THE USE OF SEARCH ENGINES FOR RESEARCH BY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE STUDENTS

1.1 Introduction

The use of ICT has the potential to radically alter our very social structure and mode of operation, and this social change will in turn force our educational institutions to react and change as well. With respect to the role of technology in higher education, Shields (2000) broke down the socio-technological movements into three stages. The first stage, the first personal computing movement of the early to mid –1980s spawned the second, the networking of the late 1980s to mid-1990s; the latter, in turn envisions the rise of virtual universities during the 2000s (Rosemberg, 2001).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Information resources are one of the products that define libraries in terms of what they stand for. In a normal situation, the types of information resources in a library are relatively directed at the category of users they are expected to serve. Library information resources are the information bearing materials that are either in print or non-print format. They include CD-ROM, textbooks, journals, OPAC, online databases, serials, Internet resources among others. In a university, the information resources housed or provided by the university library are meant to support the teaching, learning and research activities of the university, and undergraduates constitute a greater percentage of students in most universities. This was reiterated by Maxwell (2018) who opined that in any discipline, the backbone of teaching, learning and research is information resources. Thus, beyond the classroom, undergraduates are expected to utilise information resources provided by the library in complementing classroom instructions, especially in this age of globalisation where ICTs facilitate quick and easy access to a wide range of information resources worldwide.

The provision and use of ICT is part and parcel of the entire system; including undergraduates, information professionals, staff, and researchers. It is one thing to recognise the importance of ICTs and another to know if they are effectively used by students. If ICTs were to be effectively applied directly or indirectly on the utilisation of information resources, skills are required. In this regard, Israel and Edesiri (2013) stated that ICT skill is one essential requirement for one to operate in the knowledge society of the 21st Century.

Ukaegbu and Wegwu (2019) citing Quadri (2012) described ICT skills as the abilities for the collection, effective processing, storing, transmitting and the dissemination of information which enables the use of computers and related technologies to meet personal academic and labour market objectives. ICT skills of a student is a relative measure of the student‘s capacity to make appropriate use of ICT for educational and learning purposes, this is because, ICT skills are required to critically evaluate information content and explore it effectively, as well as understanding the technological infrastructure on which information transmission is based (Oliver & Tower, 2000).

Therefore, in Edo State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Use of Search Engines for Research by Library and Information Science Students in University of Benin.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

The main problem of this study is under utilization of library information resources by undergraduates. The role of the university library is to provide information resources such as textbooks, Internet resources, OPAC, online databases, CD- ROM among others, that will support teaching curriculum and to assist students in complementing classroom instructions for academic excellence. The university libraries under study are making effort to regularly update their information resources through acquisition of print materials, electronic resources, and subscription to online databases as well as providing access to these information resources through the library catalogue/OPAC as well as Internet access in the library. However, observation has shown that students do not make effective use of the information resources in these libraries.

It is quite regrettable that despite its numerous advantages, most researchers do not know how to search or to get the right information in the course of their research. Most often, even to synthesize and analyze the information becomes a nightmare to some researchers. The inability of researchers to overcome these problems automatically makes it impossible to explore the potentials of the Internet.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to assess the Use of Search Engines for Research by Library and Information Science Students in University of Benin in Edo State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to:

1. Determine the extent to which LIS students utilize Internet Search Engines for research
2. Ascertain the Internet search strategies employed by students of LIS when searching the Internet for research
3. Find out the extent to which the use of the Internet Search Strategies enhance students' research in the Internet
4. Ascertain the problems encountered by LIS students while searching the Internet for research
5. Find out the strategies for enhancement of the use of the Internet Search Engines by LIS students for research

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• To what extent do LIS students utilize Internet for research?
• What are the Internet Search Engines Strategies employed by LIS students for research?
• To what extent does the use of Internet Search Engines strategies enhance students' research in the Internet?
• What are the problems encountered by LIS students while searching the Internet for research?
• What strategies could be used to enhance of the use of the Internet Search Engines by LIS students for research?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H0: There is no significant strategy used to enhance of the use of the Internet Search Engines by LIS students for research
• H1: There is a significant strategy used to enhance of the use of the Internet Search Engines by LIS students for research

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1.7 Significance of Study

The significance of the study lies in the fact that the study will be helpful to libraries in finding ways of initiating Internet skills in research. The study will achieve this by helping the Librarians know, appreciate and consider the potentials of Internet search strategies and the particular needs of students in the use of these resources as well as ensuring that librarians acquire skills needed for user education in the academic use of Internet. Additionally, this study will help to educate the students on how to effectively use the Internet for their academic pursuit and the relevance of Internet to academic works.

The study will also be helpful to university administration, government agencies, and policy makers as it will enable them to realize the interrelationship between Internet and education and thus work towards reflecting it in their educational policies and programs. Also, it will serve as a framework and guideline to them in establishing effective Internet network and maintain the existing ones to enable the students easily access the Internet.

Finally, the study will help future researchers' study as it will go a long way in making them realize the need for further studies in this area and will form a bedrock for further studies. Also this study will add to the existing literature in the field of Library and Information Science in the area under study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Use of Search Engines for Research by Library and Information Science Students in University of Benin in Edo State

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).