1. Information Seeking Behaviour
A Survey of Recently Arrived Immigrants in the Burnaby Area
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

2. Methodology
The survey questions were created with the assistance of settlement workers and an attempt was made to ensure they were jargon free and were in clear language. See next slide for a list of our partners.
The focus was on new immigrants in the Metrotown area.
Surveys were in English and Simplified Chinese. There were no resources for further translations.
Surveys were distributed through local settlement agencies and Burnaby Neighbourhood House and were most successful in the LINC classes where there were instructors to assist the respondents.
Surveys were available for a little over a month. 439 surveys were returned.
Data is collated into an Excel spreadsheet. Further analysis of the data is needed for deeper analysis of the results.
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

3. Partner Organizations
Our Partner Organizations
Burnaby Neighbourhood House
ISSofBC
BSD LINC ( Canada Way)
BSD LINC (6907 Gilley Avenue)
MOSAIC
SUCCESS
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

4. Survey Language and Gender Breakdown
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

5. Participants – Country of Origin
Large % survey returns for China, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, and Iran
Small % survey returns for Philippines, Hong Kong SAR, and India
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

6. Level of education for participants
Less than 1% had no schooling
18% had only finished high school
71% had some post- secondary: diploma, college or university
57% specified University
9 were left blank
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

7. Length of Time in Canada
Recent Immigrants
71%
Established Immigrants
29%
Analysis of Information Attitude showed a higher % of recent arrivals experiencing problems with:
Finding Information
Experiencing Frustration
Understanding Information
Feeling that the information is useful to them
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

8. Participant Age and English Language Efficiency
Age: Majority of participants came from the age range
English: People generally self-describe as being in the Good, Average, and Poor range with the highest being Average.
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

9. Information Attitude Information Attitude
Participants generally aren’t strongly agreeing or strongly disagreeing.
Frustration – 188 agree, 21 strongly agree
The usefulness of the information being provided
Low ratings for Rep of Korea participants, for participants 56-over, for Chinese language survey returns, and for those with low English language proficiency
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

10. Information Sources
The majority of peoples appear to be using a wide spectrum of sources
Majorities for “agree” across all the options listed
Family had the largest “strongly agree” result
Mainstream media had the largest “strongly disagree” result
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

11. Information Amount Information Amount Positive results Overall
Highest % returns were in the “Very Good” and “Good” categories
Average, Poor and Very Poor results
Republic of Korea participants – a higher than average percentage
Participants 56-over struggling
17 of the 20 participants who choose “poor” and “very poor” are recent immigrants
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

12. Information Priorities
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

13. Focus Group Questions and Responses from the Immigrant Advisory Group of the Burnaby Intercultural Planning Table:
Can you recommend effective ways of connecting new groups of immigrants to the information they need?
In your experience, are most new immigrants digitally literate and have access to computers and the Internet?
Online has the advantage of allowing you control over the information you access. It can allow greater privacy as to what types of information are being sought too – or not, depending on the source and how use is tracked at a particular site. Some of the group felt that immigrants were more likely to use online sources once they were more settled and knew better what information they were seeking. It was also noted that it is easier and cheaper to make information available in multiple languages electronically than in print.
(c) 2015 David McAtackney & Deb Thomas

14. Focus Group Questions and Responses (cont.)
Can you recommend effective ways of connecting new groups of immigrants to the information they need?
When is a print copy of information most effective and when is it most effective to direct people to online information?
Print can be helpful early on in the immigrant experience. Something you can hold on to and refer back to easily. Print may also give you more information than you need. If putting information in print – ensure it is targeted, brief and in clear language.
(c) 2015 David McAtackney & Deb Thomas

15. Focus Group Questions and Responses (cont.)
We had a significant number of participants who said that they experienced frustration when trying to find information. Do you have thoughts on why that might be?
The group felt that more cross-referencing of the data needed to be done in order to get at the root of who was most frustrated and why. For example: Are these largely new immigrants ? What ages are they?
(c) 2015 David McAtackney & Deb Thomas

16. Focus Group Questions and Responses (cont.)
What could be done to improve awareness of and access to important settlement information for new immigrants? Specifically for those who:
Have average to poor English language skills
Are over 56 years of age
For both, connecting through those in the communities who can communicate information in other languages and culturally appropriate ways was considered the best way to improve awareness.
For the library, tours for immigrant seniors could improve their awareness. One person noted that his Chinese grandparents thought of the library as a place to read and borrow materials, not as a source for information. He also noted the lack of diversity and other language facility among the librarians staffing the desks; this may contribute to immigrant seniors not approaching the public desks.
(c) 2015 David McAtackney & Deb Thomas

17. Focus Group Questions and Responses (cont.)
What could be done to improve awareness of and access to important settlement information for new immigrants? (cont.)
One man noted that he had used the library heavily when he was a new immigrant and had not used it much, if at all, since he had settled more into Canadian life. He did not clearly indicate whether this was because he was too busy with work and family and wasn’t reading as much or whether there was not enough of interest to him.
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

18. Focus Group Questions and Responses (cont.)
A few groups were less represented than others in our returned surveys from settlement agencies - in particular, the Filipino community. Do you know why this might be?
Respondents who belong to the Korean community in particular indicated dissatisfaction with the usefulness of the information they received. Do you have thoughts on why this might be?
The group noted that both communities have strong ties and senses of community within their churches - and count on them for the settlement and integration information they need. It was an omission on the part of the survey creators that religious organizations were not included under the list of preferred sources of information. This could be true for other faiths as well.
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

19. Conclusion In general the feedback received was very positive
Enthusiastic response on the part of the agencies in Burnaby as well as the unexpectedly large number of survey participants
Concerns in certain areas
Frustration
Understanding the information received
Lack of participants from the Philippines
Participants from the Republic of Korea do not generally feel the level of service is good enough
Older participants struggling
Participants with “Average” to “Very Poor” English Language skills need help
Further analysis on the raw data still required
More research desirable
(c) 2015 David McAtackney

20. Project Leaders’ Contact Details
Deb Thomas:
David McAtackney:
(c) 2015 David McAtackney