This section provides a summary of the demographic data for the participants in the study. The study sought to establish the profile of the different groups of respondents. The data sought from students included gender, institution where they studied and mode of study (whether part- time or full-time). Demographic data on lecturers included affiliate institution, level at which they taught, gender, academic qualifications, official title and work experience. The librarians in the study were required to give their gender, academic qualifications, work experience and affiliate institution. The results of the demographic data analysis are illustrated in Tables 5.2- 5.7.
139 5.3.1 Profile of students
The basic characteristics sought about the students included gender, affiliate institution and mode of study (part-time or full-time). The findings revealed that the fourth-year psychology students were mainly female 92 (71%), with the rest 38 (29%) being male. There were more students (56%) studying full-time than part-time (44%). Figure 5.1 shows the student responses by gender.
Figure 5.1: Student Responses by Gender (N=130) 5.3.1.1 Institutional Affiliation
The student respondents were also required to indicate their affiliate institutions. The distribution of the students in terms of their institutions was as follows: 34 per cent were from University A and 12 per cent from University B; University C had the majority at 35 per cent, while University D had 19 percent. The distribution of students by institution is shown in Table 5.2.
Table 5:2: Distribution of Students by Institution (N=130)
Institution Frequency Percentage
University A 45 34
University B 15 12
University C 46 35
University D 24 19
TOTAL 130 100
140 5.3.2 Profile of the Lecturers
Of all the lecturers interviewed, University A provided 20.2 percent, while Universities B, C and D constituted 26.66 percent each, respectively.
5.3.2.1 Level of Teaching
The highest numbers of lecturers were teaching at level 2, while levels 1, 3 and 4 each had 13 lecturers teaching at these levels. These findings suggest that all lecturers were in a position to assess IL skills of students, since they interacted with students at all levels.
5.3.2.2 Gender Profile of Lecturers
This study required the lecturers to state their gender, in order to establish their gender profile.
The findings were that psychology lecturers were mainly female (66.7%), with the rest (33.3%) being male. These findings are in congruence with the findings of Michalski et al. (2011), findings in a study of psychology doctorate holders in employment in the US. Their study revealed a higher female employment rate (75%) compared to that of males (35%). These findings reveal that the gender ratios of training in the present study (see Section 5.3.1) resemble the ratios of employment in the psychology discipline in the US. The results presented in Figure 5.2 illustrate the gender distribution of lecturers.
Figure 5.2: Gender Profile of Lecturers 5.3.2.3 Academic Qualifications of Lecturers
With regard to academic qualifications, lecturers were asked to state their highest qualification.
The findings in Table 5.3 show 46.7 per cent of the respondents had a master’s degree, while
67%
33%
Female Male
141
the rest (53.3%) had a doctoral degree. Further probing of the respondents who had masters’
qualifications revealed that they were all PhD candidates in different institutions and were at different levels in their studies. The results indicate that the respondents were well qualified to teach at university level. The academic qualifications of lecturers are shown in Table 5.3.
Table 5.3: Academic Qualification of Lecturers (N=15)
Academic Qualification Frequency Percentage
Masters 7 44.7
Doctoral 8 53.3
Total 15 100
The researcher asked the lecturers to state their designations. The findings were that there were more senior lecturers (66.7%) than lecturers (33.3%), perhaps suggesting that the quality of staff teaching psychology students was high.
5.3.2.4 Work Experience
With respect to years of teaching experience of the lecturers, majority of the lecturers 6 (37%) had taught for between six and ten years. Another 2 (13%) had teaching experience of between one and five years, and 2 (13%) had taught for between eleven and fifteen years. The findings showed that another 2 (13%) had been working for sixteen and twenty years. The longest serving lecturers were 3 (19%), who had worked for over twenty one years.
On average, lecturers were well experienced in teaching. Table 5.4 summarizes the findings.
Table 5.4: Working Experience of Lecturers Teaching Psychology Students (N=15)
Work Experience (Years) Frequency Percentage
0-5 2 13
11-15 2 13
16-20 2 13
6-10 6 37
Above 21 3 19
Total 15 100
142 5.3.3 Gender Profile of the Librarians
The respondents were required to indicate their gender. The findings revealed that the reference/user services librarians were mainly female. The results in Figure 5.3 indicate that 57 per cent were female and 43 per cent male.
Figure 5.3: Gender Profile of Librarians
5.3.4 Academic Qualifications of Librarians
With regard to academic qualifications, librarians were requested to indicate their highest qualification. This question was meant to establish whether their qualifications were commensurate with their positions of teaching IL to fourth-year psychology students. As Table 5.5 shows, 11(92%) of the respondents had a master’s degree, while none of them had a doctoral degree. Only 1(8%) had a bachelor’s degree, but with over 20 years of relevant working experience. With the majority holding a master’s degree, the result suggests that they were qualified to teach at the university. The results are further illustrated in Table 5.5.
Table 5.5: Academic Qualifications of Librarians (N=12)
Academic level attained Frequency Percentage
Bachelors 1 8
Masters 11 92
Doctoral 0 0
Total 12 100
57%
43%
Female Male
143
With respect to years of working experience of the librarians, the results illustrated in Table 5:6 show that the majority of librarians, 5 (44%), had worked for over 21 years. With the exception of 1 (8%) of the librarians, who had a working experience of between 1 and 5 years, 2(16%) had worked for between 6 and 10 years. Another 2(16%) had been working for between 11 and 15 years. Finally, 2(16%) of the librarians had been working for between 16 and 20 years. On average, librarians were relatively well trained and experienced to deliver IL programmes to psychology students.
Table 5.6: Years of Experience of Librarians (N=12)
Work Experience Frequency Percentage
0-5 1 8
6-10 2 16
11-15 2 16
16-20 2 16
Above 21 5 44
Total 12 100