victor sp 20 june
TRANSCRIPT
ACADEMIC USE OF INTERNET AMONG VETERINARY
UNDERGRADUATES AT SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA
BY
MICHAEL INYASI VICTOR
A SPECIAL PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DIPLOMA OF
LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AT SOKOINE UNIVERSITY
OF AGRICULTURE, MOROGORO, TANZANIA
JULY, 2014
1
SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
DIRECTORATE OF SOKOINE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY
Special project Title:
ACADEMIC USE OF INTERNET AMONG VETERINARY
UNDERGRADUATES AT SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
NAME OF STUDENT: MICHAEL INYASI VICTOR
REGISTRATION NO. DIL/D/12/T/0045
PROGRAM: DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION AND LIBRARY SCIENCE
A SPECIAL PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DIPLOMA OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AT SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE,. MOROGORO,
TANZANIA
JULY, 2014
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………..i
COPYRIGHT………………………………………………….………….ii
DECLARATION..………………………………………………………..iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT…………………………………………………..iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATION………………………………………………v
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………….vi
CHAPTER ONE……………………………………………………………....1
1.0 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………...1
1.1 Study background ………………………………………………………....2
1.2 Statement of the problem ……………………………………………….…3
1.3 Objectives………………………………………………………………….4
1.3.1 General objective…………………………………………….…………..4
1.3.2 Specific objectives…………………………………………………….…4
1.3.3 Research questions………………………………………….……………4
1.4 Significant of the study…………………………………………………….5
1.5 Operational definition of terms…………………………………………….5
1.6 Limitation of the study……………………………………………………..6
CHAPTER TWO……………………………………………….…………….. 7
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………. 7
CHAPTER THREE…………………………………………………….....……11
3.0 METHODOLOGY........................................................................................11
3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................11
3.2 Description of study area……………………………………………………11
3.3 Research design..............................................................................................11
3.4 Sampling procedure and sample size..............................................................12
3.4.1 Study population.........................................................................................12
3.5 Data collection……………………………………………………...………12
3.7 Data analysis.................................................................................................13
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CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Results and discussion................................................................................14
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 Findings and conclusion.............................................................................26
REFFERENCES………..…………………………………………………....28
QUESTIONNAIRES………………………………………………………..30
BUDGET FOR THE RESEARCH………………………………………….36PLAN OF WORK…………………………………………………………....37
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COPYRIGHT
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means, electronic, mechanical, and copying otherwise without prior permission of the copyright owner.
.
DECLARATION
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I, BANGUZE THEOBALD, hereby declare to the Sokoine University of Agriculture that this
Special project proposal is my own original work and that no such work has been submitted for
any degree/diploma award in any university for the diploma award or for similar purpose at any
other university or higher learning institution.
Candidate ……..………………………… Signature ……………………
Date………………………………………
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CERTIFICATION
The undersigned certifies that he has read and hereby recommends for the acceptance by Sokoine University of Agriculture, a Special Project proposal titled: KNOWLDGE AND SKILLS OF PUBLIC RECORDS PERSONNEL IN MOROGORO MUNICIPALITY in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Diploma in Records, Archives aand Information Management
…………………………………………….
Dr. A.S Sife
(Supervisor)
Date...................................................
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DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this work to my beloved parents Mr. Victor Michael and Mrs. Martina
Michael, brothers, sisters, Veterinary undergraduates students at SUA and friends who supported
me fully during the whole period of my study. Above all to my almight God who has always
been there for me.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I firstly Firstly, I thank God for all the strengh, courage and support he has given me throughout
my research period up to the completion this paper. He has made me alive up to this day, . I have
to thank him. His hand has made my research possible.
However, I would like to express my deepest and sincerest to all individuals who contribubuted a
lot to the success of this work.
I wish to extend my sincere thanks to my supervisor Dir. A.S.Sife who tirelessly made valuable
suggestions and comments while supervising me throughout the preparation of this research
work.
Then I would like to give my special gratitude to the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine students
of Veterinary undegraduate students of at SUA for their assistance in completion ofobtaining
data for this paperwork.
I also owe the greatest thanks to my mother and father Martina and Victor Michael, for their
guidance, . Iam very fortunate to have parents who understand the essence and value of great
education.
Lastly, I would like to thank my colleagues who in one way or another contributed in the
completion of this paper.
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LIST OF ABREVIATIONS
WWW: World Wide Web
LAN: Local Area Nrtwork
IT: Information Technology
E-mail: Electronic mail
IAT: Internet Addiction Test
TCP/IP: Transfer Control Protocol
ARPA: Advanced Research Projects Agency
PC: Personal Computer
FNC: Federal Networking Council
SUA: Sokoine University of Agriculture
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ABSTRACT
Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that interchange data by packet
switching using the standardized Internet protocol Suite (TCP/IP). This study is dedicated to
describe Academic use of internet among veterinary undergraduates at Sokoine University of
Agriculture. Specifically, the study sought to understand the internet usage characteristics of
veterinary undergraduate students at SUA, reasons for using the internet, usage of various
internet features, internet search skills and problems faced while using the internet. The study
population comprised of all veterinary undergraduates students from the 1st year up to the 5th
year. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire that were distributed randomly
and they were analyzed using SPSS.
The findings indicate that most veterinary students were experienced on using the internet for
more 3 years and they accessed the internet mostly through their mobile phones and their
personal computer. Most students relied on internet resources for their research, class
assignments, communications, accessing university website for various information and services
example SUASIS, library catalogue and downloading software applications as well as accessing
news and current affairs. Also they had positive attitudes towards these resources.
Many students were using search engines such as Google and Yahoo as well as social media
tools mostly Facebook and YouTube. The findings also indicate that majority of students were
using simple search while advanced search features were rarely used. The use of e-journal
databases among veterinary undergraduate students at SUA was very low. Slow Internet
connectivity and restrictions in downloading e-resources were regarded serious constraints in
using the internet resources. It is recommended that libraries and their parent should promote e-
resources and integrate information literacy into their curricular. Libraries should address
contextual and technical issues in order to promote usage levels. Libraries should also look into
the possibility of integrating e-resources into OPACs for greater visibility and to enable users
search several databases simultaneously.
Keywords: Internet, Veterinary students, Academic use.
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CHAPTER ONE
1.0 STUDY BACKGROUND
1.1 Introduction
Internet use is spreading rapidly into daily life, and directly affecting people’s ideas and
behavior. Internet has an impact in many areas including the higher education system. Internet
heralded the development and implementation of new and innovative teaching strategies in
higher education institutions. Educators who advocate technology integration in the learning
process believe it will improve learning and prepare students to effectively participate in the 21 st
century workplace. Internet use has become a way of life for the majority of higher education
students all around the world.
The internet, sometimes called simply “The Net,” is a worldwide system of computer networks
which allow users at any one computer to get information from any other computer. Internet is a
huge network of computer networks all linked together (Robert, 2000). Many computers are
attached to the internet by asset of a hard wired link to a local area network (LAN). Technically,
what distinguishes the internet is its use of protocols (Rules) called Transmission control
protocol (TCP/IP). Physically, the internet makes use a portion of the total resources of existing
public telecommunication networks. The internet at present is a public service and accessible to
millions of people worldwide.
Internet evolution was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S
government in 1969 which was first known as ARPANET. The original aim was to create a
network that would allow users of research computer at one University to be able to talk to
research computers at other Universities. The benefit of ARPANET design was that, since
messages could be routed rerouted in more than one direction, the network could continue to
function even if parts of it were destroyed in the event of a military attack or other disaster.
The Internet has come with an evolution that cannot be compared with existing technologies that
were there before it. Molosi (2001) remarked that the television revolution took 13 years to reach
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50 million viewers whereas the Internet achieved this mark in only four years (Molosi, 2001).
There is no doubt that the rate of deployment of new technologies in developing countries is low,
especially those of sub-Saharan Africa. This is particularly noticeable in the area of
telecommunication and computing infrastructure, such as telephones, power supplies,
development of appropriate electronic networks etc (Naidoo and Schutte, 1999). Today, the
growth in telecommunication infrastructure has led to increase in Internet connectivity. More
people get connected to the Internet through their mobile phones.
The Internet has become one of the important tools in education. It helps transfer information
between different points. People in different age groups and jobs, students and academicians who
do scientific research and prepare projects prefer using the Internet because it is the easiest,
fastest, and cheapest ways of accessing necessary information (Cloud, 1989). However, even
though the Internet is a very important and indispensable source for students, the issue of
whether the referenced source is trustworthy and/or credible, has been raised. This is because
there is no control on any particular piece of information published through the Web, in
opposition to the scientific and professional journals published by the scientific institutions,
business world and the organizations known to the public. Additionally, other journals and books
issued by commercial organizations do not have a control unit including editors and referees.
Many of the sites on the internet allow anybody to submit any kind of information without being
controlled, and many of the sites known as reliable are restricted to open access for commercial
purposes or security requirements (IP restriction, membership).
The use of the Internet in the educational environment has enabled easy access to many
resources, and information sharing has, therefore, significantly increased. Moreover, the
prevalence of this sharing has brought additional benefits in that these resources can be used in
any location and any time. Despite the efficiency of this technology, not much research has been
conducted to understand record keeping among students in Tanzania. Internet use can also differ
among students from various fields and years of study.
.
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The internet has changed the face of the lives of people, turning them completely into the
modern and latest lifestyle with its development. Today instead of the newspapers, people use
the internet to access the e-news which provides with not only the newspaper completely but also
various different news channels from all over the world. Even the live video news from the news
channels can be accessed through the net, overpowering the other media, even including the
television. The modern development through the internet has also widened the opportunities for
business and professional development. The need to advertise the products of any business
companies are no more the major problem, as the companies can develop their own website and
informing regarding the products to convince the customers with their works. There are also
several open opportunities of making money through the internet, with the most common
profession being the website development with the increasing demand of web development
personals used to develop the websites to promote their business and companies. Internet is
indeed the major advancement in the modern era, enabling the common people to sit at home and
rule the world.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Ideally, undergraduate students were are supposed to use internet for academic purposes that
include using the internet to looking for information related to their university
studies/assignments. In this respect, academic information was is the highest ranked type of
frequent information search that the internet was used for when compared to searching for
information about consumer goods and services, news/current affairs or leisure/interests/hobbies.
Inspite of the magnitude and merits of using internet by veterinary students of Sokoine
University of Agriculture still most students do not catch up with the changes and some do not
succeed to their intended goals even when this technology is put in effect. This lead to
difficulties in minimizing cost around the University environment as a result of poor
communication and therefore failure of the students to learn anytime, anywhere by means of
distance education, where the student-teacher relationship is carried out at simultaneous or
different times without the need for physical proximity. Internet services at Sokoine University
of Agriculture need to be designed in such a way that students operations are effective. However,
internet use can differ among students of different fields. Some of the students use internet for e-
banking, e-gaming, e-shopping, downloading and participating in online courses or lessons. That
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said, using the internet for educational information was ranked lower than communicative and
social software uses of the internet, with significantly higher proportions of students reporting
frequent use of the internet for email, chat-room and social-software applications such as
blogging, MySpace and similar packages. The purpose of the present study is was to generate
initial data and describe the relationship between Internet use and behaviors, and locus of control
among an undergraduate student population. This research aimed at findingfind out how
Undergraduate Bachelor of veterinary Medicine students of SUA use an the internet for
academic purposes.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.3.1 General Objectives
To assess the use of internet for academic purposes among undergraduate veterinary students at
SUA
1.3.2 Specific Objective
i. To determine the frequency of internet use among undergraduate veterinary students at
SUA
ii. To ascertain undergraduate veterinary students’ skills in the use of Internet
iii. To determine the purpose of internet use by undergraduate veterinary students
iv. To identify constraints to the use of internet among undergraduate veterinary students.
1.3.3 Research questions
i. What is the frequency of internet use among undergraduate veterinary students at SUA?
ii. What are the skills acquired by veterinary students on the usage of internet?
iii. What are the purposes of internet use by undergraduate veterinary students?
iv. What are the constraints of using internet among undergraduate veterinary students?
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1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The findings of the study were would be very useful in the following area if consulted; firstly
this research has widened the knowledge of the researcher on the area of the study. The
researcher acts as a starting point for a researcher interested in conducting further research on the
use of internet by veterinary undergraduate Student. The research can be referred in the future by
other researchers or interested personnel. Finally makes the researcher as the student to meet a
part of my course requirement.
1.5 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
1.5.1 Internet
William defines internet as a collection of packet-switched networks connected via Routers
(Devices used to link two or more networks).
The Federal Networking Council (FNC) agreed on the following definition of term Internet.
Internet refers to the global information system that is logically linked together by an
internationally unique address space based on the internet Protocol (IP). Internet is able to
support communications via the Transmission control protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite
or/and other IP compatible protocols (source?).
1.5.2 Veterinary students
This means a student enrolled in a college of veterinary medicine or a veterinary technology
university approved by the board and who is working with a licensed veterinarian. “Licensed
veterinarian” means a person licensed by the board to practice veterinary medicine. Generally are
those who are dealing with the medical or surgical treatment of animals, especially domestic
animals.
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1.5.3 Academic use
According to Simanek, D.E (1996) he states that academic use meant “Pertaining to the
development of the mind” this means that students should use the powers of the mind to a place
of learning. Nowadays it seems to mean anything that occurs in a school and relating to an
educational or scholarly institution or environment.
1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
In the way towards conducting this research the researcher faced the following limitations;
1. Insufficient fund
The study did not investigate much due to the fact that the fund provided for the
research could not support the researcher in conducting this research.
2. Restricted access to data
The researcher conducting a research in an organization was not be given access to
organization administrative data and so hinder from obtaining information concerning the study.
3. Time allocated for the research:
The researcher was under time restriction and this caused the study to be
conducted partially just to meet the deadline, but not to come up with expected conclusion.
4. The researcher did not specialize on the use of internet by undergraduate student of
Sokoine University of Agriculture but drew all the attention on the on the use of internet
by undergraduate student.
5. Poor response of the sample selected in an organization where the study will be carried
out might be a serious problem since some of the respondent might not be willing to
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corporate with the researcher and some being unable to fill and return the questionnaires
on time.
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CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This section is about the review of literature that has been conducted by the researchers and is
relevant to the research topic which is about the academic use of internet among veterinary
undergraduate students of Sokoine university of Agriculture. The review of the literature in the
study is discussed under several sections which involve the meaning of internet, purpose of the
internet and student skills on the use of the internet. Also it involves the Relevance of the
Internet that includes benefits of the internet, negatives impact of the internet and role of the
internet in the modern era.
The internet, simply referred to as the ‘net’, is a collection of computers and computer networks
located all over the world, all of which share information by agreed upon internet protocols.
Thus, it is an information carriage using different computer networks. In the light of this,
Adegoke (2009:122) affirms that, “Indeed, the internet is also a virtual library which is seen as
virtual space containing a vast amount of information and documents including books, pictures,
video, graphs and musical sounds that can be consulted.”
Internet use, especially in education, has been investigated for some time, and many different
studies, exist in literature about that subject. In the study of D'Esposito and Gardner (1999),
Internet usage trends of the university students, and college student perceptions of the Internet
and a traditional library were presented. This study showed that when university students have
the opportunity to use internet resources, almost all of them prefer to use these, rather than
classical libraries for their studies, but when the information source satisfaction in research needs
is considered, the students’ trends are in the direction of using both.
In addition, Cheung and Huang (2005) emphasized the effects of the Internet as an effective
teaching tool in university education, and proposed that many university teachers publish their
course materials via the internet. They suggested that it is insufficient for university lecturers and
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administrators to use the Internet as a good teaching tool, and that students’ internet use should
also be investigated.
The value of the Internet for educational purposes was further supported by Charp (2000), who
stated that the Internet brought about positive changes to teachers and instructors, who taught
students to learn, work, communicate, and play. The Internet revolution is not just limited to
finding information but also to fostering relationships that bring people together. According to
Dryli and Kinnaman (1996), the Internet enables students to find information and experts, as well
as allowing users to think critically and creatively, become collaborative and cooperative, and
solve problems. The comprehensive literature available shows that the Internet has the following
functions in education: (i) storehouse of information, (ii) communication without boundaries,
(iii) online interactive learning, (iv) electronic/online research, (v) innovation in the new world,
(vi) improve interest in learning, (vii) global education, and (viii) Information catalogues. As the
Internet has many potentials and functions, it will be interesting to note to what extent it is used
by undergraduate students for academic purposes.
Basically, the Internet offers two main benefits: communication and information (Warren et al.,
1998). Internet usage has the potential to improve the quality of education. This is supported by
Laurillard (1992) who postulated that computer-based learning can increase understanding of
theoretical and critical concepts. Ciglaric et al. (1998) believes that the popularity of the Internet
as a teaching-learning tool increased with the introduction of the web browser, which uses a
hypertext concept. With text and graphical images, and later video, audio, and animated objects,
it became easily distributed over the world. Internet is very cheap and offerings boundless use.
Distance is not a problem when it comes to charges when using the internet it makes people talk
to each other from different angles of the world. If you compare it with people using the phone,
cost difference is high because charge rates on the phone do depend much with the distance.
Peng et al. (2006) argue that university student’ attitudes and self-efficacy towards the Internet
demonstrated the relationship between perceptions of the internet and their internet attitudes and
self-efficacy. They showed that there is a positive effect if the students use the Internet as a
functional tool or functional technology. In addition to those mentioned, there are many other
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useful studies which investigate the effects of internet and electronic resources on university
students’ self-efficacy and performance (Crews and Feinberg, 2002; Wu and Tsai, 2006; Wen
and Tsai, 2006; Perry et al 1998; Wainer et al 2008; Odell et al 2000; Crouch, 2001; Mohammed
and Al-Karaki, 2008).A number of publications have studied internet addiction among university
and college students. They have attempted to show there can be negative effect of internet use on
these students, which may cause the students to become addicted and to digress from their
educational studies. In order to assess internet addiction, many new diagnostic tools have been
developed in literature.
Chan and Law (2008) evaluated the Young’s InternetAddiction Test (IAT) for better
understanding the structure, validity and reliability of such assessment tools. In their study, they
defined the three dimensions of the problem: Withdrawal and social problems, time management
and performance, and reality substitution. Moreover, this study showed clearly that academic
performance was negatively correlated with internet addiction. Furthermore, they presented
another and very important finding that internet addiction is highly related to online activities,
cyber-relationships, and online education. In the literature, there are other studies about internet
addiction and its effects on students and adolescents, the relationship between internet use and
culture, and the relationship between educational performance and internet addiction (Siomos et
al., 2008; Ghassemzadeh et al., 2008; Del Castillo et al., 2008; Recabarren et al., 2008;
Tahiroglu et al., 2008). Many of these studies indicate that there is a strong relationship between
internet use trends and educational performance, and wrong use of the Internet can cause a major
decrease in students’ academic performance. In our study, the effects of those internet sites
which can easily be accessed and are thus called Trap sites are also investigated.
Chen and Pen (2008), in their study, examined the basic relationship between the internet use of
university students and their academic performance, interpersonal relationships, psychosocial
adjustment and self-evaluations. They prepared a questionnaire and collected 49,609 university
juniors’ comments about the questions. The results show that non-heavy internet users have
better relationship with administrative staff, academic grades and learning satisfaction than
heavy users. They claimed that the heavy internet users were likely than non-heavy users to be
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depressed. This study provoked us to search the raising trends in use trap sites among university
students.
Internationally, there are many surveys on the use of the Internet, and nearly all find that
Internet use is most prevalent amongst younger, more educated people (Hoffman, Novak
&Schlosser, 2000). Korgen, Odell, and Schumacher (2001) investigated Internet use among
students, focusing on whether or not there are differences by race/ethnicity. They reported that
use is affected by presence or absence of a computer in the home of origin. Bao (1998) surveyed
Internet use at Seton Hall University. The findings reported that 40.2% of respondents used the
Web on a daily basis, 38.3% weekly, and 10.7% on a monthly basis. About 10% respondents
said they seldom or never used the Internet. It was also discovered that students and faculty
searched the Internet for information related to both their academic (83.2%) and nonacademic
studies (73.8%). Stern’s (2002) study was on the information competence of incoming students
into universities and how they use the Internet for general and academic research.
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CHAPTER THREE
3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
In this section,This chapter presents the methods and procedures for used in conducting this
research. were identified and rResearch elements such as research design, population sampling
methods for data collection, types of data and methods of data analysis will be discussedare
described. The chapter was divided into six sections. Section one presents the study location and
its justification. Section two represents research design. Section three presents sampling
proceedures. Section four show data collection methodes. Section five describes data quality
control. Section six describes data processing and analysis
3.2 Study Area
This study was been conducted at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro. The
choice of the study area was based on the fact that SUA is the only university in Tanzania that
provides veterinary degree. In addition, the researcher is currently a student at SUA; which is
convenient to carry this study. Sokoine University of Agriculture was established on the 1st July,
1984 by Parliamentary Act No. 6 of the same year. It is located at 3.0 km from the centre of
Morogoro Municipality, which is about 200 km west of Dar es Salaam. The University is
currently made up of four campuses and one constituent college. The campuses are: the Main
Campus and Solomon Mahlangu Campus in Morogoro, the Olmotonyi Campus in Arusha, and
the Mazumbai Campus in Lushoto. The constituent college, known as Moshi University College
of Cooperative and Business Studies (MUCCoBS) is located in Moshi municipality.
3.3. Research Design
Quantitative methods was were been applied in this study. Whereby Quantitative data were
analyzed quantitatively and it will rely on the collection and analysis of closed ended data. A
quantitative method was selected because it was simple to analyze data compared to other
research design. A research design will be cross-sectional research that is confined to a single
time period.
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3.4 Study Population
Study population refers to an entire group of persons or elements that have at least one thing in
common (Kombo and Tromp, 2006). As far as this study is concerned, the population was all
students pursuing Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine at SUA from year one to year five.
3.5 Sampling Procedure And Sample Size
A combination of stratified and systematic sampling was been employed to obtain a sample of 60
respondents. The total population of Veterinary Undergraduate student at SUA from year one to
year five are was 329. There were a total of 75 Ffirst year students are 75, 83 second years are 83
students, 66 third years students are 66 students, 56 fourth years contains 56 students and 49 fifth
years students are 49 only. From this total population of 329, a sample size of 60 respondents
were was obtained by considering the followingthrough stratification, . A total of 13 students
were taken from first year, 16 students were taken from second year, 12 students were taken
from third year, 10 students were taken from fourth year and 9 students was selected
systematicallyfrom fifth year. This technique offered increased possibility of accuracy by
ensuring all groups are presented in the same proportion as they are in the population.
3.6 Data Collection
As far as the study was concerned pPrimary data for this study were will be collected using self-
administered questionnaire. A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of
questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents
(Oppenheim, 2000). Researcher was conducted a questionnaire survey which covered 60 people
in the study area selected. This method was chosen because it reduces cost of collecting data
even when the sample is scattered over a large geographical area.
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3.7 DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis is a process of examining and scrutinizes the data collected, hence uncovering the
underlying structures and extracting the important variables (Komboand, 2006). The study was
employingData for this study were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science
(SPSS) to analyze data. With the aid of SPSS program, descriptive statistics such as frequencies,
mean, percentages tables and proportions will bewere obtained and presented in form of tables.
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CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Demographic characteristics of respondentsAll the 60 questionnaires that were distributed were received back representing a hundred per
cent response rate. In this study, relevant demographic characteristics of respondents such as age
and sex were identified. Identifying respondents’ demographic characteristics was important in
order to provide a snapshot regarding the suitability of the study population. These
characteristics are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Demographic characteristics of respondents (N=60)
Variable Category Frequency (n) Percentage (%)
18-25 36 60
Age 26-33 24 40
34-41 0 0
42 and above 0 0
Sex Female 6 10
Male 54 90
Year of study 1st year 14 23.3
2nd year 12 20
3rd year 19 31.7
4th year 8 13.3
5th year 7 11.7
4.2.2 Age of the respondent
All the 60 questionnaires distributed were retrieved, representing a hundred per cent response
rate. The study findings indicate that Data showed that demographic variables were divided into
three namely age, sex and year of study. Oout of the 60 respondents, 54 (90%) were male while
only 6 (10%) were female. In addition,These findings suggest that gender inequality in
26
enrolment is more pronounced in higher education in Tanzania, particularly in natural science
programmes as presented in Table 1 above.
Sex of respondents
As many asA total of 36 (60%) of total respondents were within the age bracket 18-25 and, 24
(40%) were within age bracket 26-33. The age group of 34-41 as well as 42 and above, no
students who are between this age group. This shows that veterinary undergraduate students of
SUA are within the expected age group of undergraduate students.
Year of studyAs shown in Table1 above respondents were required to represent their year of study and the
results shows that 14(23.3%) were the 1st year student, 12(20%) were the 2nd year student,
19(31.7) were 3rd year student, 8(13.3%) were 4th year student and finally 7(11.7%) were 5th year
student who are veterinary students.
Table 2. Internet usage characteristics
Variable Category Frequency (n) Percentage (%)
Less than 1 year 8 13.3
Internet use experience 1 to 2 years 17 28.3
3 or more years 35 58.3
Frequency of using internet Daily 22 36.7
2 days a week 12 20
3 to 4 days a week 20 33.3
5 to 6 days a week 6 10
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Amount of time spent on Less than 30 minutes 15 25
the internet per day More than 30min up to 1 hour 21 35
More than 1 up to 2 hours 14 23.3
3 or more hours 10 16.7
4.2 Internet use experience
The students were asked to indicate the number of years about the period, ssince they had been
using Internet. The responses varied from less than 1 year, 1 to 2 years and 3 or more years. The
analysis study findings shows that 35 (58.3%) students’ (58.3%) were using internet for had
internet use experience of more than 3 years whereas. 17 (28.3%) students were using the
internethad an experience of between 1 to 2 years. Finally,Only 8 (13.3%) they students had less
than 1 year experience of using internet (Table 2). This is possible because it is common for
students in Tanzania to start using computers and the Internet at the University level. Those who
had an experience of more than 3 years might be those in their 3rd to 5th years of study.
4.3 Frequency of Internet use
The students wereWhen asked to mention how often they had been used using Internet,. The the
results (Table 2) reveal that there were 22 (36.7%) daily users were 22(36.7%) whilefollowed by
those who were 12 users (20%) were using Internet 3 to 4 days a week (20; 33.3%) and 2 days in
a week (12; 20, %). 20 users (33.3%) were using internet 3 to 4 days a week,Only 6 (10%) users
respondents(10%) were using internet for it 5 to 6 days a week (Table 2) as shown in table 2
above. What does the findings say?
Amount of time spent on the internet per day
Table 2 above shows that on average most of the veterinary students 21(35%) spends more than
30 minutes up to 1 hour per day on using internet. Also 15 students that is the same as 25% were
using internet for less than 30 minutes, 14(23.3%) using internet for more than 1, up to 2 hours
and finally 10 (16.7%) were using internet for 3 or more hours per day.
28
Table 3. Means through which students use the internet
Variable Frequency (n) Percentage (%)
Personal computer 41 68.3
Mobile phone 42 70
University computers 14 23.3
Internet café 7 11.7
Friend’s computer 28 46.7
Using other digital devices 10 16.
Access points of internet
As shown in Table 3 above, The findings on Internet access points indicate that most 42(70%)
students accessed the Internet through their own mobile phone followed by those who were
accessing through the personal computer 41(68.3%), 28(46.7%) students accessed internet
through friends computer. Those who are using University computers are 14(23.3%) and also
those who are using Internet café for accessing internet are 7(11.7%), finally there are students
who using other digital devices such as Ipad and tablet are 10(16.7%).These findings suggest that
Internet accessibility is improving through the use of mobile phones and personal computer,
which was not the case in the past.
Table 3.Usage of Internet for academic purposes
Purpose Frequently Occasionally Never
(%) (%) (%)
Downloading information for class assignments 71.7 26.7 1.7
Downloading information for research e.g. special-
project. 16.7 33.3 50
Downloading software applications 23.3 53.3 23.3
Sharing academic works with fellow student’s e.g.
through emails 28.3 55 16.7
Sharing academic works with instructors 10.0 63.3 26.7
Accessing university websites for various information-
29
and services e.g. SUASIS, library catalogue 65 31.7 3.3
Upload/posting documents e.g. photos 25 68.3 6.7
Communicating with friends and other students 61.7 31.7 6.7
Participating in academic forum discussions 16.7 45 38.3
Accessing news and current affairs 51.7 43.3 5
As depicted in table 3 above, as many as 60 (100%) respondents admitted that they mostly use
the internet for academic purpose. A large proportion of students were frequently using the
internet for downloading information for class assignments (71.7%), communicating with friends
and other students (61.7), for accessing university website for various information and services
e.g. SUASIS, library catalogue (65%), for accessing news and other current affairs (51.7%), for
sharing academic works with fellow students example through emails (28.3%), Uploading or
posting photos (25%), downloading software applications (23.3%), for participating in academic
forum discussions (16.7%), sharing academic works with instructors (10%) and downloading
information for research example special project (16.7%) research. For research students, the
internet is particularly important because they can conveniently obtain and share a wide range of
up to date scholarly literature that is not easily available from print collections in libraries. The
findings also confirm that the Internet is an important communication means where students can
maintain and expand interactions among colleagues, families and other groups with common
interests. Online communication can replace, complement or add new dimensions in learning and
research processes. The results also emphasize that the internet is an important source of news.
Table 4. Attitudes of towards Web resources
Statement strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree agree
I feel that the standard of my academic work 6.7 6.7 21.7 36.7 28.3
would suffer without internet
I can avoid the use of internet and still perform
better 11.7 30 25.0 26.7 6.7
If given an opportunity to choose between internet
30
and printed resources for my academic work, I 6.7 21.7 38.3 18.3 15.0
would choose internet resources.
Attitude towards Web resources
In order to determine respondents’ attitudes towards academic use of internet among
undergraduate students of SUA, they were provided with three statements to indicate their level
of agreement. The findings show positive attitude towards internet usage since almost all
39(65%) respondents felt (agree or strongly agree) that the standard of their academic work
would suffer without internet services. Alternatively, a vast majority 23(38.3%) were neutral,
13(21.7%) were disagree, 11(18.3) were agree, 9(15%) were strongly agree and 4(6.7%) were
strongly disagree if they are given an opportunity to choose between internet and printed
resources for their academic work. More than (66.7%) of the respondents disagree that they can
avoid the use of the internet and still perform better. In other words, the respondents believe that
access to internet resources is essential in order to perform well. These findings are in agreement
with Swain and Panda (2009) who noted that library users' attitude is shifting towards electronic
resources.
Table 5. Sources of Internet training
Variance Frequency (n) Percentage (%)
Through my undergraduate studies at SUA 27 45.0
Through short courses elsewhere 22 36.7
Through friends/colleagues 30 50.0
Learned on my own 27 45.0
Sources of Internet training
31
The students were asked to mention the sources from where they acquired skills to use Internet.
30 users (50%) mentioned that they learnt skills through their friends and colleagues. 27 users
(45%) learnt skills by themselves. 27 users (45%) revealed that they got training through their
undergraduate studies at SUA. 22 users (36.7%) learnt it from other sources through short
courses as presented in Table 5. The fact that 50% of the respondents had not received specific
training on usage of internet supports previous studies (Manda, 2005; Malekani, 2007;
Lwehabura, 2008) which identified lack of information search skills as a constraint in using e-
resources among university students in Tanzania.
Table 6. Frequency of using the following search engines.
Search engine Often Occasionally Never
Google 93.3 5 1.7
Yahoo (Search.yahoo.com) 31.7 51.7 16.7
MSN Search 0 18.3 81.7
Infoseek 0 11.7 88.3
Bing search 8.3 28.3 63.3
Google scholar 25 46.7 28.3
Ask.com 25 43.3 31.7
The respondents were asked to mention which search engines they were using to get required
information. Search engines and web directories play important roles for users to retrieve Web-
based information. Search engines allow users to enter search queries whereas web directories
allow users to browse information resources that are organized into subject categories. The
findings in Table 6 indicate that Google (93.3%) and Yahoo (31.7%) were the most frequently
used search engines. However, Google scholar was frequently used by only (25 %) of the
respondents despite its importance in searching for scholarly material. These findings correspond
32
other global ratings (Griffiths and Brothy, 2002; Kaur et al., 2011; Gupta, 2012) in which
Google and Yahoo were often rated as preferred search engines. (25%) mentioned that mostly
they were using Ask.com for searching, (8.3%) were using Bing search, and (0%) revealed that
they were not using both Info-seek and MSN Search. This could be due to lack of awareness and
training among students. Frequency distribution is presented in Table 6.
Table 7. Frequency of using various journal databases
Journal databases Frequently Occasionally Never
PubMed 26.7 15.0 58.3
AGORA 8.3 20.0 71.7
HINARI 6.7 20.0 73.3
OARE 6.7 11.7 81.7
AJOL 6.7 8.3 85.0
DOAJ 0 8.3 91.7
Emerald 1.7 6.7 91.7
Veterinary undergraduate students were also asked to indicate their frequency of using various e-
journal databases licensed to the university and open access databases. This question was
important because research students are expected to make heavy use of scholarly literature. They
are also expected to rely on e-journals because the university library does not subscribe to any
print journals due to budgetary constraints. Surprisingly, the use of e-journal databases among
Veterinary undergraduate’s students at SUA were very low. Most of the students are unaware of
these journal databases. PubMed is the only e-journal database that was frequently used by a
quarter (26.7%) of the respondents followed by AGORA (8.3%), OARE (6.7%) databases,
(6.7%) of the respondents use AJOL and DOAJ (0%) databases. It is unfortunate that even open
access databases such as DOAJ were not used. Mohamed and Jina (2011) also found that very
33
few students were using e-journals and databases at Calicut Medical College. These results
support previous studies (Manda, 2005;2008) which indicated low usage of scholarly e-resources
in Tanzania. From the findings in table 7 above shows that available information is not
necessarily accessed and used by users because users may not be aware of the availability of
such resources or they do not know how to access the resources. These findings suggest that
Undergraduate students at SUA rely predominantly either on free Web resources obtained
through search engines or grey literature mainly theses and dissertations available in the library.
Table 8. Frequency of using different search techniques
Search tools Often Sometimes Never
Simple search 65.0 15.0 20.0
Phrase searching e.g. “ “ 16.7 31.7 51.7
Boolean operators such as AND, OR, NOT 1.7 25.0 73.3
Word truncation 1.7 28.3 70.0
Query modifiers such as intitle: filetype: 8.3 20.0 71.7
Combined search 18.3 30.0 51.7
Assessment of search techniques used by Veterinary undergraduates at SUA revealed that more
than half of students (65%) of the respondents were using simple search the most. Only a few
students were frequent users of advanced search features such as phrase searching (16.7%),
Boolean searching (1.7%), query modifiers (8.3%), word truncation (1.7%) and combining
search tools (18.3%). In this case from (Table 8) above shows rare usage of advanced search
features. These findings also Limited use of advanced search operators could be due lack of
familiarity with such features; misguided assumption that they are intended for advanced users;
because simple search is offered as the primary search interface; or due to lack training in
information literacy skills. At SUA, the Sokoine National Agricultural Library1 (SNAL) has
been attempting to include information literacy in the University curricula since 1999 but in vain.
34
Instead, there have been occasional informal seminars for library users although these have not
been very successful in terms of attendance as they fall outside the university timetable.
Observations inform that in the 2011/2012 academic year, only masters students in the Faculty of
Forestry and Nature Conservation were trained in information literacy.
Table 9. Frequency of using the following web social services
Social web Frequency Occasionally Never
Facebook 48.3 41.7 10.0
Twitter 3.3 35.0 61.7
Linkedln 0 20.0 80.0
YouTube 43.3 50.0 6.7
Blogs 20.0 51.7 28.3
Delicious 0 13.3 86.7
Wikis 6.7 16.7 76.7
Podcast 0 6.7 93.3
Flickr 0 6.7 93.3
Usage of social media
The study findings in Table 9 indicate that Facebook (48.3%) was the most frequently (daily or
several times a week) used tool followed by YouTube (43.3%), Blogs (20%), Wikis (6.7%) and
Twitter (3.3%). (0%) of the students revealed that they were not often using Delicious, Podcast
and Flickr from the findings above. These findings indicate a relatively low usage of web social
media among Veterinary students as compared to previous studies (Hargittai, 2008; Jones and
Fox, 2009; Matney and Borland, 2009; Smith and Caruso, 2010) conducted elsewhere. However,
this difference could be reflecting the existing digital divides among societies, institutions and
individuals.
35
Table 10. Constraints encountered in using the internet.
Constraints Not a Somewhat a Constraint Major
Constraint constraint constraint
Poor quality of retrieved information 13.3 38.3 30.0 18.3
Slow internet at SUA 5.0 33.3 28.3 33.3
Inadequate search skills 20.0 38.3 26.7 15.0
Restricted downloading of academic
information (require passwords) 13.3 20.0 36. 30.0
Limited access to computers (few computers) 36.7 15.0 23.3 25.0
Unreliable power 18.3 30.0 33.3 18.3
Too much information retrieved 25.0 35.0 30.0 10.0
Lack of assistance from libraries 33.3 28.3 23.3 15.0
Constraints in using internet resources
Possible constraints that undergraduates student encountered in using internet services at SUA
were provided on a four-point scale ranging from 1 = not a constraint to 4 = major constraint.
The results in Table 10 show that restricted downloading of academic information (require
passwords) was a serious (constraint or major constraint) constraint (66.7%) followed by Slow
internet at SUA (61.6%), Unreliable power (51.6%), poor quality of retrieved information
36
(48.3%), limited access to computers (48.3%), inadequate search skills (41.7%), too much
information retrieved (40%) and lack of assistance from librarians (38.3%).
Slow Internet connectivity is a result of the low bandwidth. The problem of restricted
downloading is caused by the fact e-resource providers tend to provide different authentication
techniques. As a result, users are often bombarded with several user names, passwords and
conditions that they are required to comply when accessing the resources. Sometimes the users
encounter technical difficulties in applying these user names, passwords and other restrictions.
Recent observations reveal that user-authentication based on IP addresses of local area networks
is becoming a problem because many users are currently accessing the Internet using modems
and mobile phones. Poor quality of retrieved information could be because users rely on free
internet resources which are of uneven quality. Problems of inadequate search skills and limited
access to computers have been pointed out repeatedly in many higher learning institutions in the
developing world.
37
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONCONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Data collected provided deep insight to the subject matter accordingly, in order to establish how
often students use the internet, the findings in this study indicate that most veterinary students
had good experienced in using the internet. On average most of the respondents had experience
of more than 3 years of using internet as shown to the table 2 above. Most were accessing the
Internet more through mobile phones and their own personal computers than other access points
such as the university local area network and internet cafe. Most students showed positive
attitude towards internet resources and were relying on these resources for their research, class
assignments, communications with friends and other student, accessing news and current affairs
as well as sharing academic works with fellow student’s example through emails and
downloading software application. They were also using the internet for accessing university
website for various information and services example SUASIS, library catalogue.
Many students preferred using search engines such as Google and Yahoo as well as social media
tools such as Facebook and YouTube. However, only a few students were using other important
internet tools such as subject directories. The findings also indicate that majority of students
were using simple search to retrieve information from the internet. Advanced search features
were rarely used. Similarly, the use of e-journal databases among veterinary undergraduate at
SUA was very low. Slow Internet connectivity and restrictions in downloading e-resources were
38
regarded as serious constraints in using internet resources. In view of these, strategies by libraries
and parent institutions are needed to promote utilization of e-resources for academic purposes.
Findings in Table 10 show that restricted downloading of academic information (require
passwords), slow internet or low bandwidth at SUA are the main constraints in using the internet
as well as limited access to computers (few computers). Besides the issue of power is individual
competence of the users. Many students have deficiency in using the internet. This finding show
that many veterinary students have below average (competent) computer literacy. Additionally, it
is found that students’ deficiency limit the academic use and accessibility to the internet. But this
becomes more worrisome because, in most cases, the problem of accessibility is not absolutely
connected with users’ deficiency but much more related to the facility itself. For example, a
majority admitted that network failure is responsible for their inability to login many times. As
annoying as the experience may be, a ray of hope is sighted at the end of the tunnel, as a majority
(66.7%) noted that it takes just a day for their service providers to rescue them from challenges
they encounter in using the internet at the University.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is also recommended that information literacy programmers should be integrated into the
curricular in order to optimize the use of internet services. Libraries should address contextual
and technical issues such as access to facilities, awareness on available resources, search skills,
and access restrictions such as passwords in order to promote usage levels. Libraries should also
look into the possibility of integrating e-resources into their OPACs for greater visibility and
enable users to search several databases simultaneously. Future research may focus on the web
search behavior of different user groups across fields of study.
Government and other stakeholders in the power sector have a crucial role to play. It is high time
all the rhetoric about halting public power crisis this year or that year was transformed to reality.
If this is done, operators of the internet will have favorable ground to efficiently deliver, and
satisfactorily too. Those who are deficient in using the new media in this millennium should
recognize that they do not have any alternative than to keep pace with dictates of technological
advancement by imbibing the internet culture.
39
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Madell, D., & Muncer, S.J. (2007). Control over Social Interactions: An Important Reason for Young People’s Use of the Internet and Mobile Phones for Communication. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(1), 137-140.
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QUESTIONNAIRE ON ACADEMIC USE OF INTERNET AMONG VETERINARY UNDERGRADUATES AT SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
I am Michael Inyasi Victor, a Diploma student at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) doing a research on the academic use of internet among veterinary undergraduates at SUA. The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect data for this study. The information provided in the questionnaire will be treated confidentially. You are therefore kindly requested to reply this questionnaire with accordance to the instruction provided.
A: Personal Information 1. Your age:
i. 18 - 25 [ ]
ii. 26 - 33 [ ]
iii. 34 - 41 [ ]
iv. 42 and above [ ]
2. Sex of respondents
i. Female [ ] ii. Male [ ]
3. Year of study
i) 1st year [ ] ii) 2nd year [ ] iii) 3rd year [ ] iv) 4th year [ ] v) 5th year [ ]
B: Frequency of Using Internet4. For how long have you been using internet?
42
i. Less than 1 year [ ]
ii. 1 to 2 years [ ]
iii. 3 or more years [ ]
5. On average, how much time do you spend per week for using internet?
i. Daily [ ]
ii. To days a week [ ]
iii. 3 to 4 days a week [ ]
iv. 5 to 6 days a week [ ]
6. On average, how much time do you spend per day on using internet?
i. Less than 30 minutes
ii. More than 30 min, up to 1 hour
iii. More than 1, up to 2 hours
iv. 3 or more hours
7. What are the access points that you get internet? (Tick all applicable answers)
i. Personal computer [ ] ii. Mobile phone [ ] iii. University computers [ ] iv. Internet café [ ] v. Friends’ computer [ ] vi. Using other digital devices (ipad, tablet etc) [ ]
C: Purposes of Using Internet8. How often do you use Internet for the following purposes (Tick all applicable answers)
No Purpose Frequently Occasionally Never
43
i Downloading information for class assignmentsii Downloading information for research e.g. special
projectsiii Downloading software applicationsiv Sharing academic works with fellow students e.g.
through emailsv Sharing academic works with instructors vi Accessing university website for various information
and services e.g. SUASIS, library cataloguevii Upload/posting documents e.g. photos viii Communicating with friends and other studentsx Participating in academic forum discussionsxi Accessing news and current affairsxii Others, specify………………………………………………………………..
9. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:
No Statement Strongly disagree
Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
i I feel that the standard of my academic work would suffer without internet
ii I can avoid the use of internet and still perform better
iii If given an opportunity to choose between internet and printed resources for my academic work, I would choose internet resources
D: Internet Use Skills10. Where did you learn how to use internet? (Tick all applicable answers)
i. Through my undergraduate studies at SUA [ ]
ii. Through short courses elsewhere [ ]
iii. Through friends/colleagues [ ]
iv. Learned on my own [ ]
v. Others, please specify …………………………………………
44
11. How often do you use the following search engines in getting academic information?
No Search engine Often Occasionally Never I Google Ii Yahoo (search.yahoo.com) iii MSN Search iv Infoseek V Bing searchvi Google scholarvii Ask.comviii Others, specify ………………………………………………
12. How often do you use the following journal databases in getting academic information?
No Journal databases Frequently Occasionally Never i PubMed ii AGORAiii HINARIiv OAREv AJOLvi DOAJvii Emerald viii Others, specify …………………………………………………………
13. How often do you apply the following search techniques in various search engines?
No Search tools Often Sometimes Never i Simple searchii Phrase searching e.g. “ “iii Boolean operators such as AND, OR, NOT iv Word truncationv Query modifiers such as intitle: , filetype:vi Combined search
14. How often do you use the following web social tools?
No Social web Frequency Occasionally Never i Facebook ii Twitter iii LinkedIniv YouTube
45
v Blogs vi Delicious vii Wikis viii Podcastix Flickrx Others, specify …………………………………..
E: Constraints of Using Internet15. How often do you encounter the following constraints in using the internet?
No Constraints not a constraint
somewhat a constraint
constraint major constraint
i Poor quality of retrieved informationii Slow internet at SUAiii Inadequate search skillsiv Restricted downloading of academic
information (require passwords)v Limited access to computers (few computers)vi Unreliable powervii Too much information retrieved viii Lack of assistance from librarians
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COORPERATION
46
BUDGET FOR THE RESEARCH
S/No Item Total amount
1 Stationary and internet access 50,000
2 Data collection 30,000
3 Data analysis 20,000
4 Printing 20,000
5 Meals and accommodation 30,000
6 Final report writing 20,000
TOTAL 170,000
47
PLAN OF WORKDuration of research proposal writing and the schedule of activities will be as shown in the table
below;
Table 3: Schedule of activities.
Activities Time
Proposal writing From December 2013-January 2014
Preparation of data collection February-March 2014
Data collection February-March 2014
Data analysis March-April 2014
Report Writing April-June 2014
Report submission July 2014
49