INFORMATION SEEKING ANXIETY AMONG UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

This study investigated the level of information seeking anxiety (ISA) among postgraduate students at Nigeria’s premier tertiary institution, University of Ibadan. It focused on understanding the ISA of the students, as well as the demographic differences in their ISA levels. Descriptive survey design was adopted. A standardized and validated ISA scale consisting of six dimensions was used for the data collection. A total of 288 postgraduate students participated in the study. Findings showed that only 42% of the students exhibited mild ISA. Over 90% were in the no, low and mild categories of ISA, while less than 10% had moderate and severe ISA. Information resources dimension was the major source of ISA and the most important cause of this was the lack of access and frustration due to lack of user-friendly information resources. The study found statistically significant gender differences in the overall ISA and information resources, technical and topic identification dimensions, as female students exhibited greater ISA than males. Age differences in ISA were also found in the overall ISA scale and the dimensions of library and information search where the oldest students showed the highest level of anxiety followed by students in the youngest category. No statistically significant differences in ISA were found based on faculty and program of study, except with topic identification dimension where master’s students had the highest ISA. This study concludes that generally, the postgraduate students are comfortable with their information seeking experience. The findings of the study amongst others recommends the need for institutional programs aimed at enhancing students’ information and digital literacy and further studies in other Nigerian universities for a holistic understanding of ISA among postgraduate students.

Keywords: Information seeking anxiety; demographic variables; postgraduate students; University of Ibadan; Nigeria.