DOES SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE DETERMINE HOW THEY UTILIZE CONVENTIONAL AND DIGITAL LIBRARIES IN NIGERIA?

Authors

Joseph Chinweobo Onuoha Ph.D, University of Nigeria - NsukkaFollow
Chinonso Mbama, Department of Social Science Education, University of Nigeria NsukkaFollow
Nkechinyere Edeh, Department of Social Science Education, University of Nigeria NsukkaFollow

Abstract

The study determined the attitude of Social Studies Education (SSE) students towards the use of conventional and digital libraries in South-east Nigeria universities. It adopted a survey research design. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study was 238 Students which consisted all the SSE students from 2⁰⁰ to 400 level. A sample size of 152 students selected through multi-stage sampling techniques were used for the study. A- 4-point instrument developed by the researcher titled “Questionnaire on Attitude towards the use of conventional and digital Libraries (QACDL)” was used for the study. Cronbach Alpha was used to determine the reliability of the instrument and it yielded .771 which indicates that the instrument is reliable. The research questions were answered using percentage while the null hypotheses were tested using Man Whitney U test at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed among others that students that SSE students have access to the various sections of the conventional and digital library and have negative attitude towards the conventional. Some of the strategies recommended for improvement of the students use of the conventional and digital library included: Academic libraries have to improve the quality of their services to survive in this era of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and schools should assess the library service from student’s point of view to know their user needs amongst others.