WEB-SEARCHING BEHAVIOUR, MOBILE TECHNOLOGY AND LIBRARY INFORMATION RESOURCES USE AS PREDICTORS OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Academic performance is the extent to which students attain their educational objectives, goals, and outcomes. However, studies have shown that academic performance of Library and Information Science (LIS) undergraduates in most universities in Nigeria is poor. Previous studies have investigated the influence of undergraduates’ characteristics, school and home factors on academic performance with little attention to web-searching behaviour, mobile technology and library information resources use. This study, therefore, was carried out to examine Web-Searching Behaviour (WSB), Mobile Technology Use (MTU) and Library Information Resources Use (LIRU) on Academic Performance (AP) of LIS undergraduates in Nigerian universities. The Educational Productivity and Constructivist theories, and Ellis' Model of Information-seeking Behaviour provided the framework, while the survey design was used. The multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted. Six federal universities: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Calabar, Calabar; University of Ibadan, Ibadan; University of Ilorin, Ilorin; and, University of Nigeria, Nsukka; five state universities: Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma; Imo State University, Owerri; Kwara State University, Malete; Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode; and, Umaru Musa Ya’adua University, Katsina and three private universities: Adeleke University, Ede; Benson Idahosa University, Benin City; and, Madonna University, Okija offering LIS degree programme were purposively selected. The proportional to size sampling technique was used to select 40% of the LIS undergraduates across the universities. The instruments used were WSB (α = 0.92), MTU (α = 0.77), LIRU (α = 0.96) scales and the academic records of LIS undergraduates. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlation and Multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance. The LIS undergraduates’ age was 21.00±1.30 years, and 52.8% were females, while their level of the academic performance was low (46.8%). Six percent of the undergraduates searched the web frequently for academic activities. Google search engine (85.7%) and Mozilla web browser (85.7%) were commonly used, while behavioural strategy (54.6%) and chaining process (68.2%) were mostly displayed. Laptop (86.1%) and smartphone (84.5%) were the most frequently used mobile technology, while Google drive (62.3%) and vocabulary builders (56.3%) were the main mobile applications. Almost all the undergraduates (99.9%) visited the library at least once a week and 85.7% use special print collections or newspapers, while 16.7% rarely used electronic resources. The WSB (r = 0.09) and LIRU (r = 0.07) had relationships with AP, while MTU did not. The WSB, MTU and LIRU had joint contributions to AP (F(3;1246) = 6.89, Adj. R2 = 0.17), accounting for 17.0% of its variance. The WSB (β = 0.10), LIRU (β = 0.11) and MTU (β = 0.03) relatively contributed to AP. Web searching behaviour and library information resources use enhanced the academic performance of library and information science undergraduates in Nigeria. These factors should be considered by lecturers, library administrators and policy makers for improved academic performance of library and information science undergraduates.