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This study investigated the Influence of Search Skills on Web Information Searching and Retrieval among Academic Staff and Students in Nigerian Universities. The study adopted a survey research design and copies of questionnaire were used as instrument for data collection. The subjects were made up of the academic staff and students in Ahmadu Bello Universities Zaria, University of Nigeria Nsukka, and University of Ibadan. However, 384 academic staff and students were selected for the sample. To achieve the objective of the study, one research question was raised and answered, hypothesis was formulated and tested. Descriptive (Percentages, Means and Standard Deviation) and Inferential statistics (One way Analysis of Variance) was used to analyze the data collected. The study established that there is a strong strategic Internet skill in all the users. Whereas, the null hypothesis formulated was retained, suggesting no significant difference among the academic staff and students in Nigerian Universities studied. The study therefore recommended that for users to succeed in searching and retrieving information and improve their retrieval skills, the information literacy programmes organized in the libraries should lay more emphasis on hypermedia, the art of critical thinking and web-based searching. The study concluded that for academic staff and students to successfully retrieve web information they require certain skills and confidence.
Online search behaviour of University of Zambia Library and Information Studies students
Library Hi Tech
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that affect web searching behaviour of the students of the University of Zambia (UNZA). Design/methodology/approach-This study adopted a qualitative research approach in order to get an insight into the interactions of the students at the UNZA with the real web situation. A post-search questionnaire was used as a tool to gather information from 65 Library and Information Science students about search techniques used, web experience, and subject knowledge of users. Findings-This study shows that the main purpose for using the internet by students at the UNZA is for academic work. The findings also show that factors such as experience and topic familiarity had an effect on search behaviour, whereas, age of searcher did not affect the search technique used. Google was preferred for searching more than electronic databases. Originality/value-This is the first systematic examination of students online search behaviour in Zambia. It allows the researchers to compare with search behaviour of students in a different social economic environment.
Master's Dissertation, 2012
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate the Web search strategies used to retrieve information from the Web by postgraduate students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus in order to address the weaknesses of undergraduate students with regard to their Web searching strategies. The study attempted to determine the Web search tactics used by postgraduate students, the Web search strategies (i.e. combinations of tactics) they used, how they determined whether their searches were successful and the search tool they preferred. In addition, the study attempted to contribute toward building a set of best practices when searching the Web. The sample population consisted of 331 postgraduate students, yielding a response rate of 95%. The study involved a two-phased approach adopting a survey in Phase 1 and interviews in the Phase 2. Proportionate stratified random sampling was used and the population was divided into five mutually exclusive groups (i.e., postgraduate diploma, postgraduate certificate, Honours, Master’s and PhD). A pre-test was conducted with ten postgraduate students from the Pietermaritzburg campus. The study revealed that the majority of postgraduate students have been searching the Web for six years or longer and that most postgraduate students searched the Web for information from five to less than ten hours a week. Most respondents gained their knowledge on Web searching through experience and only a quarter of the respondents have been given formal training on Web searching. The Web searching strategies explored contribute to the best practices with regard to Web search strategies, as interviewees were selected based on the highest number of search tactics used and they have several years of searching experience. The study was also able to identify the most preferred Web search tool. It is envisaged that undergraduate students can potentially follow these search strategies to improve their information retrieval. This finding could also be beneficial to librarians in developing training modules that assist undergraduate students to use these Web search tools more efficiently. The final outcome of the study was an adaptation Bates’ (1979) model of Information Search Tactics to suit information searching on the Web.
Web Search Behaviour of Postgraduate Students at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
A study was conducted on the Web search behaviour of postgraduates at Sokoine University of Agriculture. Specifically, the study sought to understand the search characteristics of postgraduates, reasons for using the Web, usage of various web features, web search skills and problems faced while using the Web. The study population comprised of all postgraduates pursuing masters and doctoral programmes at SUA. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire that were distributed randomly and they were analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicate that most postgraduates were experienced Web users and they accessed the Internet mostly through their own modems. Most students relied on Web resources for their research, class assignments, and communications, and they had positive attitudes towards these resources. Many students were using search engines such as Google and Yahoo as well as social media tools mostly Facebook and Wikis. The findings also indicate that majority of students were using simple search while advanced search features were rarely used. The use of e-journal databases among postgraduates at SUA was very low. Slow Internet connectivity and restrictions in downloading e-resources were regarded serious constraints in using the Web resources. It is recommended that libraries and their parent should promote e-resources and integrate information literacy into their curricular. Libraries should address contextual and technical issues in order to promote usage levels. Libraries should also look into the possibility of integrating eresources into OPACs for greater visibility and to enable users search several databases simultaneously.
International Journal of Library and Information Services
This study examined an empirical analysis of the determinants of library and information science students’ web search effectiveness at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. A total enumerative method was used where the entire 146 year three and four undergraduate students of the Department of Library and Information Science represent the sample. Through a survey approach, a questionnaire was developed and used for the collection of data. Three research questions were developed to guide the study. The results demonstrate that determinants such as internet and computer self-efficacy, information literacy skills, use of Boolean operators and use of appropriate search terms significantly correlate with and determine web search effectiveness.
2014
This study investigates the information search and retrieval skills of undergraduate students in Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ijebu-ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted for this study and the population consisted of 10,713 undergraduates from the College of COSIT, COHUM, COSMAS and COAEVOT of the university. Simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 324 and the questionnaire was the main instrument used for the data collection. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics consisting of table of frequency and percentage. The findings revealed that Google was often used with 252 (77.8%) response rates while the least respondents 12 (3.7%) never used the search engines at all. Majority of the respondents 170 (52.5%) agreed that the use of Boolean Operators (OR, AND, NOT) were employed when searching for information while 20 (6.2%) respondents disagreed that advanced search strategies were employed when searching for information. Poor internet connectivity, erratic power supply, lack of technical know-how was the major difficulties faced by the respondents. The Google and Google scholar are important sources of searching and retrieving information by the university undergraduate students in TASUED. The search engines employed had tremendously contributed to the information retrieval for academic purposes. Undergraduate students should endeavour to equip themselves with the necessary ICT skills needed for this information age.
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series , 2018
Search engines have become an integral part of student learning activities. This study aims to see how the use of search engines by students, especially by students of the Library and Information Science Program, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran. This study uses the mixed method. The research data was obtained through questionnaires, in-depth interviews, observations and literature studies. The results of the study showed that in learning activities, the respondents used search engines to find the references for college assignments and thesis writing material. The students also use search engines to meet daily information needs, solve problems, increase knowledge, reduce doubts, clarify things, entertain, fulfill curiosity about others,etc. The retrieval technique used by students is by using keywords/queries, Boolean logic, query strategies in the form of a brief search and using the advanced search feature. This research is expected to contribute to the university in supporting online-based learning facilities for students.
This study examined Internet Search Strategies employed by undergraduate students of Library and Information Science (LIS), University of Nigeria, Nsukka for research. The study was guided by five research questions. 100 students were randomly selected from the undergraduate students of LIS, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Questionnaire was used as the main instrument for the gathering of data. Data collected were analyzed using simple frequency tables and mean. The study revealed that most of the students were using the Internet to search for materials for writing term papers, projects and other assignments in other to enhance their academic work. The study equally revealed that, the Internet search strategies employed by the students includes: use of search engines, sourcing information from the university library database and key word searching. Frequent power outage, slow Internet connections, and lack of training in basic Internet skills were found to be the major problems encountered by LIS students while using the Internet for research. Following these major findings, it was recommended that, stable power supply, and adequate training should be provided. Also, Internet services and Internet Bandwidth should be made available by the school administration.
2021
The study examined the level of awareness and utilization of internet search engine among undergraduate students of Nigerian Universities for Effective Information Retrieval on the web. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. Undergraduate students of government owned Universities in Southeast, Nigeria made up the population of the study. 525 undergraduate students sampled for the study using multistage sampling technique. Structured Questionnaire was constructed by the researchers and used for the study. Data collected were analyzed using frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation. All computation of collected data was done with SPSS version 22. Real limit of number was adopted for taking decision. The study revealed that majority of the students are highly aware of Google, while only few are aware of Google scholar, Yahoo and Bing. It was also revealed that only Google was highly utilized among the students, while Google scholar, Yahoo and Bing are less...