Title: Preferred communication channels used by students to interact with their lecturers

Authors: Abbas Ghanbari-Baghestan; Siska Indriyanto; Yasha SazmandAsfaranjan; Mehrnoosh Akhtari-Zavare

Addresses: Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran (UT), Jalale Aleh Ahmad Highway, Tehran, P.O. Box 1411713118, Iran ' Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Inovasi 1-1, Jalan Teknokrat 1/1, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia ' Graduate School of Management, Management and Science University, Level 4, KL Sentral Station, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' Cancer Resource and Education Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: The main purpose of this study is to identify the most frequent and preferred communication channels used by students in interacting with their lecturers. In addition, the factors that influence students' preferred communication channels and the impact of new media on traditional media is investigated. It is illuminated that most of the students preferred to communicate face-to-face followed by mobile phone communication. Yet, depending on the characteristic of the messages, some students prefer to use e-mails and followed by mobile communications in interacting with their lecturers. The study points out that the students' perception of media richness plays a highly significant role in the students' selection of communication channel. Moreover, the results show the students' perception of media richness has the strongest positive relationship with the preferred communication channels used by students. This study reveals that the invention of new media and because of the increase in global internet penetration, the new media becomes the preferred communication channels used by students to interact with their lecturers.

Keywords: computer-mediated; communication management; media richness; traditional media; new media; social presence theory; communication channels; student-lecturer interaction; face-to-face communication; mobile phones; cell phones.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2016.074476

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2016 Vol.19 No.2, pp.227 - 241

Received: 12 Mar 2014
Accepted: 12 Dec 2014
Published online: 31 Jan 2016 *

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