DATA RETRIEVAL SKILLS FOR E-RESOURCES POSSESSED BY UNDERGRADUATES OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE IN NIGER DELTA REGION, NIGERIA

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to interpret the data retrieval skills for e-resources possessed by undergraduates Library and Information Science in universities in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria with specific focus on informational, operational and strategic retrieval skills. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of this study comprised 2,147 undergraduates from the department of Library and Information Science in universities in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 429. The instrument used for data generation is a questionnaire tagged “Data Retrieval Skill Questionnaire (DRSQ)”. Copies of the questionnaire were administered by hand with the help of five research assistants. In analyzing the data collected from the instrument administered, mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the responses for research question while t-test was used to test the hypothesis formulated for the study. The result of the study revealed that that undergraduates of Library and Information Science in universities in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria possessed Data retrieval skills (informational, operational and strategic skills) for e-resources in universities in the Niger Delta region. The study calls for government and university management to provide adequate fund and facilities for Library and Information Science programme in order to continue to equip students with relevant skills and competencies needed to utilize the e-resources in universities in the region. This study explored data retrieval skills for e-resources possessed by undergraduates of library and information science in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria.