Abstract: The study was to investigate the utilization of internet as research tool among undergraduate students. The study was anchored on Technological Determinism Theory and Source Credibility Theory. A cross-sectional survey research method was adopted while data questionnaires were used to elicit responses from the respondents among Library and Information Science students using quota sampling technique to select respondents across the levels (100 level-400 level) in the department. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) while the data were presented with the aid of tables. The results found that 98.2% of the respondents are having access to the Internet and browse often usually through smartphone. Also, 72.3% of them spent between 6 hours to 10 hours surfing the Internet daily. 95.7% of the respondents agreed that they utilized the Internet as research tool compare to traditional literary resources to a very high extent. Majority of the respondents said the Internet is effective as research tool compare to traditional library resources. Similarly, 98.2% of the respondents put their weight behind the notion that the Internet has enhanced their academic performance, research and assignments to a high extent. The study also encourage students to use online platforms like discussion forums, social media, and online study groups to collaborate on projects, share information and support each other academically.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

            Human activities and events have been altered by the emergence of the internet especially in the last two decades. One of the aspects of life that has been seriously redefined is communication, interaction and academic. Before now, examinations are mostly done on paper while students get most of their academic materials from the library, newspapers, magazines and journals etc but today, there is CBT, e-library and Internet at large (Olayinka, 2019).

            Without doubt, the Internet has revolutionized the way we live, work, and learns. It has become an indispensable tool for research, offering vast amounts of information on a wide range of subjects. As such, it has become an important tool for students at ABU, Zaria and other institutions of higher learning in Nigeria and world all over. One of the main advantages of the internet as a research tool is the sheer amount of information available (Adeleke, 2019).

            In fact, the Internet has plugged into education/academic activities and as a result education has growing from the four wheels of the classroom to virtual classes/e-learning, e-book, virtual conferences, CBT and lots more (Colin, 2014). With a few clicks of a mouse or taps on a screen, students can access thousands of articles, books, and other sources of information on their topic of interest. This allows them to conduct comprehensive research and develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

            However, the arrival of the Internet and the proliferation of search engines like google.com and Bing.com and other, online research and learning platforms such as Google Scholar, Science Direct, Google Forms, Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia, social networking, online journals, blogs, websites among other resourceful platforms, these have completely revolutionalised the means, efforts, time and speed of gathering and sharing of information including research (Olayinka, 2019). No wonder, alexa.com has continued to ranked google.com as the most used Internet platform in the world since 2010 till date (Alexarank, 2017).

            Kur (2014) posits that the dynamic nature of the 2lst century and more centuries to come rests on technological revolution. No wonder, Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian English Professor in 1964 propounded the concept of “Global Village” regarding the entire globe as having the potentials of becoming a “global community” where information, education, conferences, journal and news about anything and anywhere in the world would be readily available for anyone’s consumption in any part of the world and without mincing word, the impact of the Internet in achieving this feat cannot be underestimated as more online journals are now available, today more than a thousand articles are available on every research subject intended apart from availability on many grammar corrections and paraphrasing tool such grammarly, including anti plagiarism software etc (Charlie, 2021).

            According to Rajesh and Ritu (2014), students who use the internet for research are more likely to produce high-quality work than those who rely on traditional sources of information, emphasizing that students who used the internet as a research tool were better able to identify relevant sources of information, evaluate the credibility of those sources, and synthesize that information into a coherent and well-supported argument.

            Unlike traditional sources of information, which may only be available in a limited number of libraries or archives, the Internet is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection (Affum, 2022).  This means that students at Amado Bello University, Zaria and other institutions can conduct research from anywhere, at any time, and from any device with an internet connection. It is against this thrust that the study investigates the utilization of Internet as research tool among undergraduate students in department of Library and Information Science (LIS), Abu, Zaria.

1.1     Statement of the Problem

            The internet is an essential research tool for students in all disciplines, but it is especially important for students in the department of Library and Information Science (LIS). LIS students are trained to find, evaluate, and use information, and the internet is a vast and ever-changing source of information. However, many undergraduate LIS students do not have the skills necessary to effectively use the internet for research. They may not know how to evaluate websites, identify reliable sources, or use advanced search techniques. However, the information retrieved from the Internet may not always be credible, leading to inaccurate and unreliable research. This raises questions about the effectiveness of the internet as a research tool among university students.

            Also, many undergraduate LIS students rely too heavily on search engines like Google when conducting research. This can lead to them overlooking valuable sources of information, such as academic databases and scholarly journals. Equally, undergraduate LIS students are unable to critically evaluate the information they find on the internet. They may not be able to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, or they may not be able to identify bias in the information.

            These research gaps can have a number of negative consequences for undergraduate LIS students. They may unable to find credible source of information they need to succeed in their courses, and they may be exposed to inaccurate or biased information as many often use Wikipedia for research which is not accepted by many supervisors.

            It is against this thrust that the study investigates the utilization of Internet as research tool among undergraduate students in department of Library and Information Science (LIS), Abu, Zaria.

1.3       Objectives of the Study

            The main objective of the study is to investigate the utilization of Internet as research tool among undergraduate LIS students of Abu, Zaria. The specific objectives are:

1. To examine how undergraduate LIS students use the internet for research.
2. To ascertain the perception of undergraduate LIS students towards the Internet as a research tool.
3. To investigate the effectiveness of the Internet as research tool compare to traditional library resources.
4. To establish the extent to which the Internet has enhanced LIS students’ academic performance, research and assignments.
5. To determine the major challenge that undergraduate LIS students encounter when using the Internet as a research tool.

1.4       Research Questions

In order to explicate the aforementioned objectives, the listed questions provide answers to the research problem:

1. How do undergraduate LIS students use the internet for research?
2. What is the perception of undergraduate LIS students towards the Internet as a research tool?
3. How effective is the Internet as research tool compare to traditional library resources?
4. To what extent has the Internet enhanced LIS students academic performance, research and assignments?
5. What is the challenge that undergraduate LIS students encounter when using the Internet as a research tool?

1.5       Significance of the Study

            Conducting this research is very significant in a number of ways apart from fulfilling academic requirements e.g.

            The research of this kind becomes necessary as its findings will provide the public with comprehensive and broad knowledge of what could be the impacts of internet on the readability and research among Nigerian students.

            This research will help government to benefit from the suggestion and recommendations offered by the study if applied, as it would lead to an improvement in the education policies, programme and implementations. 

             The Nigerian students will find this research useful as it will enable them to know how to effectively employ the internet for academic advancement rather than frivolity

            Thus, the value of this study will be beneficial to the management team, students, future researchers and technical centers at University of Ibadan.

            The management and lecturers of tertiary institution will use this research to create programmes and formulate better lecture materials or study guides that include internet and other emerging media to aid learning, teaching and communication.

            The outcome of this research will lead to a better understanding of the Internet more, its uses towards academic performance. It will also enable students to know their flaws and make corrections to it. The output of this research work will also add to the current literature on the Internet usage in academic generally.

            Future researchers and scholars who many what to carry out research in this area or related aspect will find this materials very useful and serve as reference material while the findings will serve as eye opener to parents and guidance’ eyes on the need to monitor their children on who they do on the Internet.

1.6       Scope of the Study

            The study which investigates the utilization of Internet as research tool among undergraduate shall be narrowed in scope Library Information Science students of Amadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. Thus, the geographical scope of this study shall be within Amadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. The choice of Amadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria students is due to its proximity to the researcher, inadequate time to study all students in Kaduna State among other logistics. Equally, in this century, almost all students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria and world all over are making use of the Internet for one purpose or the other. However, the demographical variables of the respondents students of LIS, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria will be examined before the administration of the data collection instrument.

1.7       Operational Definitions of Terms

Utilization: In this study, it refers to the use of the Internet for research purposes among students of LIS, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

Internet as Research Tool: In this research, it refers to the use of the Internet for gathering, researching, reading, sharing, storing and retrieving of academic ideas and other related subject matters among students of LIS, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

Undergraduate: In this study, it refers to students of LIS, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria usually between 100 level and 400 level.

Library Information Science: These are undergraduate students of LIS, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

Format = MS Word, Price = ₦4,500, Chapter = 1-5, Pages = 69, References = Yes, Questionnaire =Yes, Table of Contents = Yes and Abstract = Yes

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