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A Survey of Information Seeking-Behavior of Academic Staff in a Nigerian University in Digital Age

Received: 16 July 2015    Accepted: 29 July 2015    Published: 7 August 2015
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Abstract

The paper surveys the patterns of information-seeking behavior of academic staff in Nigeria in the emerging electronic information environment. Academic staff in Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, Nigeria were used as respondents in the survey. Questionnaire survey was used as research method for data collection. The findings of the study have shown that, the information-seeking behavior of academic staff in RSUST is in favor of electronic information sources on the Internet, as the Internet was the most frequently used information source (31.59%), closely followed by personal contacts/collections 23.98%, workshop/conferences/seminars (23.72%) than the traditional library (20.71%). The paper recommends that, the librarians, university managements, the governments etc. must respond proactively to meet the changing information-seeking behavior of academic staff through effective development of electronic information sources – the Internet and virtual libraries in Nigerian universities for efficiency in research and sustainable national development.

Published in Science Journal of Education (Volume 3, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjedu.20150304.14
Page(s) 89-94
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Information and Communication Technology, Information Sources, Internet, University Library, Nigeria

References
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[5] Azubogu, N.C., & Madu, C. (2007). Use of Computer and Internet Technology among the Teaching Staff of Imo State University, Owerri. H-JOLIS: Heartland Journal of Library and Information Science, 1 (2), 39-49.
[6] Chifwepa, V. (2003). The Use of the Intranet and Internet by Teaching Staff of the University of Zambia. African Journal of Library Archives and Information Science, 13(2), 119-132.
[7] Edem, U., & Bassey, B. A. (1999). Information-Seeking Behaviour of Graduate Students in Nigerian Universities. African Journal of Education and Management, 2(2), 116-125.
[8] Ellis, D., & Oldman, H. (2005). The English Literature Researcher in the Age of the Internet. Journal of Information Science, 31(1), 29-36.
[9] Fatoki, O. C. (2004) Impact of library Resources and the Internet on Undergraduate Students’ Research: University of Ibadan. Nigeria Nigerian Libraries, 38(1), 21-33.
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[12] Islam, M. S. & Ahmed, S. M. Z. (2012) The Information Needs and Information-Seeking Behavior of Rural Dwellers: A Review. International Federation of Library Association and Institutions 38 (2): 137-147.
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[18] Nobert, G. L. & Lwoga, E. T. (2013) Information Seeking Behavior of Physicians in Tanzania. Information Development 29 (2): 172-182.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Blessing Esuru Ahiauzu, Okon Edet Ani. (2015). A Survey of Information Seeking-Behavior of Academic Staff in a Nigerian University in Digital Age. Science Journal of Education, 3(4), 89-94. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20150304.14

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    ACS Style

    Blessing Esuru Ahiauzu; Okon Edet Ani. A Survey of Information Seeking-Behavior of Academic Staff in a Nigerian University in Digital Age. Sci. J. Educ. 2015, 3(4), 89-94. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20150304.14

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    AMA Style

    Blessing Esuru Ahiauzu, Okon Edet Ani. A Survey of Information Seeking-Behavior of Academic Staff in a Nigerian University in Digital Age. Sci J Educ. 2015;3(4):89-94. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20150304.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjedu.20150304.14,
      author = {Blessing Esuru Ahiauzu and Okon Edet Ani},
      title = {A Survey of Information Seeking-Behavior of Academic Staff in a Nigerian University in Digital Age},
      journal = {Science Journal of Education},
      volume = {3},
      number = {4},
      pages = {89-94},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjedu.20150304.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20150304.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjedu.20150304.14},
      abstract = {The paper surveys the patterns of information-seeking behavior of academic staff in Nigeria in the emerging electronic information environment. Academic staff in Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, Nigeria were used as respondents in the survey. Questionnaire survey was used as research method for data collection. The findings of the study have shown that, the information-seeking behavior of academic staff in RSUST is in favor of electronic information sources on the Internet, as the Internet was the most frequently used information source (31.59%), closely followed by personal contacts/collections 23.98%, workshop/conferences/seminars (23.72%) than the traditional library (20.71%). The paper recommends that, the librarians, university managements, the governments etc. must respond proactively to meet the changing information-seeking behavior of academic staff through effective development of electronic information sources – the Internet and virtual libraries in Nigerian universities for efficiency in research and sustainable national development.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AB  - The paper surveys the patterns of information-seeking behavior of academic staff in Nigeria in the emerging electronic information environment. Academic staff in Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, Nigeria were used as respondents in the survey. Questionnaire survey was used as research method for data collection. The findings of the study have shown that, the information-seeking behavior of academic staff in RSUST is in favor of electronic information sources on the Internet, as the Internet was the most frequently used information source (31.59%), closely followed by personal contacts/collections 23.98%, workshop/conferences/seminars (23.72%) than the traditional library (20.71%). The paper recommends that, the librarians, university managements, the governments etc. must respond proactively to meet the changing information-seeking behavior of academic staff through effective development of electronic information sources – the Internet and virtual libraries in Nigerian universities for efficiency in research and sustainable national development.
    VL  - 3
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Author Information
  • University Library, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Library Department, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

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