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question, several specific statements were provided, and respondents' agreement and
disagreement were recorded. As can be seen in Table 2, most of the respondents
(43.2%) chose their preferred resource based on convenience of access, even if it was
not the best resource for their topic. Additionally, they preferred online resources
(WWW) to the library's print (70.6%) and electronic resources (53.5%).
Dishearteningly, the majority of respondents reported that they needed help using
libraries' print or e-resources and services. Responses also revealed that students are
not quite familiar with library services and are under confident about using library
resources. As a whole, these findings are consistent with Figure 3, and suggest that
convenience may be the key to resource preference.
Table 2.
Preferences for resource library or WWW
I would use a source because it is convenient to use even though it is not the best source
on my topic.
Strongly
Agree
Neither Agree
Nor Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Declined
to State
Agree
Disagree
14.5%, n=65
28.7%,n=129
29%, n=130
22%, n=99
5.3%, n=24
0.4%, n=2
I am more comfortable using the WWW than the library's resources.
Strongly
Agree
Neither Agree
Nor Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Declined
to State
Agree
Disagree
29.8%,
n=134
40.8%,n=183
17.1%, n=77
8%, n=36
2.4%, n=11
1.8%, n=8
I am more comfortable using the WWW than the library's e-resources.
Strongly
Agree
Neither Agree
Nor Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Declined
to State
Agree
Disagree
21.2%, n=95
32.3%,n=145
25.4%, n=114
14.7%, n=66
3.10%,
n=14
3.3%,n=15
I need help for using libraries' print or e-resources and services
Strongly
Agree
Neither Agree
Nor Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Declined
to State
Agree
Disagree
17.4%, n=78
32.4%,n=145
23.7%, n=106
19.9%, n=89
4.5%, n=20
2.2%, n=1
3.4
Asking for Help and Advice during the Research Process
Fig. 5 reveals that academics (e.g. advisors, professors, and committee members)
have the most influence on students' research processes. More than half of the
students (56.8%) reported that they consulted academic staff for guidance during their
research. This result was consistent across the disciplines (66% in natural sciences,
61% in humanities, 55% in social sciences, and 44.3% in health sciences), but varied
across academic levels (46.7% of undergraduates as opposed to 70.3% of
postgraduates). It should be noted that there was a statistically significant inverse
relationship between “asking for help or advice from academics” and academic level
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