.1 Responses for the effects of age 15
Table 5.2 Responses for the role of Educational background 16
Table 5.3 Responses of people on the effects of social circle 17
List of Figures
Figure No. Description Page No
Figure 4.0 Population Distribution 12
Figure 4.1 UG, PG and doctoral student’s Percentage 12
Figure 4.2 Students age group 13
Figure 4.3 Students opinion on their knowledge of current events 13
Figure 4.4 Students preferred mode of media channel 14
vi

8. 1
1. INTRODUCTION
After the invention of Cable TV Network by John Walson in 1930‘s and Positive efforts put
forward by CERN to implement the World Wide Web (www), influenced to make TV and
Internet as the major information Providers compared to the conventional print medias such as
Newspapers, Magazines, etc. which exhorts major changes in the Indian student knowledge
Domain. In this digital era, everyone is accessed to internet, a major portion of the students are
influenced by the social media, online web portals, and their peers.
There are numerous preferences when it comes to gather information about the current events, it
may be Peer groups, social Medias, web or TV Channels, the Print media or anything that may
come across carry‘s some sort of information‘s. The students are more alert towards their
environments than earlier. They care about anything that may bring changes in their surrounding
environments or day to day life. They care about the bills that are being discussed on the
parliament, they care about the incidents that happening inside the campuses in the country and
revolutions that bring down the thrown in some countries. They care about the premier league
matches.
Students in this Social Media era create Social groups in social medias and express their views
openly and make it clear and audible which was not possible earlier.
1.1 OVERVIEW
In India alone there are around 700 Universities including Premium Government Universities,
Deemed universities, and State sponsored universities. Which has more than 35,500 affiliated
colleges with a total student enrolment of around 35 million students as per the report from
MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development, India) All these students have different
backgrounds and this is being reflected in their knowledge and preferences. The factors affecting
their knowledge updation will be different for different backgrounds even if the main resource is
remaining the same.

9. 2
1.2 NEED AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The Preferences and taste of the students pursuing graduate education, whom are from the
large population, will surely depend on the various factors such as Gender, Age, Social
Groups, Course content etc. there are lot changes happening throughout the time, which
improvised different medium for the knowledge updation. At the early nineties only the
print Medias are existed and TVs are rarely seen in the rural areas of India.
Today the picture is changed totally. Internet and live cable channels have access to the
every corner of the country. And hence this change will definitely affect the knowledge of
the Indian students and their knowledge domain will have this advantage compared to their
previous generation. The scope lies in the varied culture and taste of large no of students
who are the prime target of this study.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The Main Objective of this study are listed below
1. To study how colleges students update their knowledge on current events.
2. To analyze the effect of following factors that affect their knowledge domain
 Age
 Gender
 Educational degree
 Family Background
 Peer Group
 Availability of different modes of medias

10. 3
1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Four sets of hypotheses based on certain assumptions were framed and tested
1. H0 – Gender does not affect the media preferences of student in colleges to update
their knowledge on current events
H1 – Gender affect the media preferences of students in college to update their
knowledge on current events
2. H0 - Age affect the media preferences of students in college to update their knowledge
on current events
H1- Age doesn‘t affect the media preferences of students in college to update their
knowledge on current events.
3. H0- Educational background affects the media preferences of students in college to
update their knowledge on current events.
H1- Educational background doesn‘t affect the media preferences of students in college to
update their knowledge on current events.
4. H0- Social circle does not affect the media preferences of students in college to update
their knowledge on current events.
. H1 - Social circle affect the media preferences of students in college to update their
knowledge on current events.

11. 4
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS & INVESTIGATION QUESTIONS
RQ1. - What are the different ways to categorize the sources followed by students to
gather information on current events?
IQ1. What are the different sources referred by students for updating themselves on current
events?
IQ2. What is the most preferred channel among students?
IQ3. Why Students choosing particular source over other

RQ.2 - What are the factors influencing the students to choose the various sources of
information?

IQ.1 What are the various reasons students preferring different channels?
IQ.2 How often do students visit these sources for current events?
IQ.3 What kind of content would they like to refer?
RQ.3 How this Knowledge affect the student?
IQ.1 Does the occurrence of a major event anywhere in the world affect their
preference?
IQ.2 How do their career choices affect their knowledge on current events?

Q.3 What affect does a student‘s social circle has on their knowledge on current
events?

12. 5
1.6 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
RO 1. To identify the different sources followed by students.
RO 2. To understand the factors influencing the students to choose the various
sources of information.
RO 3.To study how the information affect the students.

13. 6
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
According to the (PEW Research Team,2007) studies revealed that knowledge people tend to
know things about politics and both internal and external affairs. While less informed people
tended to know little about either subjects. The study samples 1502 adult Americans shows that
Nine in Ten of those who could name Vladimir Putin as the president of Russia also could
identify Barack Obama. As per the principle findings from their study, it reveals that some
demographic groups also did comparatively better on questions that broadly reflected in their
group. The black people lagged behind the whites in terms of their overall political Knowledge.
(John Ahn, 2011) according to him social media neither improves or negatively affect the
learning compared to the media tools used in classrooms. What matter is not the tools but the
learning behavior and atmosphere in the educational program.
(PEW Research Team, 2011) again proves that 65% of adult internet users use Social
Networking Sites (SNS) Such as MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn, which sees an upward growth
from 29% in 2008. Social media sites are ranked as the third most used web applications, second
to the E-Mail and Google.
(Madden and Zickhur, 2011) according to them social media groups are gaining popularity with
a record number of users in in various age groups, different from more traditional news sources,
social networking sites are built upon a person‘s existing social ties, such as friends and families,
which make them understand about their world in a more comfortable and playful manner.
(Christakis and Fowler, 2007) according to them, it shows that peoples social networks have long
been recognized as an important factor in shaping their knowledge on current affairs.

14. 7
Table 2.0 – Important findings of Literature review
S.No Author Name Year Main Findings
1 Pew Research Center 2007 • 93% of American college students
have a fair knowledge of their
surroundings.
• Knowledgeable people tend to
know things about both politics,
Internal and foreign affairs while
less informed students tended to
know little about either subject.
2 Journal of the American
Society of Information
Systems & Technology
2011 • The media tool neither improves nor
negatively impacts learning when
compared to the same teaching
strategy in the classroom. What
matters is not the computer, but the
learning behaviors that occur within
the software or educational program.
3 Madden & Zickuhr 2011 • Internet websites are gaining
popularity with a record number of
users in various age groups.
4 Christakis and Fowler 2007 • People's social networks have long
been recognized as an important
factor in shaping their knowledge on
current affairs.

15. 8
2.1 VARIABLES IDENTIFIED
Based on the theoretical study and secondary information sources, the variables identified for the
study are listed in Table 2.1
Table – 2.1 Variables identified from secondary data
Independent Variables Dependent Variables Moderating Variables
Educational background
Knowledge on current events
Age
Family background
Social circle
Gender
Availability of different
information sources
Occurrence of events
Source
Social Media

16. 9
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
3.1 METHOD:
To study how college students, update their knowledge on current events, we had selected the
exploratory study.
3.2 DATA:
Primary Data:
Survey data is used as the primary source of data.
Secondary Data:
We had reviewed various journals and research articles as secondary data source
3.3 REASONING:
We used inductive reasoning because of its exploratory method and then followed by deductive
reasoning.
3.4 TECHNIQUE:
We used a combination of Quantitative and Qualitative descriptive strategy for study of
responses regarding the use of different modes of information by college students. Qualitative
research was used to explore and understand respondent‘s habits and preferences in information
channels. It generated non-numerical data and it was statistically tested by p-value analysis.
3.5 TOOL:
Survey method was used to conduct the study on a sample of the population using a structured
self-administered questionnaire.
Steps used to conduct the survey include:
• Defining the objective of the survey
• Determining the sampling group
• Writing the questionnaire

17. 10
• Recording the answers
• Data analysis
3.6 SAMPLING
Sampling is the segment of population selected for investigation. The selection of the sample is
the crucial part in data collection. It is literally impossible to survey every individual in the
population. Hence a sample of the student population is selected to infer about the information
channel preferences among students.
Probability stratified sampling was employed for data collection. With stratified sampling, we
divided the population into separate groups. Then, a probability sample (a simple random
sample) is drawn from each group. Using stratified sampling, we were able to reduce the sample
size required to achieve a given precision.
3.7 SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATION:
Population (N) = 25,000,000 – 35,000,000
Confidence Interval (c) = 6%
Sample proportion (p) = 0.5, (1-p) = 0.5
Confidence level = 95%
Z-Score (Z) = 1.96
.
FORMULAE TO CALCULATE SAMPL SIZE
For Infinite Population
S = (Z2
* p * q)/ C2
Source : http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pd006
Therefore, Sample Size is 220.
Out of the 220 respondents 78 were females and 142 were males.

18. 11
3.8 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN
There are about 10 questions in the questionnaire. The questionnaire is made as short as possible
to get more reliable responses asking all the details that are needed. The questions are related to
the research questions that are in turn related to the research objective. Most of the questions are
closed-ended questions as they are more specific than the open ended questions, and it could be
used to detect the differences among respondents more accurately. More over closed-ended
questions are easy to analyze.
The questionnaire contains a combination of the following kinds of question:
• Simple category scale
• Multiple choice, Single response
• Likert scale
• Closed ended questions

19. 12
4. DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
Analysis was done with the help of Google Forms and then generating useful graphs in Microsoft
excel. Hypothesis testing was done by chi-square method and various graphs were obtained from
MS Excel and Google sheets.
4.1 DEMOGRAPHIC PRESENTATION
Figure 4.0-Population Distribution
The total samples collected from students are 220, out of which 35.5% are female and 64.5% are
male students. There was no bias while taking survey from an individual.
Figure 4.1- Student Age Group

20. 13
Of all the respondents of the survey, 79.1% of the students are in the ‗age group 20-24‘, 17.7% in
the group ‗less than 20‘ and rest in the age group ‗above 25‘
Figure 4.2- Student source of information
Of all the respondents, 70.3% prefer Internet as their first preference in terms of accessibility.
11.9% and 9.1% find print media and peer group & family as their second and third preference
respectively, when it comes to their preferred source of information.
Figure 4.3 - Program of the students

21. 14
The survey that we got was filled by 61.1% of undergraduate and 35.6% of postgraduate students
and the rest by doctoral students. While taking survey we have never given preference any of
them.
Figure 4.4 - Program of the students
Most of the students, i.e. 51.8% think that they have a pretty good knowledge about current
events happening around them. Whereas 17.9% think that their knowledge on current events is
average and 9.2% think that they do not know much about current events.

22. 15
5. HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Hypothesis are tested using Chi-Square Test with the help Microsoft Excel.
Hypothesis 1
H0 – Gender does not affect the media preferences of students in college to update their
knowledge on current events.
H1 – Gender affect the media preferences of students in college to update their knowledge on
current events.
Table 5.0– Preferred media source for current events by Gender
Gender Television Print Media Internet Family &
Friends
All
Male 9
10
45
41.6
58
58.8
35
36.4
142
Female 11
10
19
22.4
26
25.2
17
15.6
78
All 20 64 84 52 220
P-value = 0.7506
Since the p-value is greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis is accepted.
Hypothesis 2
H0 – Age affect the media preferences of students in college to update their knowledge on
current events.
H1 – Age doesn‘t affect the media preferences of students in college to update their
knowledge on current events.
Table 5.1– Preferred media source for current events by Age
Age Group Television Print Media Internet Family &
Friends
All
19 or younger 13
12
8
9.6
13
12.6
5
5.2
39
20-24 6
4
55
51.2
72
67.2
46
44.2
174
25 or above 1
4
1
1.28
4
4.2
1
2.6
7
All 20 64 84 52 220

23. 16
P-value = 0.497
Since the p-value is greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis is accepted.
Hypothesis 3
H0 –Educational background affect the media preferences of students in college to update
their knowledge on current events.
H1– Educational background doesn‘t affect the media preferences of students in college to
update their knowledge on current events.
Table 5.2– Preferred media source for current events by Educational background
Degree Pursuing Television Print Media Internet Family &
Friends
All
Bachelors 15
10.67
23
15.4
64
46.87
6
10.75
132
Masters 2
.98
35
20.2
15
9.56
45
34.92
77
Doctoral 2
.98
6
2.68
5
2.84
1
6.98
11
All 20 64 84 52 220
P-value = 0.0000008406
Since the p-value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected.
Hypothesis 4
H0 – Social circle affect the media preferences of students in college to update their
knowledge on current events.
H1– Social circle doesn‘t affect the media preferences of students in college to update their
knowledge on current events.

24. 17
Table 5.3 – Responses of students on effect of social circle on knowledge of current events
Gender Internet Print
Media
Television Family &
Friends
All
Male 53
52.8
24
28.8
13
13.2
29
28.5
142
Female 35
35.2
48
43.2
9
8.8
9
9.5
78
All 88 72 22 38 220
P-value = 0.7107
Since the p-value is greater than 0.05, we accept the null hypothesis
5.1 FINDINGS
▪ Gender does not influence the students‘ how they update their knowledge on current
events.
▪ Age has an effect on students‘ how they update their knowledge on current events.
▪ Educational background has an effect on how they update their knowledge on current
events.
▪ Students‘ social circle has an effect on how they update their knowledge on current
events.

25. 18
6. CONCLUSION
The results of this project are based on the analysis of data collected from a sample of 220
students in the country but a majority of students were from NITK Surathkal. Students from
undergraduate, post graduate as well as PhD scholars took up this survey.
The main objective of this research was to understand the various sources college students prefer
to update their knowledge on current events.
The analysis of the data showed that gender and educational background has little to no effect on
their preference of media source, whereas age and social circle do have an effect on their
preferred source.
More than 75% of the students agree to the fact that they prefer internet over any other source
merely because of its wide reach and availability along with the vast variety of knowledge
mediums it has. However interestingly, even in this internet age, some students still prefer to
read newspaper and magazines and watch television to update their knowledge on current events.

26. 19
REFERENCES
▪ Pew Research Center, A. (2007). Students and General Knowledge. Media
& News Filter, 2007.
▪ Journal of the American Society of Information Systems & Technology
(2011) A. An investigation on effects of international media. University of
Texas.
▪ Madden & Zickuhr A. (2011). Effects of internet on today‘s education.
Undergraduate research journal for the human sciences.
▪ Christakis and Fowler. (2007). Social media influence on students. Report:
University of California, Berkeley 2007.

27. 20
APPENDIX I
QUESTIONNAIRE
We, the students from School of Management, NITK, Surathkal are conducting a survey on
―HOW COLLEGE STUDENTS UPDATE THEIR KNOWLEDGE ON CURRENT EVENTS‖.
We seek your cooperation in filling the questionnaire below.
Please be assured that -This is strictly an opinion survey; we are not selling or soliciting any
information. You are selected at random for participation in this research.
All responses are strictly confidential and anonymous; you can keep secrecy upon your identity.
PART A
1. Gender
Male Female Transgender Decline to state
2. Age group
<20 20-30 >30
3. Program
UG PG Doctoral
4. State you are from

28. 21
PART B
Please CHECK MARK the appropriate answer wherever necessary
1. On a scale of 0-10, how would you rate your knowledge and awareness on current events?
[Poor] 0 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7–--8–--9–--10 [Excellent]
2. What are the different sources you refer to get yourself updated on current events? (Indicate
as many sources you referred)
Internet Newspaper & Magazines Television
Friends & Family Others
3. Your social circle (colleges, friends, teachers) affect your preference of media source.
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree Strongly disagree
4. Rank the following in order of ease of accessibility
Internet ____ Television ____ Newspaper & Magazines ____
5. Rank the following in order of their magnitude of content on current events
Internet ____ Television ____ Newspaper & Magazines ____
6. Family plays a role in your preference of media source
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree Strongly disagree
7. Facilities provided at your college plays a role in your preference of media source
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree Strongly disagree
8. The course/degree you are pursuing plays a role in your preference of media source
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree

29. 22
Disagree Strongly disagree
9. Social media websites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) plays a role in your preference
of media source
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree Strongly disagree
10. Choosing a particular source of media affect your knowledge on current events
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree Strongly disagree

30. 23
APPENDIX 2