- Title
- The use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students: a survey of three universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Creator
- Mbasera, Sarlomie Farisai
- Date
- 2012
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- M Bibl
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/976
- Identifier
- vital:26514
- Description
- The study investigated the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at three universities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The main aim of the study was to determine the factors that affect the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students. The study sought to fulfil the following objectives: to determine factors which affect the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at the three universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa; to establish the Internet-based information sources available among universities in Eastern Cape; to identify the pattern of postgraduate students’ use of Internet-based information sources; to find out the level of postgraduate satisfaction with Internet-based information sources available for their information needs, and to suggest ways of stimulating the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students at universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A review of the literature revealed a growing reliance on electronic resources by higher education institutions worldwide to suffice the information needs of academic researchers and that usage of these is influenced by various factors. The factors identified in the reviewed literature as affecting the use of Internet-based information sources among students include: academic discipline affiliation, age, level of study, gender, information and communications technology (ICT) literacy, institutional support, relevance of available information resources, accessibility, marketing and publicity of information sources available, and training. The researcher employed a survey research methodology to achieve the study objectives, through data collection on three fronts. Firstly to investigate the factors hat affect the use of Internet-based information sources from the perspectives of postgraduate students, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 200 study participants obtained using quota sampling of the population of students from the three universities. A response rate of 66.5% was achieved. Secondly, data on the organisational factors influencing the use of Internet-based information sources were obtained by conducting semi-structured interviews with selected librarians at the three universities. Lastly, documentary analysis was also used to corroborate data obtained from the survey with postgraduate study participants, as well as from interviews with selected librarians. The findings include that the use of Internet-based information sources is increasingly becoming important for postgraduate students at the selected universities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Postgraduate students believe that Internet-based information sources are useful in their academic work. There was moderate use of subscription e-databases and e-journals. Level of study and age were found to affect the use of Internet-based information sources, with older, Masters and PhD students utilising e-databases and e-journals more frequently. Postgraduate students predominantly use search engines to gain access to Internet-based information sources, while Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) and library websites were unpopular gateways to Internet-based information sources. Universities in the Eastern Cape were found to be supportive of the use of Internet-based information sources with budgets of libraries and future plans tipped in favour of electronic resource provision. From the findings of the study the key recommendations suggested for improving the use of Internet-based information sources by postgraduate students in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, include that Information literacy training programmes at the three universities may be tailor-made to cater for the information needs of postgraduate students at varying levels and academic disciplines of study. It was also recommended that the universities incorporate the use of federated searching and searchable journals management software on their library websites, in order to increase the visibility of Internet-based information sources among postgraduate students.
- Format
- 275 leaves; 30 cm
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
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Collections
UFH Department of Library & Information Science
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