EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE AWARENESS AND UTILIZATION OF INTERNET SEARCH ENGINE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMATION RETRIEVAL ON THE WEB.

Authors

Chidaka Okachukwu Nyemezu Dr., Department of Library and Information Science, Rivers State UniversityFollow
Esther Nwarubu Edeh Miss, Department of Adult Education and Extra Mural Studies, University of Nigeria NsukkaFollow
Israel Oghale Edereka Dr, System Analyst/Trainer, USAID/Nigeria, Abuja, FCT, NigeriaFollow
Njideka Rachael Ugwu Miss, Librarian, Federal College of Education, Eha-AmufuFollow

Abstract

The study examined the level of awareness and utilization of internet search engine among undergraduate students of Nigerian Universities for Effective Information Retrieval on the web. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. Undergraduate students of government owned Universities in Southeast, Nigeria made up the population of the study. 525 undergraduate students sampled for the study using multistage sampling technique. Structured Questionnaire was constructed by the researchers and used for the study. Data collected were analyzed using frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation. All computation of collected data was done with SPSS version 22. Real limit of number was adopted for taking decision. The study revealed that majority of the students are highly aware of Google, while only few are aware of Google scholar, Yahoo and Bing. It was also revealed that only Google was highly utilized among the students, while Google scholar, Yahoo and Bing are less utilized. The extent of awareness and utilization of Internet search engine contribute greatly to effective information retrieval on the web among undergraduate students of Nigerian Universities. the major challenges affecting the awareness and utilization of internet search engine among undergraduate students of Nigerian Universities for Effective Information Retrieval on the web are erratic electric power supply, high cost of internet access through data subscription, lack of search skills, slow internet connectivity, lack of fund to acquire personal computer or smartphone, techno-stressed, poor data transmission, and inadequate telecommunication infrastructure around campus. The study recommended among other things that, Adequate awareness of other internet search engines should be created among undergraduates. Most especially specialized search engine like google scholar and others. Undergraduates should be enlightened and encouraged through library user education to always utilize internet search engines for effective information retrieval.