TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – i
Table of
Contents – – – – – – – – ii
Certification – – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgement –
– – – – – – – v
Table of
Content – – – – – – – – vi
Lists of
Tables – –
– – –
– – – – – vii
Abstract
– – – – – – viii
CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study – – – – 1
Statement of the Problem – – – – – 6
Purpose of the Study – – – – – 7
Research Questions – – – – – 8
Significance of the Study – – – – 8
Scope of the Study – – – – 9
CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical/ Conceptual framework – – – – 10
Concept of web-based information resources in university libraries 10
Types of Web-based Information Resources – – – 15
Problems associated with Web-based Information Resources Utilization 32
Strategies for Effective Utilization of Web-based Information Resources in University Libraries – – – – – – – – 35
Theories of communication related to this work – – – 37
Review of Related Empirical Studies – – – – 42
Summary of Literature Review – – – – 50
CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY.
Research Design – – – – 51
Area of the Study – – – – – – 51
Population of the Study – – – – – 51
Sample and Sampling Techniques – – – – 52
Instrument of Data Collection – – – – – 53
Validation of the Instrument – – – – – 53
Reliability of the Instrument – – – – 54
Procedure of Data Collection – – – – – 54
Method of Data Analysis – – – – – 56
CHAPTER FOUR – PRESENTATION OF DATA
Result of Data Presentation – – – – – – 57
Availability of Web-based Information Resources to Researchers
at BSU, FUM and University Mkar – – – – – 59
Extent to which researchers utilize web-based information resources to research- – – – – – – – – – 63
Availability of Web-based Information Resources according to Institutions – – – – – – – – – 63
Purpose to which Researchers Apply Web-based Information – 63
Attitude of Researchers Towards Web-based Information Resources 67
Problem Associated with the Use of Web-based Information Resources And Service by Researchers – – – – – 69
Strategies for Enhancement of the Use of Web-based Information Resources and Services by Respondents – – – – – – 70
Summary of Major Findings – – – – – 71
CHAPTER FIVE – DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Discussion of the Findings – – – 73
Implications of Findings – – – – – – 79
Recommendations – – – – – – 80
Limitations – – – – – – – 82
Suggestion for Further Research – – – – – 83
Conclusion – – – – – – – – 83
REFFERENCES – – – – – – 85
APPENDICES
Appendix A – – – – – – – – 90
Appendix B – – – – – – – 91
Appendix C – – – – – – – – 98
Appendix D – – – – – – – – 100
Appendix E – – – – – – – – 101
Appendix F – – – – – – – – 102
Appendix G – – – – – – – 103
Appendix H – – – – – – – 104
Appendix I – – – – – – – 105
Appendix J –
LIST
OF TABLES
Table 1: Distribution of sample by category and institution before questionnaire administration- – – – – – – -53
Table 2: Availability of web-based information resources available for University researchers at Benue state University, University of Agriculture Makurdi and Mkar University Mkar – – – – – -58
Table 3: Availability of web-based information resources available for University researchers according to institution and category of researchers- – – – – – – – – – -62
Table 4: Purposed to which researchers apply web-based information resources- – – – – – – – – – -63
Table 5: Purposed to which researchers apply web-based information resources according to category of researchers- – – – -66
Table 6: Extent to which researchers apply/utilize web-based information resources to research work – – – – -68
Table 7: Attitude of researchers towards web-based information resources and services – – – – – – – – – -70
Table 8: Problems associated with the use of web-based information resources and services by resources- – – – 71
Table 9: Strategies for the enhancement of the use of web-based information resources and services by respondents- – – 73
ABSTRACT
The study is on availability
and utilization of web-based information resources for researchers
in universities in Benue state. The descriptive survey technique was
used
While a four part research
questionnaire made up of nine items was designed to guide the study. An
availability and utilization of web-based information resources for researchers
in universities in Benue state questionnaire AUWBIRRUQ was developed and
validated through expert opinion. An
observation checklist and
interview guide was also formulated to help the researcher dig deeper into the
research. Mean and standard deviations were used to analyze data while
responses from interview and observation were qualitatively analyzed. The
findings of the study were;18 specific web-based information resources were
reported as being available to the university researchers in Benue state. The
three most important purposes for which researchers apply web- based information resources, were
term papers, assignments and examinations. Postgraduate students reported
greater availability of the resources compared to academic staff
and the other specified group of
researchers. The respondents generally showed positive attitude towards use of web-based information
resources. Prominent among problems militating against researchers use of
the resources in the universities were lack of skills, irregular power supply,
crowded and uncomfortable environment, and slow server or research equipments.
The implications of the findings of the study for university libraries,
librarians and other ICT providers, library users and the government were
discussed as follows; Researchers utilization of web-based information
resources significantly for research and academic work implies that, university
libraries that provide such resources effectively will help to promote academic
scholarship and research. Secondly, it implies that unless universities include
ICT training in their curricula for research students and staff, there will be
an under utilization of the available web-based information resources which
will lead to a downward slide in quality of academic and research. Thirdly,
universities need the support of the government through policy implementation and
provision of infrastructures that support the use of web-based facilities.
Fourthly, researchers showed significant positive attitude towards the use of
web-based information resources and services which is an avenue for university
libraries to tap for the training of researcher to attain optimal utilization
of the services. The recommendations based on the findings were cost of
printing and downloading should be reduced, creation of websites for faculties
and departments, more ICT education to library staff and library users, as well
as regular servicing of web-based equipment and provision of alternative source
of power.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Universities
are the foremost tertiary institution in Nigeria, with responsibility for
equipping people with knowledge and skills to undertake specific tasks and employment
functions which are necessary for the transformation of societies (Osagie, 2009).
The functions of a university in Nigeria are usually stated to include
teaching, certification, research, production of texts, storage and retrieval
of knowledge, community service and enlightened services (Ifidon,1999).Speaking
further on the roles of universities in Nigeria, Nwagwu (2000) states that
“Nations today depend increasingly on knowledge, ideas, skills which are
produced in universities. As a nation’s knowledge industry, universities
increase the productive capacity of the
labour force. This is to say that the developmental status of a country
depends largely on the universities’ input and output which
brings us to a discussion on research. Research
is a systematic observation of events or reality in order to determine the
validity of an idea. Meredith (2010) stipulates that research is the systematic
and objective analysis, and the recording of controlled observations that may
lead to the development of generalizations, theories and principles resulting
in prediction and ultimate control of many events that may be consequences or
causes of specific activities. According to the above author, research seeks to
establish a fact or a reality, explain, control or prevent, offer solutions and
also predict the future of specific activities. Therefore research can be
understood to be a general term which covers all kinds of studies designed to
find responses to worthwhile questions by means of a systematic and scientific
approach (Alzheimer, 2009). Ivowi (1999)
listed three uses of research: research leads to further studies and knowledge,
serves as a powerful tool for solving problems through better understanding of
a giving situation, and normally leads to development and then actual
production of goods and services for societal improvement. Research, generally,
is considered to be a formal, systematic and intensive process of applying the
scientific method of data collection and analysis (Whyte in Afolabi, 1997). Research is one of the tripartite missions
and functions for which universities are established, (research, teaching and
learning). Therefore, the need for research in a university cannot be over
emphasized.
Researchers in the universities are
lecturers, undergraduates and post graduate students. Lecturers in the
universities continually engage in research activities in their various areas
of specialization. This is part of the academic exercise they have to offer
universities for their ultimate development. It also forms part
of the necessary requirement for their promotion. Undergraduate students also
embark on research, which is referred to as project report and is supervised
and submitted to the department of the researcher in partial fulfillment of the
first degree under study. The same applies to post graduate students pursuing
higher degrees of Masters or Doctors of Philosophy.
Successful research depends largely
on human and material resource. One needs information to carry out research;
therefore, information is a key resource for the academic researcher. Laloo
(2002) provided some properties of information; according to him, information
is not consumed in its self, it can be shared by many and can even be used
simultaneously without any loss to anyone. It is the most democratic resource
in that it can be consumed by the rich and the poor alike, depending on their
intake capacity. Information is dynamic, ever growing and continuing, and no
final word is said or will ever be said on any aspect of it (Ozioko, 2007).
Because of the diverse and infinite
nature of information, university researchers need different information
resources to carry out their research activities effectively. This is why the
university libraries offer different services and resources. In other to obtain
useful information for a research, a researcher must first of all identify what
kind of information he needs. This is because different kinds of information
are found in different kinds of resources. The kind of information a researcher
needs will determine which resource is most appropriate.
Information resources in the library comprise all
forms of materials that can be used to disseminate information to information
seekers that come to the library. These resources include book and non-book
materials. That is, they come in print and non-print forms. The book forms
include text books, encyclopedia, journals, magazines, pamphlets, gazetteers,
newspapers, dictionaries, e.t.c. while the non-book forms include audio-visual
and archival materials, internet services, data and web-based, virtual
libraries, and e-libraries. Among these, web-based information resources have
gained more prominence in recent years.
World
Wide Web is defined by Soorayanaragana and Mahesh (2000) as client server
based, distributed hypertext, and multimedia information systems on the
internet. According to Paynter and Pearson (2007), a web based information
system is an application that not only disseminates information but also
proactively interacts with the users to aid them in their task of information
acquisition and dissemination.
To infer from Gbaje (2007), web-based services
are those services which librarians provide using websites as a means to
facilitate access to specific internet and other digital resources.
Alternatively, a web could be seen as a door way that can be customized by
individual users to automatically filter information from the web, while Web portals can be seen as “a customized
learning and transactional web environment designed purposefully to enable
users to personalized the content and look-of the website for his/her own
individual preference”. Additionally, it can be defined as a collection of
inter-linked computer networks.
Web-based resources can be used for
diverse reasons including communication and sharing of information and other
things quickly and inexpensively with millions of people from diverse cultures
around the world via electronic mail, internet telephone, keyboard chart and
video conferencing. There are also a growing number of interactive, multimedia
games, educational tools, databases, libraries, news groups, around the world
to gather information on any topic; for work or recreation. The information
could be in form of text, pictures, or even video materials. Email files can
also be stored on the web-based server.
A web-based information system can
be defined as an application that not only disseminates information but also
proactively interacts with the users to aid them in their quest of information
acquisition and dissemination (Painter and Pearson, 2009). In a WWW-based
information system, therefore, information is presented to the user in a
bi-directional manner. This definition has generalized everything about www-based
information resources but, it is pertinent to point out that there are some
commonalities between such resources. WWW-based resources irrespective of type
must adopt extension to the basic HTML, using Java Lava script or UB script to
provide additional functionality to the basic hypertext link
Web-based
information resources, according to McAfee (2006), are an application that
facilitates interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered
design and collaboration between the disseminator and the recipient of the
information. The World Wide Web is understood not only as a screen full graphic
but as a transport mechanism through which inter-activity happens. It can
appear on a computer screen, on television set, cell-phone or handheld game
machine. As Minigashi-Maganja, (2007) puts it, the web has become a universal
standard-based integrated platform.
The
universities under study are Benue State University, Makurdi; Federal
University of Agriculture, Makurdi; and University of Mkar, Mkar. Benue State
University was established in the 1992/1993 academic session by the then
civilian governor Rev. Moses Orshio Adasu. .Owned exclusively by the Benue
State government, it is a conventional university offering courses in both
Sciences and the Humanities/Arts. The University offers programmes in Pure and
Applied Sciences, Medicine, Arts, Law, with the prospect to expand into other
fields. The motto of the university is scientia liberatio populorum meaning,
knowledge for the liberation of the people.
Federal University of Agriculture,
Makurdi; is located in the Benue State capital Makurdi. University of Agriculture, Makurdi occupies an
arable land area of 8,048 hectares, thus making it the largest holder of agriculture
land mass amongst institutions of its kind. By federal operational policy, the
UAM mandate covers over 60% of Nigeria with 19 states of the federation and the
federal capital territory as its catchment area. The UAM was established in
1988 with the mission of improving scientific transformation of traditional
agriculture and to accelerate the drive towards national food self-sufficiency.
This is embedded in the philosophy that the average Nigerian farmer should have
access to fruits of scientific agriculture.
The University of Mkar was licensed by the Federal Government of Nigeria in June,2005 to operate as a private Christian university in Nigeria. It however took- off on 4th October 2005. The university is owned by the NKST church, an offshoot of the Dutch Reformed church/Sudan United Mission of South Africa and North America respectively. The vision of the university is to be a world class university that is committed to the advancement of knowledge through quality teaching, research and holistic education that puts God at the center of all learning. The mission is that through learning the university can develop change agents in the academy, church and society, using knowledge based on God`s word for service. The university aims to develop a total person through education that is qualitative, comprehensive and relevant, and that propels the individual to be self-reliant. University of Mkar operates a collegiate system comprising of three colleges; the College of Food Science Technology, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, College of Social and Management Sciences, with various departments.
AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS IN UNIVERSITIES IN BENUE STATE
