*2.1. Study Methods*

This study examined undergraduate students' online health information-seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the Delphi method was used for gaining consensus through controlled feedback from a panel—a group made up of experts in the subject. The method is often used when there is limited or conflicting evidence, the participants may be geographically dispersed, and anonymity is desired to control for dominant individuals. The Delphi method consists of panel selection, the development of content surveys, and iterative stages of anonymous responses to gain consensus [22]. The relevance and objectives of Delphi techniques differ among various disciplines. While they are primarily used in the context of technical and natural sciences to analyze future developments, they are also used in health sciences to reach consensus [23].

In the initial stage of this study, test questions on the health issues sought by college students online were developed. The team members tasked with the development of these questions included scholars and experts in the fields of health promotion and hygiene education, education testing, and physicians and nurses with rich experience in medical services. The investigation was continued with the research questions on health problems sought online by college students.

We conducted interview surveys of 101 students from four universities to understand their online health information-seeking behavior. The data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Content analysis is a research tool that is used to determine the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts within qualitative data [24]. In this study, content analysis was used to pre-program health questions and solicit undergraduate students from four universities in south and central Taiwan to participate. Prior to data collection, student participants gave their consent to be profiled in an online retrieval behavior video and were asked to find appropriate answers to health-related questions on the internet. The video data were then coded and analyzed to understand the status of online health information-seeking behaviors demonstrated by undergraduate students.
