Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
5-6-2021
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Advancement in modern technologies and the consequent proliferation of electronic information resources have made digital literacy skills imperative in the ivory towers. Undergraduates are expected to be effective in their use of electronic information resources during the course of their studies in the university. However, studies have shown that digital literacy skills may influence use of electronic information resources. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of digital literacy skills on electronic information resources’ use by undergraduates in two South-south, Nigerian universities. The population considered was 5,693 from two universities in South-South, Nigeria.- University of Uyo (UNIUYO) and the Federal University Otuoke (FUO). A sample of 321 undergraduates was randomly selected for this study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and questionnaire as the instrument of data collection. Results showed that majority of undergraduates use the internet 176 (54.4%) for class assignment and other academic work. Findings also revealed that majority 179 (55.8%) and 115 (34.) of the respondents respectively used e-journals and the Internet Daily for academic purposes. It was equally found that the level of digital literacy skills of undergraduates is high (2.39; st.dev.0.68). Findings also indicated that cost of training (=3.33; std dev. =.557); inaccessibility of facilities (=3.24; complexity of online resources (=2.98; std dev.=.720) among others are the major factors that hinder acquisition of digital literacy skills by undergraduates. It was recommended that curriculum of universities should incorporate digital training courses to help both students and staff acquire digital literacy skills to enhance the use of ElRs.