Abstract:
Academic performance is the extent to which students attain their educational
objectives, goals, and outcomes. However, studies have shown that academic
performance of Library and Information Science (LIS) undergraduates in most
universities in Nigeria is poor. Previous studies have investigated the influence of
undergraduates’ characteristics, school and home factors on academic performance with
little attention to web-searching behaviour, mobile technology and library information
resources use. This study, therefore, was carried out to examine Web-Searching
Behaviour (WSB), Mobile Technology Use (MTU) and Library Information Resources
Use (LIRU) on Academic Performance (AP) of LIS undergraduates in Nigerian
universities.
The Educational Productivity and Constructivist theories, and Ellis' Model of
Information-seeking Behaviour provided the framework, while the survey design was
used. The multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted. Six federal universities:
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria;
University of Calabar, Calabar; University of Ibadan, Ibadan; University of Ilorin, Ilorin;
and, University of Nigeria, Nsukka; five state universities: Ambrose Ali University,
Ekpoma; Imo State University, Owerri; Kwara State University, Malete; Tai Solarin
University of Education, Ijebu-Ode; and, Umaru Musa Ya’adua University, Katsina and
three private universities: Adeleke University, Ede; Benson Idahosa University, Benin
City; and, Madonna University, Okija offering LIS degree programme were purposively
selected. The proportional to size sampling technique was used to select 40% of the LIS
undergraduates across the universities. The instruments used were WSB (α = 0.92),
MTU (α = 0.77), LIRU (α = 0.96) scales and the academic records of LIS
undergraduates. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product
moment correlation and Multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance.
The LIS undergraduates’ age was 21.00±1.30 years, and 52.8% were females,
while their level of the academic performance was low (46.8%). Six percent of the
undergraduates searched the web frequently for academic activities. Google search
engine (85.7%) and Mozilla web browser (85.7%) were commonly used, while
behavioural strategy (54.6%) and chaining process (68.2%) were mostly displayed.
Laptop (86.1%) and smartphone (84.5%) were the most frequently used mobile
technology, while Google drive (62.3%) and vocabulary builders (56.3%) were the main
mobile applications. Almost all the undergraduates (99.9%) visited the library at least
once a week and 85.7% use special print collections or newspapers, while 16.7% rarely
used electronic resources. The WSB (r = 0.09) and LIRU (r = 0.07) had relationships
with AP, while MTU did not. The WSB, MTU and LIRU had joint contributions to AP
(F(3;1246) = 6.89, Adj. R2 = 0.17), accounting for 17.0% of its variance. The WSB (β =
0.10), LIRU (β = 0.11) and MTU (β = 0.03) relatively contributed to AP.
Web searching behaviour and library information resources use enhanced the
academic performance of library and information science undergraduates in Nigeria.
These factors should be considered by lecturers, library administrators and policy makers for improved academic performance of library and information science
undergraduates.
