Assessment of Information Needs and Seeking Behaviour of Postgraduate Students at the University of Nairobi
Abstract
The use and access of information resources is rapidly shifting due to technology
advancement and changing information needs of postgraduate students and
inadequate information resource tools. The purpose of the study was to assess the
information needs and seeking behavior of postgraduate students in public
universities. The study’s specific objectives sought to examine the information needs
of postgraduate students in public universities, examine their information seeking
behavior of postgraduate students at the University of Nairobi, establish the types of
information resources and services used by postgraduate students, explore the
challenges faced by postgraduate students while accessing information resources in
the public university, including possible solutions. The study was based on both
quantitative and qualitative research methodology. The study was conducted at the
University of Nairobi- main campus. The research was informed by Wilson (1999)
Model of Information Seeking Behavior. The study employed stratified random
sampling technique to sample. The target population was 1,830 postgraduate students
in the school of humanities and social sciences and the sample size was 328 students.
Data collected was analyzed using tables, graphs, pie charts. The findings indicated
76% of the respondent’s information seeking behaviour anchored on finding
information that would primarily allow them to pass their examinations. The findings
also revealed that 60% of the students sought information using various retrieval tools
such as OPAC to be of main importance in their diverse needs for accessing
information. Furthermore, inadequate e-resources, poor quality service delivery,
inadequate IT infrastructure, inadequate user training, and slow internet connection
were identified as major challenges. The recommended strategies for improvement
were that, libraries should increase the allocation of internet bandwidth, improve on
the service delivery and offer frequent information literacy to the students. The study
will be useful in guiding public universities and other academic libraries in providing
access to information.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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