SELF EFFICACY AND INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF STUDENTS OF SELECT UNIVERSITIES IN OGUN STATE

CHAPTER ONE

 INTRODUCTION 1.1  

  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 Information seeking behaviour is a broad term, which involves a set of actions that an individual, such as undergraduates, takes to express information needs, seek information,evaluate and select information and finally uses this information to satisfy his/her information needs (Fatima and Ahmad, 2008). It is therefore described as an individual’s way and manner of gathering and obtaining information for personal use, knowledge, updating and development. In other words, information seeking behaviour involves active or purposeful information as a result of the need to complete course assignment, prepare for class discussions, seminars, workshops, conferences, or write final year research paper. Though, Singh and Satija (2006) see information seeking behavior as a human process that requires adaptive and reflective control over the afferent and efferent actions of the information seeker in which information seeking behaviour results from the recognition of some needs, perceived by the user, who as a consequence makes demand upon a formal system such as libraries and information centres or some other person in order to satisfy the perceived information need. Thus, they pointed out that information seeking behaviour essentially refers to locate discrete knowledge elements concerned with the three basic resources namely, people, information and system. Information seeking behaviour is an area of dynamic interest among librarians, information scientist, communication scientists, sociologist, and psychologists. Information seeking behaviour is expressed in various forms, from reading printed material to research and experimentation (Bhatti, 2010). Information users make active and intentional attempts to seek up to date information from the library resources, including, electronic sources. It is worthy to also note that the advent of information technology has revolutionized the field of library and information services and has brought about considerable changes in the information seeking behaviour of users. Though there seems to exist many reasons and sources of information to the information user, the university library occupies a central position in the information seeking process of undergraduate students in Nigerian universities.  

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The problem confronting this research is to appraise the self efficacy and information seeking behavior of students of selected universities in Nigeria.

1.3   OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 1      To determine the significance of information  to university students 2      To appraise the self efficacy and information seeking behavior of students  of selected Universities In Ogun State.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTION 1      What is self efficacy and nature of information of students? 2      What is the information seeking behavior of students? 3      What is the self efficacy and information seeking behavior of students  of selected universities in Ogun State?

  1.5   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.     The study shall provide an analysis of the self efficacy and information seeking behavior of students of selected Universities in Ogun State2.     It shall provide a reference source of information for students and the public.  

1.6   STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS 1      H0    Information is not significant to University Students in Ogun State.         H1     Information is significant to University Students in Ogun State 2      H0    The level of information available to University Student in Ogun State is low         H1     The level of information available to University Student in Ogun State is   high 3      H0    The self efficacy and information seeking behavior of selected University Students In Ogun State is  low          Hi     The self efficacy and information seeking  behavior of selected University Students In Ogun State  is high

  1.7   SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study is focused on the self efficacy and information seeking behavior of students of selected Universities In Ogun State

1.8   DEFINITION OF TERMS INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR DEFINED Information seeking behaviour is a broad term, which involves a set of actions that an individual, such as undergraduates, takes to express information needs, seek information, evaluate and select information and finally uses this information to satisfy his/her information needs (Fatima and Ahmad, 2008).