information seeking behavior of undergraduate …. lib...science, annamalai university, annamalai...

Library Progress (International) Vol.39 No.1, 2019: P.154-162 DOI: 10.5958/2320-317X.2019.00016.3

Print version ISSN 0970 1052 Online version ISSN 2320 317X

Original Article

Available online at www.bpasjournals.com

*Corresponding Author: Amir Amanullah, Research Scholar, Dept of Library and Information Science, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu-608 002, India

E-mail: [email protected]

Information Seeking Behavior of Undergraduate College Students of Tribal District Kargil: A Study

Amir Amanullah1*, Dr. RM. Seethai2, Sadik Batcha Majeed3

Author’s Affiliation: 1Research Scholar, Dept of Library and Information Science, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu-608 002, India. E-mail: [email protected] 2Assistant Professor, Research Supervisor and Mentor, Dept of Library and Information Science,

Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu-608 002, India. E-mail: [email protected] 3Associate Professor, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu-608 002, India. E-mail: [email protected]

Received on 20.02.2019, Accepted on 20.04.2019

1. Introduction Information seeking starts from the time an information seeker feels need of information. Information

seeking is a purposive seeking of information from an information source to fulfill the needs of information. In this process of information seeking the seeker interacts with an information system

which may be manual or a computer based one or semi-automated system. The libraries have a long history of being the institutions for information classification and dissemination and with the advent of new technologies the libraries also changed the way of classification and dissemination and the

investment on different types of information sources. Now a day’s hybrid, digital and virtual libraries are commonly used libraries. The libraries are networked to new data sources and vast ocean of

internet based information sources. With the sole mission of satisfying the user’s information need in time the libraries have incorporated, in them, the newly emerging technologies including Web 2.0. In

Abstract The paper presents the attitude of the undergraduate tribal students of the colleges of Kargil district towards the information sources and library services. The study aims at knowing the information needs, information sources used and information search methods and the usage

pattern of the sources. Findings show that the tribal students (Library Users) mostly visit the library for reading and the most used information sources are the books. It’s found that open access through the library racks are effective for retrieving the desired information source.

Keywords: information, information need, seeking behavior, electronic sources, tribal students

Kargil, access.

Amir Amanullah et al. / Information Seeking Behavior of Undergraduate College Students of Tribal District Kargil: A Study

155 Library Progress (International)/ Vol.39 No.1/ January-June 2019 DOI: 10.5958/2320-317X.2019.00016.3

the information world, where society cannot live without information, the information need is felt an

all level of society regardless of social condition, occupation and intellectual location.

Over the decades the libraries made every possible change to meet the information need of the users. With the advancement of technology the libraries have changed their role from being store house of

information to knowledge gateways.

Information use is one of the prime factors for the achievements of the college students and performance of teachers. Being one of the remotest and northern most border district of India, ICT is still less utilized to enrich learning and teaching. In the colleges of Kargil district the students mostly

rely on traditional information sources like books, periodicals because of problems in internet connectivity, accessibility, supporting staff and poor funding to the libraries.

Rapid changes in the information need and use of E-Resources have made exploring the information

seeking behavior of library users a vital part of study in exploring the effective role of libraries in supporting the academic achievements of students and performance of teaching and over all

dissemination of right information to the right user in right time, as stated by the father of library science Dr S R Ranganathan.

The purpose of this study is to find out the attitude of the students towards fulfilling their information needs.

2. Review of related literature: Information need: Kuhlthau (1993)1 has described it as a need which initiates when a person becomes

aware of the fact that something is missing and then culminating in locating information that contributes in understanding and meaning”.

Information seeking: Ikkoja-Odongo and Ochalla (2004)2 describes information seeking as a process

that requires an information seekers cognitive ability, and use of these abilities in information

seeking. Information seeking is therefore a process in which an information seeker identifies the source of information using different search strategies to satisfy the information need.

Information behavior: information behavior includes both unintentional as well as intentional

behaviors that do not include seeking. Based on the general modal of information behavior developed by Wilson (1997)3, he poised that a general model of information behavior needs to include at least

three elements: i. Information need i.e. the factors that gives rise to an individual’s perception of need.

ii. The factors that affect the individuals response to the perception of need and, iii. The process or actions involved in that response.

It is therefore summed up that information behavior is the information seeker’s attitude with respect

to the information source and the ways and means included in the search process including both purposive as well as un-intentional searches.

Information seeking behavior: Krikelas (1983)4 suggests that it begins with the realization that an information need exists and ends when one realized that the same need is satisfied.

Kakai et al (2004)5 refers thereto how individuals look for and utilized information. A purposive

search for the some satisfying information raised out of the need of information can be concluded as information seeking behavior. A number of studies were carried out in the recent past to find out the information seeking behavior of college students and as well as faculty.



Fidzani (1998)6 surveyed 144 students to determine the information seeking behavior and use of

information resources by graduate students at university of Botswana. The study was carried out to know the library awareness of the respondents and the requirements of information sources.

Majid and Tan (2002)7 made a study on the need and type of interaction with the information of

computer engineering undergraduate students at “Nayang Technological University, Singapore”. The purpose was to identify the information sources used by the students, their preferred information

formats and use of various electronic information sources. It was found that the use of databases and electronic journals was quite low.

Kerins, Madden and Fulton (2004)8 studied the graduate engineering students internet activities visa viz information gathering and reported internet to be the most used and firstly used source in making

the projects etc.

Fatima, Nishat and Ahmad (2008)9 studied the students interaction with the information sources and library services of a college in order to know how much educated were the students about the library

resources and services. The survey found that an increase in the services and the library resourced is wanted.

Ahmed, N., & Batcha, M. S. (2014)10. In a study of information accessing pattern of the legal professionals working in Bangalore High court and its branches suggests that journals, digests and

books are owned by most of the respondents while as some senior professionals own CD-ROM databases. The study also analyzed the use of major resources used and the frequency of visit of the professionals. The use of labour law journals and current central laws and all India reports are the sources used by the professionals frequently and mostly.

Karkun, S. G., & Kumbar, M. (2015)11. In a study made in the universities of Karnataka the authors have made a number of suggestions. The authors found that more than 90% of the research scholars

use e-journals and databases. They found that less than 25% of the research scholars use it on daily basis and more than 40% of them are using from last 5 years. It is also mentioned that almost 40% of

the scholars find it difficult to use the e-resources and more than 85% of the respondents finds retrieval problems including irrelevant information. The authors suggested the need of orientations for the researchers to make them efficient to use the e-resources effectively.

Gayathri, D., & Batcha, M. S. (2015)12. In a study related to seeking required information with the help of digital tools have emphasized on obtaining digital contents and have warned that the

libraries will no longer be relevant in the era of Information technology. Without the use of information technology the libraries may only become storehouses, the study concludes. The study highlights the use of electronic resources is quite time saving and accessible.

3. Objectives 1. To find out the information need of the users. 2. To find out the users purpose of library visit. 3. To find out the methods used for accessing the resources.

4. To find out the frequency of visit and time spent in the library. 5. To find out the purpose of searching and using the information.

6. To find out user satisfaction with the library resources and services. 7. To find out the problems faced by the users in using library resources. 4. Methodology and scope of the study

The study adopted descriptive survey and a total of 300 tribal students were selected for the study by using stratified random sampling. Sample was taken in accordance with the population ratio of the

selected colleges and a questionnaire was constructed and distributed to the 300 tribal students of the

Amir Amanullah et al. / Information Seeking Behavior of Undergraduaof Tribal District Kargil: A Study

157 Library Progress (International)/ DOI: 10.5958/2320-317X.2019.00016.3

colleges of Kargil District. Out of 300, 211

questionnaire and returned back. 10 questionnaires were rejected due to lack of complete informationand total 201 (66%) of the respondents under various headings and are interpreted and are detailed in the findings part of this paper. 5. Findings and Discussions a) Purpose of library visit: Table 1:

Purpose

Preparing assignments

Preparing notes

Reading

Discussions

Reading news paper and general knowledge (Updating Knowledge)

Note: total number exceeds the actual no since multiple options were

Figure 1:

The data in Table 1 and the figure-1reading purpose followed by 120 students (

visit library for discussions.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

No of respondents (N=201)


Library Progress (International)/ Vol.39 No.1/ January-June 2019 317X.2019.00016.3

of 300, 211 undergraduate tribal students (about 71%)

and returned back. 10 questionnaires were rejected due to lack of complete informationrespondents were included for study. The data collected so are

under various headings and are interpreted and are detailed in the findings part of this paper.

No of respondents (N=201)

In percentage (rounded up to the nearest)

102 51

120 60

160 80

38 19

Reading news paper and general wledge)

46 23

Note: total number exceeds the actual no since multiple options were allowed.

1 clearly shows that as much as 160 students (80%) visit lireading purpose followed by 120 students (60%) visit for preparing notes. Only 38 students (

No of respondents In percentage (rounded up to the

nearest)

Purpose of Visit


Preparing notes

Reading

Discussions

Reading news paper and general knowledge (Updating Knowledge)

te College Students

%) filled up the

and returned back. 10 questionnaires were rejected due to lack of complete information The data collected so are analyzed

under various headings and are interpreted and are detailed in the findings part of this paper.

(rounded up to the nearest)

) visit library for ) visit for preparing notes. Only 38 students (19%)


Reading news paper and

(Updating Knowledge)



b) Formal sources of information used Table 2:

Sources Used by students (N=201) In percentage (rounded up)

Text books 170 85

Reference Books 156 78

Dictionary & Encyclopedia 49 24

Magazines & news papers 122 61


Figure 2: Table 2 and fig.2 shows that the highest number of tribal students i;e 170 (85%) use text books followed by 156 (78%) students use reference books. Only 49 (24%) tribal students use dictionary and

encyclopedia. c) Library visiting frequency of the users Table 3:

Frequency No of students (N=201) In percentage (rounded up)

Daily 65 32

2-3 times a week 81 40

4-5 times a week 35 17

Weekly 08 4

Fortnightly 07 3

Monthly 05 2

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Used by students (N=201)

In percentage (rounded up)

Text books

Reference Books

Dictionary & Encyclopedia

Magazines & news papers

Amir Amanullah et al. / Information Seeking Behavior of Undergraduaof Tribal District Kargil: A Study

159 Library Progress (International)/ DOI: 10.5958/2320-317X.2019.00016.3

Figure 3: Table 3 and fig. 3 shows that as much as 81

65 (32%) students visit daily. Very less no of students that is 05 ( d) Document Searching method Table 4:

Services

Library catalogue

OPAC

Help of library staff

Through personal search in the racks (Open access)


Figure 4:

4-5 times a week17%

Weekly

Frequency of visit

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Yes


Library Progress (International)/ Vol.39 No.1/ January-June 2019 317X.2019.00016.3

as much as 81 (40%) tribal students visit library 2 to 3 times followed by

) students visit daily. Very less no of students that is 05 (02%) visit library on monthly

Yes No

22 81

28 173

97 104

Through personal search in the racks (Open access) 193 08


Daily32%

2-3 times a week40%

5 times a week17%

Weekly4%

Fortnightly4%

Monthly 3%

No

Library catalogue

OPAC

Help of library staff


te College Students

) tribal students visit library 2 to 3 times followed by

monthly basis.




Table No 4 and fig. 4 shows that most number of students 193 (96%) search for documents personally

through racks and very less that is 22 (11%) students use library catalogue for searching documents. e) Time spend in the library reading room per week Table 5:

Time spent No of students (N=201) In percentage (%)

3-5 hours 47 23

5-10 hours 78 39

10-15 hours 66 33

More than 15 hours 16 8

Figure 5: Table 5 and Fig. 5 shows that most of the students 78 (39%) visit library for 5-10 hours a week while

only 16 (8%) students visit library for more than 15 hours a week. f) Satisfaction of library users with the library collection Table 6:

Type of resources Very good Good Fair Poor

Text books (N=170) 91 47 23 09

Reference books (N=156) 78 49 23 06

Dictionary & Encyclopedia (N=49) 33 12 04 00

News papers & Magazines (N=122) 87 21 12 02

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

No of students (N=201)

3-5 hours

5-10 hours

10-15 hours

More than 15 hours



Figure 6: The data in table 6 and fig. 6 shows that most of the students are satisfied with the library collection. The respondents are of the view that the libraries are adequate in their collection.

g) Satisfaction of users with the services provided by the library. (N=201) Table 7:

Type of services Very Adequate Adequate Inadequate No Response

Reference service 41 % 45% 10% 4%

Reading room service 67% 26% 7% 0%

Reprographic service 26% 31% 38% 5%

Personal help by library staff

38% 54% 6% 2%

Figure 7:

0 20 40 60 80 100

Text books (N=170)

Reference books (N=156)

Dictionary & Encyclopedia (N=49)

News papers & Magazines (N=122)

Poor

Fair

Good

Very good

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Reference service

Reading room service

Reprographic service

Personal help by library staff

No Response

Inadequate

Adequate

Very Adequate



Table 7 and fig. 7 shows that the tribal students are satisfied with the reading room services and very

less satisfied with the reprographic services of the libraries. Adequate no of students are satisfied with the reading room facility.

6. Conclusion Findings from the study show that the tribal students visit the library mostly for reading purpose. As

much as 80% students visit the library for reading followed by preparing notes (60%) and preparing assignments (51%). As far as the resources consultation is concerned as much as 85% students consult or read text books followed by reference books (78%) and news papers and magazines (61%). 40% of the library users prefer to visit the library 2 to 3 times a week. Most of the students consult the library

staff for retrieving the needed books and many others browse through the library racks to search the

document. As much as 39% users spent 5-10 hours a week in the library for reading purpose. The study suggests improvement in the reprographic services. There is a huge scope of further research related to user studies in the twin districts of the cold desert of Ladakh. 7. References 1. Kuhlthau, C. C. (1993). Journal of Documentation Emerald Article: A Principle of Uncertainty For

Information Seeking Carol. Journal of Documentation, 49(4), 339–355.

https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026404 2. Ikoja-Odongo, R., & Ocholla, D.N. (2004). Information Seeking Behavior of the Informal Sector

Entrepreneurs: The Uganda Experience. Libri, 54, 54–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coi.2007.07.011

3. WILSON, T. D. (1997). Information Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. Information Processing & Management, 33(4), 551-572.

4. Krikelas, J. (1983). Information-Seeking Behavior: Patterns and Concepts. Drexel Library Quarterly, 19(2), 5–20. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ298483

5. Kakai, M., Ikoja-Odongo, R., & Kigongo-Bukenya, I. (2004). A study of the information seeking behavior of undergraduate students of Makerere University, Uganda. World Libraries, 14(1), 1–22.

Retrieved from http://www.worlib.org/vol14no1/kakai_v14n1.shtml 6. Fidzani, B. T. (1998). Behaviour of graduate students at the University of Botswana. Library

Review, 47(7), 329–340. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242539810233459

7. Majid, S., & Tan, A. T. (2002). Usage of information resources by computer engineering students: A case study of Nanyang technological university, Singapore. Online Information Review, 26(5),

318–325. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520210447886 8. Kerins, G., Madden, R., & Fulton, C. (2004). Information seeking and students studying for

professional careers: The cases of engineering and law students in Ireland. Information Research, 10(1). https://doi.org/http://InformationR.net/ir/10-1/paper208.html

9. Fatima, N., & Ahmad, N. (2008). Information seeking behaviour of the students at Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Aligarh Muslim University: a survey. Annals of Library and Information Studies,

55(June), 141–144.

10. Ahmed, N., & Batcha, M. S. (2014). Information Use and Access Pattern among Legal Professionals of Bangalore High. International Journal of Management and Social Science Research

Review, 1(2), 28–35. 11. Karkun, S. G., & Kumbar, M. (2015). Utilization of E-Journals and Databases by Research Scholars

of Universities in Karnataka : A Study International Journal of Library and Information Studies. International Journal of Library and Information Studies, 5(2), 16–25.

12. Gayathri, D., & Batcha, M. S. (2015). Seeking the Required Information with the Help of Digital Resources. International Journal of Science and Humanities, 1(1A), 425–432.

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