Information Needs and Seeking Behaviour of Final Year Students of a Specialized University in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the information needs and seeking behaviour of final-year students of the Federal University of Petroleum  Resources, Effurun (FUPRE), Nigeria. The study seeks to identify their information needs, the purpose for which they seek information,  sources of information consulted and challenges faced when seeking information. It employed the use of descriptive survey research  design. The total population for this study is 1642, comprising all final-year students of FUPRE in the 2022/2023 academic session. The  purposive sampling technique was used, where 50% of the entire population was selected giving a sample size of 821. A questionnaire  was used to elicit data from the respondents, while simple percentage and frequency counts were used to analyze the data generated.  The findings suggest that final-year students majorly seek information related to academic development/course work, project writing/ defense, job-related information, and business/wealth creation. It also revealed that class assignments, examinations, project writing,  self-development, and health-related reasons are the purposes they seek information. The major sources of information they consult are  Google, other search engines, lecture notes, friends, and colleagues. However, the study identifies an uncomfortable library environment,  lack of internet access in the library, too much information to deal with, lack of time, and poor facilities in the library as the  major challenges they face while seeking information. It is therefore recommended that the university should provide an enabling  environment for the students to access and use the library services as well as an internet connection to access a wide range of resources.