TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page- – – – – – i
Approval page – – – – – – – ii
Dedication- – – – – – – iii
Certification page – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgement – – – – – – v
Table of contents – – – – – – vi
List of tables – – – – – – – – vii
Abstract – – – – – viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION – – – 1
Background of the study – – – – – – 1
Statement of the problem – – – – – – – – 6
Purpose of the study – – – – – – – 7
Research questions – – – – – – – 7
Significance of the study – – – – – 8
Scope of the study – – – – – – 9
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW – – – – – 10
Conceptual Frame work – – – – – 10
Overview of the use of electronic information resources – 10
Attitude towards electronic information resources – – 12
Preference to Electronic information resources for academic purpose – – – – – – – – – – – – 15
Factors that motivate the academic use of electronic information resources for information retrieval – – – – – – 16
Preferred Sources of electronic information resources for the students – 17
Problems associated with the use of electronic information resources 19
Strategies for improving the academic use of electronic resources by the students – – – – – – – – – – 22
Review of Related Empirical studies – – – – – 23
Summary of review of literature – – – – – – 30
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN – – – 32
Research Design – – – – – – 32
Area of study – – – – – – 32
Population of the study – – – – – – 33
Instrument for data collection – – – – – – – 34
Validation of the instrument – – – – – – – 34
Method of Data collection – – – – – – 35
Method of Data analysis – – – – – 35
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF DATA – – – 36
Summary of major findings – – – – 46
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION – – 48
Discussion of the findings – – – – – – 48
Attitude of undergraduate students to the use of electronic information resources – – – – – – – – – – – 48
Electronic information resources preferred by the undergraduate students for academic use – – – – – – – – – 49
Factors that motivate the use of electronic information resources for information retrieval – – – – – – – 49
The preferred sources of electronic information resources by the students in the university: – – – – – – – – – – 50
The problems associated with the use of electronic information resources by the students: – – – – – – – – – – 51
The strategies for improving the academic use of electronic information resources by the students in the universities. – – – – – – – – – – – 52
Implication of the study – – – – 54
Recommendations – – – – – 55
Suggestions for further study – – – – – 55
Limitation of the study – – – – – – 56
Conclusion – – – – – – – – – 56
References – – – – – – – – 58
Appendix I – – – – – – – 62
Appendix II – – – – – – – – 67
Appendix III – – – – – – – – 68
Appendix IV – – – – – – – – 69
LIST
OF TABLES
Table 1: Distribution of questionnaire
among the undergraduate students –
– – –
–
Table 2: Attitude of the undergraduate students to the use of electronic information resources? – – – – – – – – – – – 37
Table 2: Electronic information resource(s) preferred by the students for academic purposes – – – – – 39
Table 3: Factors that motivate the use of electronic information resources for Information retrieval – – – – – – 40
Table 4: The preferred sources of electronic information resources for the students in the university – – – – – – – – 41
Table 5: Problems associated with the academic use of electronic information resources by the students – – – – – 43
Table 6: Strategies for improving the academic use of electronic information resources by the students in university – – – – 45
ABSTRACT
This
study examined the attitude of undergraduate students towards academic use of
electronic information resources in two federal universities in Nigeria,
specifically University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka,
in Enugu and Anambra states respectively. Six research questions guided the
study. Descriptive survey design was employed for the study and the population
consisted of all registered undergraduate students of U.N.N and N.A.U. with a
total of 35,854 from both universities, out of which seven hundred and twenty
students were sampled. Stratified random sampling technique was used for the
study. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaire. The
questionnaire has 61 items. Descriptive statistics including frequency tables,
percentages and mean were used to answer research questions. The finding revealed that: undergraduate
students’ use of electronic information resources enhances their access to a
wider range of information, most of them prefer to use internet for their
academic work, and they prefer to use phones and laptops as their sources of electronic
information resources. They are motivated to use electronic resources because they
provide quick access to information. The study also revealed that some
electronic resources like CD ROM, Library portals, wire radiophone, news group,
and online public access catalogue (OPAC) were not popular among the students.
However, the students face the problem of limited access to computer terminals,
slow internet connectivity, irregular power supply, lack of IT knowledge to
effectively utilize the electronic information resources services, as well as
inadequate time to access electronic information resources due to pressure from
academic work. Some of the strategies for improving the academic use of
electronic resources by the students include giving them more education on the
use of electronic information resources, provision of more computers in the
university libraries, provision of free internet connectivity to students
within the university and providing constant power supply among other
suggestions.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
University education is
the process of teaching, learning and training in an institution at the highest
level of education where one can get a Degree or do research to improve
knowledge and gain skills. Also, university education is a formal learning, or
gaining of formal educational qualifications from the institutions at the
highest level of education where one can study for a Degree, (Krejsler, 2006).
University education includes teaching, research and social services
activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level and the Postgraduate
level. University education generally results in the receipt of certificates,
diplomas, and academic degrees. In
Nigeria, universities can be privately owned, state or federal government
funded. The objectives of university
education include: developing reasoning about perennial questions, mastering
the methods of scientific inquiry, cultivating the intellect, creating positive
change agents, developing spirituality, and fostering a democratic society.
University education is very important to national economies as a source of
trained and educated personnel for the economy. Universities are hubs of
knowledge and information services in their institutions. These hubs require
modern technology which has advanced greatly. With this advancement,
information needs of students have also
changed (Chen and Wu 2009).
Information is the
pivot on which the survival of any society rest. It remains the major
ingredient in taking decision, and assist in reducing the degree of
uncertainty. Information and its use are as old as man. Indeed without
information, there cannot be communication, (Olatokunbo and Asiru, 2011).
Information can be written document or oral. Information
resources are those materials which provide information for learning, teaching
and research such as books, journals, encyclopedias, films or pictures.
According to Bennett (2003) the revolution in information technology is
changing information delivery in education. Information and communication
technologies are, a diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate,
create, disseminate, store, and manage information. The technology embrace has
led to the proliferation of electronically available information resources.
Electronic Information
resources is defined as an information retrieval system operating with a
computer terminals, communication lines and links, models, disk drives, and
databases in machine –readable form that are accessible in an online,
interactive mode (Harper,2006). Electronic information sources according to
Ekwelem, Okafor, and Ukwuoma (2009), may be defined as information sources that
are available and can be accessed electronically through computer network
facilities, such as online library catalogue, the internet, the world wide web,
digital libraries, government portals and websites, CD-ROM databases, online
academic databases such as Medline online, or commercial bases such as LEXIS
and NEXIS. Electronic information
resources can therefore be defined as various infrastructures used in the
creation, processing, storage, dissemination of information and various
services rendered by these infrastructures.
The last few years have seen a number of changes in the University
sector. These changes necessitated the importance of electronic resources in
this age and they include the following: Rapid growth in undergraduate
students’ numbers with little or no relative increase in the number of library
and information services staff and inflation in the cost of printed materials.
Growing number of academic publications, fall in library budgets as a percentage of the total
institutional budgets, changes in the teaching and learning methods, towards a
greater emphasis on the undergraduate
students’ centered learning, and technological developments.
Undergraduate students are university students who are studying for a
first Degree in a university. Undergraduate students according to the American
Heritage Dictionary of English Language (2007) are university students who have
not yet received a Bachelors’ or similar Degree. Undergraduate students need
electronic information resources because of their flexibility, dynamism in
information retrieval, storage and processing. Electronic information resources
are important to undergraduates because they need to have access to timely,
accurate and relevant academic information (Adomi, Omodeko Otolo, 2004). Computer services like internet and other
electronic sources have greatly increased the speed of searching out
information. They have brought considerable relief to students in universities,
as students can conveniently walk into any library that has its holdings on the
internet and have access to unlimited information sources (Ezeji, 2008)
Electronic information sources offer many advantages. According to
Brophy, (1993) an advantage of electronic resources is that the information
needed can be delivered from the most appropriate source to the user. The user
can re-specify his or her needs dynamically. The information is obtained when
it is wanted, and so becomes just in time,
In addition, the user selects only the information needed to answer the
specific question and the information is
only stored if the user wishes. Electronic information can therefore provide a
number of advantages over print based resources. Electronic information
resources are often faster than consulting print indexes, especially when
searching retrospectively. They are straight forward when wishing to use a
combination of keywords open and open the possibility of searching multiple
files at one time. Electronic resources can be printed and searches saved to be
repeated at a later date. They are updated more easily and more often than
conventional resources. One main advantage, especially for those with limited
time to access the library and distance learners, is their availability from
outside the library by dial-up access. Mobile phones and the internet are seen
as easier and more convenient in the co ordination of activities, for example,
in planning, seeking information and communication.
Electronic sources also generate
opportunities to find new interests, activities and friends which might be
positive in terms of one’s quality of life. Electronic resources provide an
access to unlimited sources of information through search engines, which are
continuously being upgraded to provide efficient ways to help users find what
they want. The electronic equivalent offers the ability to integrate text with
charts, graphs, photographs, sound, video and other forms of multimedia. The use of electronic information resources
as an extension of the classroom or as a vehicle for higher education is
increasingly widespread. The internet is now being used as a powerful
supplement to the traditional ways that students study and learn in lecture
halls, tutorials, laboratories and in preparing of assignments. These resources
could be stored electronically, thereby saving the space, reducing the risk of
lost, theft, or damage and reducing costs significantly (Dadzie, 2005).
Electronic resources have much to offer, but their utility depends on attitudes
of users, how they feel about them.
Attitudes are ways that people think and feel about something. Attitudes
are inclinations and feelings, prejudices or bias, preconceived notions, ideas,
fears, and convictions about any specific topic (Taiwo, 1998). Attitudes
represent the conceptual value of these technologies in the minds of students
and not the values of the technologies themselves. Positive attitudes are
fundamental in implementing new technologies. Students constitute one part of
society who is fortunate to have access to a variety of electronic information
resources. Universities use considerable proportions of their budgets to
provide this technology for their students to assist in the learning process.
The question then is what is the level of use of this type of resources? How do
students themselves feel about various issues surrounding electronic resources,
which may require the acquisition of new skills to utilize them effectively,
and whether attitude change depends upon the availability of these resources? Little is known about student’s attitude
towards this form of information provision and without a better understanding;
it is difficult for service providers to know if they are meeting the needs of
students effectively.
The University of Nigeria is a
federal university located at Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria. Founded in October 1960,
the University of Nigeria Nsukka (U.N.N) has two campuses- Nsukka, and Enugu, Enugu
state, Nigeria. It is a premier institution of higher learning in Nigeria with
over 40,000 enrolled students, and 21,148 as registered undergraduate
students.(Registrars department 2011). It is one of the oldest and prestigious
universities in Nigeria. U.N.N. has fifteen faculties offering regular,
sandwich, and part-time programmes. There have been a number of changes in the
University of Nigeria, including the way in which information is provided to
the university community. The university through a number of supported
programmes has embarked on electronic provision of information to facilitate
study programmes and research. The
transition from print to electronic medium, apart from resulting in a growth of
electronic information, has provided users with new tools and applications for
information seeking. The University of Nigeria recognizes the need to provide
students, researchers and faculty members with electronic information
facilities by provision of modern computer laboratories or cyber cafes equipped
with advanced computer databases and internet connectivity. Access to EIS was
first introduced into UNN in 1995 by the university’s Management Information
System (MIS), a computerized information management innovation that was
initiated and sponsored by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Subsequently, the old university computing center was rehabilitated with
advanced modern facilities including internet connectivity. The university
library has also been digitalized to cater for the growing access needs of
students. Also, other private owned commercial cyber cafes such as AFRIHUUB,
E-Network have been established to augment the internet access facilities
provided by the university. For this reason, students’ use their personal computers, as well as
computer services provided by the various organizations, business centers and
cyber cafes as an alternative to support their academic work.
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka is also a federal university in Nigeria. Its main campus is located in Awka, Anambra state capital and a second campus is at Nnewi. It is one of the twenty five federal universities which are overseen and accredited by the National University Commission. Nnamdi Azikiwe University came into being as an offshoot of the defunct Anambra state university of Technology (ASUTECH). In 1991, following the split of the old Anambra state into Anambra and Enugu states, the Awka and Nnewi campuses of the former ASUTECH were combined into Nnamdi Azikiwe university by the Anambra state –Edict No.5 of November 26.1991, and which was later taken over by the Federal Government from Anambra state. Nnamdi Azikiwe University (N.A.U.) was taken over by the federal Government by Decree No.34 of July 15, 1992. Nnamdi Azikiwe University has a population of twenty –four thousand, seven hundred and six (24,706) for the full-time, and twelve thousand, four hundred and seventy- six (12,476) students for part-time programmes (Registras department 2011). The university offers a diverse range of courses of study, including Arts, Sciences, Engineering, Management sciences, Medicine and surgery, Social sciences, Law African languages, European languages, and Education. The university also boasts of quality education, academic stability and a credible academic culture including a digital library service for growth of electronic information, and new to
ATTITUDE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TOWARDS THE ACADEMIC USE OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RESOURCES IN TWO FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES IN ENUGU AND ANAMBRA STATES
