SECTION 2: INTERVIEW RESULTS
6.2. Summary based on the research objectives
6.2.1. To identify the web information needs of students and staff in institutions of higher learning
In the surveyed institutions, research, teaching, studies (assessments, tutorials, etc.) and communication were cited by students and staff as the main reasons for using the web.
The web is also gradually being used to fulfil needs that are considered unscholarly, such as banking, searching for employment, or making hotel and travel arrangements. This partly shows how much the medium has permeated the daily lives of the university community.
The study revealed that the nature and type of information sought online is not in any way different from what students and staff members normally seek from traditional print-
based sources. However, the motivations behind web use appear to have changed. The widely held view that web-based information lacks credibility is gradually losing ground, demonstrated by the high levels of web use recorded in the findings. In the early stages of electronic information services, many believed that the speed, diversity, and amount of information would easily discredit web content. This was reason enough to see a number of people (scholars in particular) shunning its use. Although questions about the quality of web information are still prevalent, they appear to have little effect on its utilization.
Important concerns were raised about the nature of the information obtained by students and their ability and desire to evaluate online information. Academics were sceptical about the students’ ability to evaluate and effectively use web-based information.
Increased engagements with the web have, however, gone a long way in generally improving the skills of students and staff. The learner-oriented teaching model that institutions now follow encourages students to search for information themselves.
6.2.2. To determine how, when and where web information is sought
How students and staff search for information online is dependent on a number of factors, such as experience, skills levels, and/or the nature of the problem or need that they wish to address. What studies of information seeking have achieved is a rough indication of the process users follow when searching for information. As such, various models and theories have been suggested.
Consistent with literature, this study showed that more and more people are independently searching the web and there is less consultation with intermediaries. Steps to determine how these independent seekers go about their work - modelled around Kuhlthau’s information seeking steps - were used to examine how students and staff search for information online. The results showed no clear pattern, but it was clear that because of the huge amount of information available on the web, users typically locate useful web pages by using a search engine. Most of the interviewees claimed to use search engines daily. Search engines, most notably Google, have thus become the first step in searching for information resources on the web.
The use of the web and its diffusion is highly dependent on the development of related infrastructure. It was revealed that although facilities are available, they are not enough to cater for the growing student populations. Some of the existing infrastructure is also in bad shape and needs to be renovated. On the whole, both universities seemed to have the basic infrastructure to facilitate web access, although the DUT had slightly better facilities than Unizul. Some of these disparities in infrastructure and support are direct descendants of apartheid. There is a general need for improved access to these facilities.
6.2.3. To establish the channels used when searching the web for information The web has been identified as a medium that has greatly improved access to information resources of various kinds and quality. Although various channels are now being used and there is growing familiarity with them, most users seem to focus on a few channels, particularly search engines, email and general websites. This tells us that many online users scratch the surface or use the web for its most basic services, such as communication via email and acquiring general information with the help of search engines. There was generally limited exploration of channels that host more scholarly material (e.g. databases and subject portals). Those with more web experience, such as postgraduate students and academic members of staff, showed a greater appreciation for other information channels such as online databases and electronic document delivery services. On the whole, the respondents demonstrated a high level of familiarity with the Internet and various web channels. Despite the significant increases in the use shown, print sources were still cited as important.
6.2.4. To identify the challenges faced when searching the web for information
Many challenges affecting effective web information seeking were revealed in the two institutions. Key among them were inadequate infrastructural resources (computer laboratories and computers), skills shortages (lack of skilled personnel to assist with information seeking processes and lack of skills on the respondents’ part to search for and evaluate information), lack of time (to use web facilities) and expertise (to determine the most useful sources), and lack of access to computer facilities (restrictive opening hours
or overcrowding). There were also challenges relating to access to resources on the web because of control or governance issues. Certain useful sites were blocked, passwords for some journals were unavailable, and institutions did not subscribe to some journals.
Another annoyance (as opposed to a serious challenge) was the issue of popups or unsolicited mail or adverts.
6.2.5. To recommend optimal ways of web information seeking and use within higher education institutions
Mechanisms or ways that could improve the web information seeking processes at the two institutions are discussed under the recommendations section.