Information Seeking Behaviour of Faculty of Education Students in Digital Learning Environments at the National Open University of Nigeria

Abstract

The study on the information seeking behavior of Faculty of Education students at the National Open University of Nigeria was conducted to understand their utilization of digital resources in the digital learning environment. The research, which was conducted in the past, aimed to identify the preferred sources of information and evaluate the relevance and credibility of the information obtained by these students. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather data. A survey was administered to a sample of students, while focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with a subset of participants. The results showed that the students relied heavily on digital resources, including online platforms and social media, to access information. The study found that the students preferred to use search engines, online academic databases, and social media platforms to search for information. However, they faced challenges in evaluating the credibility and relevance of the information obtained from these sources. The study concluded that the students' information seeking behavior was influenced by factors such as ease of access, relevance, and credibility of the information. The study provides insights into the information seeking behavior of Faculty of Education students in the digital learning environment. The findings suggest that these students rely heavily on digital resources to access information, but face challenges in evaluating the credibility and relevance of the information obtained. Based on the findings, the following recommendations are made that the university should provide training and workshops to enhance the digital literacy skills of the students, enabling them to critically evaluate the credibility and relevance of the information obtained from digital sources. The university should collaborate with online platforms and academic databases to improve the quality and relevance of the information provided, ensuring that it meets the needs of the students. The university should develop frameworks to evaluate the credibility and relevance of digital information, providing students with guidelines on how to critically evaluate the information obtained from digital sources.