Use and Perception of Faculty Members Regarding Electronic Information Resources: A Study of Universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Authors

Saddiqa Saddiqa, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak, Khyber Paktunkhwa, PakistanFollow
Mohammad Hussain, Department of LIS, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak, PakistanFollow
Mohammad Sohail Haider, School of Information Management, Nanjing University, ChinaFollow

Date of this Version

7-2021

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose: The study probed the use and perception of faculty members about electronic information resources, the use of various search engines and their preferred information format.

Research Design and Methodology: The questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect data for the study. The faculty members of six public sector universities situated in the southern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa constituted the study’s sample. The stratified sampling technique was used, and 340 faculty members were selected from the total population of 661. The collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 and descriptive statistics was applied to obtain the results.

Results: The data was collected from the four faculties of the universities and found that most respondents (34.4%) were from the social sciences faculty. The proportion of male respondents was higher than female respondents. Google was the most used search engine among the respondents; the faculty members used e-resources for learning, research and teaching purposes. The majority of respondents said that the use of e-resources could increase research productivity, increase exposure to peer-reviewed articles, improve the quality of research skills, help to locate relevant research materials and enhance awareness to recent research.

Implications: The findings of the study are beneficial for the university authorities. The key points to be considered are 1) periodic training should be arranged for the faculty members to enhance their awareness and searching skills, 2) VPN should be created both for teachers and scholars to access the e-resources remotely 3) and more funds should be allocated for the procurement of e-resources and to upgrade the ICT infrastructure.

Keywords: Use of electronic information resources, Perception of electronic information resources, Electronic Information Resources, E-resources, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan