The utilization of search engines by students of the Library and Information Science Program at Universitas Padjadjaran (original) (raw)
Related papers
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series, 2018
Student learning and reading activities today cannot be separated from internet media. This study aims to determine the benefits of information retrieval systems, the positive impacts and negative impacts of internet use and learning activities, especially those related to the student reading activities in the internet era. This study uses a case study approach with purposive sampling by selecting 20 students of class 2014 from the Library and Information Science Program of the Faculty of Communication Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran as the research informants. Data collection techniques were obtained through in-depth interviews, observation and literature review. The results showed that the internet became the primary source of information for most students of the Library and Information Science Program at the Faculty of Communication Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran. However, they still assume that the credibility of printed information sources is stronger than online information sources. This can be seen from printed books or online and electronic sources which become the results of the form of printed books being the main reference for the college assignments which are considered to be done more seriously by the informants.
The Use of Information Retrieval Tools: a Study of Computer Science Postgraduate Students
Students may seek information for various reasons such as to understand a specific subject matter or to conduct a research. In this digital age, they may not have a problem to find information. However, they are having problem to find scholarly information that suits their learning needs. This is because they are having difficulties to find the scholarly information that suitable for their learning styles. The objectives of this research are (a) to investigate information retrieval tools that students use to find scholarly information; (b) to compare the tools in terms of access, search techniques, and search facilities and (c) to propose architecture of information retrieval tool for learning needs. Therefore, this research investigates several information retrieval tools such as Online Public Access Catalogues (OPAC), Internet search engine, online databases and digital libraries. Survey questionnaire was conducted on 129 postgraduate's students of Faculty of Science Computer and Information Technology, University of Malaya. They were chosen because of their level of education and their proficiency in using IT infrastructure. The quantitative data were analyzed using statistical program SPSS. The result shows that postgraduate students having difficulties in finding information that suitable to their learning style using available information retrieval tools.
This study investigates the awareness and use of search engines for information retrieval by lecturers of universities in Bauchi state. Quantitative research methodology through cross sectional survey design was adopted for the study to assess the level of awareness and use of search engines for information retrieval by lecturers of universities in Bauchi state. The respondents of the study were 200 lecturers in both universities in Bauchi state. While descriptive and inferential statistics using percentages through the use of SPSS 20.0 version were used for the data analysis. The results reveal that many lecturers are aware and used search engines daily to pave ways to access information on internet. Google scholar, Chrome and Firefox are the most used search engines among lecturers of Universities in Bauchi state. The study also reveals that lecturers are well skilled in the use of search engines because most of the respondents in the study reveal that their competence in the use of search engines, the study also reveals that there are sufficient ICT infrastructures to support the use of search engines in both universities, it is also reveals that, problem of network failure, lack of information retrieval skills, insufficient power and low network bandwidth are problem hindering the use of search engines in the institutions. It is also recommended that lecturers should be provided with updated or new ICT infrastructures that will aid the use of search engines for Research and academic purpose. Also stable power should be provided to ease the problem of power outbreak while using search engines which seriously affects most of the respondents negatively. The study contributes to knowledge in such a way that it improves upon the use of search engines for information retrieval in universities by stating what is needed for the search engines to function effectively, to bridge on the issue and this geographical zone, it shed more light on the importance of search engines to lecturers and to the entire educational system
Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020
The study investigates the trends in the use of search engines for information retrieval among lecturers in Universities in Bauchi State, Nigeria; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and Bauchi State University, Gadau. The quantitative approach was adopted in the study to randomly administer questionnaire on the sample of two hundred and eighty six (286) lecturers in the two Universities. The findings show that the lecturers were using search engines such as Google scholars, Opera, Google chrome, Yahoo and Mozilla firefox on daily basis for their research and teaching activities; it was discovered that majority of the lecturers were competent in the use of the identified search engines; while user friendliness of the search engines, easy to use, easy access to information and easy access to wide range of information as some of the factors influencing their choice of each search engines in the Universities. The study also reveals the availability of the following ICT infrastructure to support the use of search engines in the Universities; computers, Internet service, hardware components, network bandwidth. The study concludes that search engines provide e-print in details and other types of digital works by authors in an academic department, schools or institutions which comprise of electronic thesis and dissertations and presentations by authors of different institutions. Hence, the study serves as a springboard for the Universities and Lecturers in Nigeria to re-evaluate, re-asses and re-strategise the present scenario of ICT adoption in order to improve upon the availability and accessibility to the global network of information resources and information superhighway for improved teaching and research in the Universities. The study recommends the provision of constant electricity, training and retraining of lecturers on the use of other search engines such as Bing, Alta vista, Ask jeeves, Dog pile etc. for information retrieval in the Universities. 1. Introduction Search engine is a software system that is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web (WWW). It is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on computer system, such as internet, inside a corporate or proprietary network. It is a kind of information retrieval program and it has two major tasks: Searching through the billions of keywords recorded in the index to find information that match the query sent by the user and ranking retrieved records in order of importance so that the user can choose the most relevant. Search engines serve as source of information to researchers particularly lecturers in higher institutions of learning. They are the vehicles through which researchers can access past and current research publications and help to narrow and refine a search for tracing relevant information. Lecturers can also access information on various courses in the institution through these search engines. This will make them have different information resources and materials for their lectures and research work. Search engines also provide easy access to some reference materials like: gazettes, journals, conference proceeding, magazines and newspapers. Search engines provide e-print in details and other types of digital works by authors in an academic department, schools or institutions which comprise of electronic thesis and dissertations and presentations by authors of different institutions. This has improved the potential for wide banquet online search and retrieval of electronic content easily.
Searching for information sources: Students' behaviour in electronic environment
ICT is an important catalyst in transition from traditional to 21st century education. In the centre of our interests are students and their search for reliable information sources. The paper presents results of an online survey of all the students of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb (FHSS). Analysis will show how they search for information in electronic environment while preparing exams and writing theses. Students' usage of library catalogue, commercial databases, open access repositories, open access journals, e-learning system, social networks, social bookmarking services, scientific blogs and forums will be analysed. Nine variables will be tested by chi-square test to show whether there are statistically significant differences in information searching behaviour between students of the Department of Information and Communication Sciences (DICS) and students of other departments at the faculty. All the results will show how important is formal...
International Journal of Information Studies & Libraries, 2022
The Internet has become a major source of information today, and finding relevant information is a difficult task. The Web search engine is a software program that allows users to quickly retrieve specific information out of millions stored on the Internet. Purpose: The main aim of the paper was to ascertain the perception of students towards Web search engines and to determine the criteria adopted when evaluating Internet search results. Methodology/Approach: Quantitative research methodology using cross-sectional survey design was used for the study. The population of the study was 65,018 students, of which 462 were sampled. A total of 462 copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents, of which 394 were filled and returned. Findings: The paper confirmed that the respondents perceived Web search engines as useful and easy to use. In terms of evaluation of Internet results, it was found that the respondents lack knowledge on the criteria used to evaluate information resources. Recommendations: The paper recommended that there is need for teaching students the criteria for evaluation of information resources. There is need for librarians of these institutions to be proactive in guiding students on how to evaluate information resources. There is need for the students to discuss among themselves, in a forum, the knowledge they acquired on how to evaluate information resources.Originality/ Value: The findings would be beneficial to the lecturers teaching information literacy and other related courses, since it explored the attitudes of students towards important retrieval tools and the criteria they adopt when evaluating the search results.
THE ROLE OF INTERNET IN INFORMATION SEARCHING BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
The advent of the internet has revolutionized the life of the global community in all ways. Its usefulness seems to manifest greatly in the academic circles, where students use the internet for information research and relaxation. The internet is the most popular (IT) Information Technology resource which has also been embraced by the academic community in Nigeria. It uses has been to solve scarcity of textbooks, collaborate with international colleagues and to update knowledge. The internet is a useful tool in the “tri-personality” of a lecturer and a researcher. It provides a wealth of resources for optimum achievement of the ends targeted by the personality, within seconds; a student can retrieve information through the internet to update his/her knowledge, prepare his/her lecture, solve assignments given by lecturer or teacher and also work with colleagues and specialist(Scholastic, 2003).
Samaru Journal of Information Studies, 2023
This study investigated application of online information search skills for retrieval of online information resources among selected academics of federal college of education, Zaria. The objectives of the study was to find out types of online information search skills are possessed by selected academics for retrieval of online information resources, types of online information search strategies used for retrieval of online information resources among selected academics and examine the means by which the selected academics have access to online information for retrieval of online information resources in Federal College of Education Zaria. A quantitative research method was adopted, and a case study research design was employed in the conduct of this study. The population of this study consists of twenty-nine (29) academics in the Department of Arabic at the Federal College of Education, Zaria. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire. A total of twenty-nine (29) copies of the questionnaire were administered to Selected academics at the Federal College of Education, Zaria, with a total return rate of 28 (96.6%). The data collected for the study were presented and analyzed using descriptive statistics in the form of frequency count, simple percentage, and mean. The findings arising from the studies indicated that the types of online information search skills possessed by academics in Federal College of Education Zaria were the ability to think before searching, the ability to search a specific site, the ability to search by author, the ability to search by punctuation, ability to apply filters, ability to search by subject, ability to search by standard number, and ability to search by title. And the college library should organize workshops for academics on how to effectively search online information resources with different types of online information search strategies such as the use of Boolean operators, truncation, proximity search, parenthesis, and wildcards
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.