Internet Use and Search Efficacy among Undergraduate Engineering Students of Federal Universities in the North East Zone of Nigeria
Linus Nihungu Ahaz & Wavi Pur Mamza
Department of Library and Information Science,
Modibbo Adama University of Technology,
Yola
ABSTRACT
This study is an attempt to find out whether Undergraduate Engineering Students of Federal Universities in the North East Zone of Nigeria have been able to access the required information using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources effectively to address their information needs. In order to achieve this, five objectives were raised to guide the study and in line with the objectives, four research questions were raised along with one null hypothesis. Reviews of related literatures were made in line with the objective. Survey research method was used for the study while 343 sets of questionnaires were administered on Undergraduate Engineering Students of the Universities studied. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics to answer the research questions while Chi square was used to test the null hypothesis. The findings revealed that: Search engines and e-mail were the most identified Internet resources by the students; Google, Yahoo and, MSN were the most used search engines by the Students; Undergraduate Engineering Students in North East Nigerian Universities use internet resources mostly for communication, assignment and project purposes, Undergraduate engineering students in North East Nigerian Universities are not satisfied with the information they access through internet resources, and there was a significant effect of internet search skill on the use of internet resources by Undergraduate engineering students in North East Nigerian Universities. Among other recommendations proffered includes: the students should be given more orientation on how to use the various search engines to ensure effective manipulation of internet resources; since the use of internet resources by the students depends on internet search skill, the management of the universities should incorporate computer training as prerequisite for engineering students, etc.
Keywords: Internet, Undergraduate, Information and Communication Technology
