PERCEPTION AND UTILISATION OF INFORMATION RETRIEVAL TOOLS BY THE UNDERGRADUATES OF AJAYI CROWTHER UNIVERSITY, NIGERIA

Abstract

There is no doubt in the fact that; the utilisation of information retrieval tools (IRTs) by the undergraduate students might have a favorable effect on their varied academic pursuits by providing them access to the right information sources. However, observations and empirical proofs had revealed that; utilisation of a number of the information retrieval tools by several students seems to be low. Conceivably, this supposed observation may not be unrelated with the perception linked with ease of access of information retrieval tools which might have an impact on how they are used by students. The survey investigated perception and utilisation of information retrieval tools by the students. The descriptive research design and multistage sampling method was adopted. Out of 3,236 students population 191 sample was selected. Results declared that; a significant percentage (4.90 > 3.50) and (4.15 > 3.50) of respondents indicated that; bibliographies and databases were the most accessible IRTs. Majority (3.54 >2.50) and (3.46 >2.50) of the undergraduates also indicated that; seminar preparation and continuous assessment preparation were the major purposes of utilising IRTs.  Most of the students displayed a good perception towards the utilisation of IRTs. Findings also revealed a significant association between perception and utlisation of IRTs by the students (r = .218, n=174, p(.004)<.05). The recommendation is that; in a bid to establish a positive perception towards the utilisation of information retrieval tools by the undergraduates, library management should launch episodic information literacy, user education programmes and make sure that all undergraduates take part in it.