The relationship between Turkish media use patterns of Sudanese students in Turkey and their perceptions of Turkish society

This doctoral thesis examines the relationship between Turkish media use and perceptions of Turkey's economic, political, and socio-cultural image among Sudanese university students studying in Turkey. The study focuses on the role of media in intercultural interaction and country image within the context of globalization and international student mobility. The research is designed as a quantitative, descriptive–correlational, and cross-sectional field study. The sample of the study consists of 450 Sudanese students, aged 18 and above, who were enrolled in undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programmes at various universities in Turkey during the 2024–2025 academic year. The study is limited exclusively to the student group and excludes Sudanese individuals residing in Turkey who are not students. Data were collected through a structured online questionnaire administered via Google Forms, including Likert-type items measuring socio-demographic characteristics, frequency and purposes of Turkish media use, preferred media types, and evaluations of Turkey's economic, political, and socio-cultural image. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis in SPSS. Findings indicate that Sudanese students use Turkish media relatively frequently and mainly prefer Turkish TV series/films and social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. Overall, participants report a positive and "high" level perception of Turkey's economic, political, and socio-cultural image. Weak but statistically significant positive correlations were found between the frequency and purposes of Turkish media use and all three image dimensions. The results suggest that Turkish media, while not the sole determinant, functions as a meaningful component in shaping Sudanese students' perceptions of Turkey's national image.