THE USE OF SEARCH ENGINES FOR RESEARCH BY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE STUDENTS

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the use of Search Engines for research by library and Information Science students in University of Benin. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Library and Information Science Students in University of Benin were used for the study. The sampling technique used for the study was the simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire was designed and titled "The use of search engines for research by library and information science students in University of Benin". A total of 137 copies of questionnaires were distributed and 130 questionnaires were retrieved and found useful.

            The findings of the study shows that the type of search engines used by library and information science students include Google, Google scholar, Binge, Baidu, Yandex, Refseek.com, Ask.com and Webcrawler and that search engines have a positive impact on library and information science students research and also challenges encountered by library and information science students while using search engines are too many Irrelevant information on web pages, false and outdated information, slow and bad connections and poor content quality.

              Recommendations were made which states that University of Benin should establish more internet cafes within the campus in other to make students more conversant with browsing and surfing through search engines. Also, teaching of Internet browsing should be inculcated in the university curriculum as a general study course to help the students acquire internet browsing skills and easy access point should be provided by the university authority to eradicate the challenges of slow and bad connections.