UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR: IMPLICATIONS FOR QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFRICA.
ABSTRACT
The major purpose of the study was to examine the information seeking behaviour of undergraduate students in the University of Botswana. Specifically, the study made effort to determine the sources consulted and the general pattern of information gathering system by the students: the impact of students’ gender, level of study and course of study on the students’ information seeking behaviour. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and data was collected using a questionnaire administered to two thousand respondents randomly selected from six faculties in the University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana. Major findings from the study include are: first, academic information was rated as the predominant information required by the students, while the Internet was rated the most crucial source of most of the academic information required. It was also found that gender, level of study and course of study significantly influence students’ information seeking behaviour (F = 511.8, level of signification is .05). However, among the factors, the students’ level of study contributed more to the observed variation in information seeking pattern, followed by course of study, while gender had the least influence. The sample was taken in two departments from each of the faculty in the University. This is a typical representation of the population of the undergraduate students of the University of Botswana hence; the findings could be generalized for the whole undergraduate students of the University. The paper is a product of recent survey carried out by the authors; hence the findings reported here are original and reflect the current views and practices of information seeking behaviour of University of Botswana Undergraduates.