Engineering Students’ Use of Digitized Databases in Federal Polytechnics in South-Western Nigeria: Computer Literacy Skills as Predictor.

Abstract

The empirical work investigated the levels of computer literacy skills and use of digitised databases among engineering students in federal polytechnics in South West Nigeria. For a better academic performance, computer literacy skills has been discovered to be an essential tool that can aid the use of digitised databases among engineering technology students in federal polytechnics in Nigeria. The descriptive research design was adopted for this study while questionnaire was used as the instrument of data collection for the study. For the purpose of administration of research instrument, total enumeration technique was used to select 770 male and 177 female respondents totalling 947 Higher National Diploma II engineering technology students in four federal polytechnics in South-Western Nigeria. Computer literacy skills (α = 0.76); and use of digitised databases (α = 0.93) scales were used to collect data. Out of the 1456 copies of the questionnaire distributed, 947 copies representing 65% were properly filled and returned and found suitable for analysis. On the gender distribution of respondents, majority of them, 81% are male while 19% are female. The skewness can be adduced to the nature of the course under study. Findings from the result revealed that the level of use digitised database was high with overall mean score of 46.93 and standard deviation of 6.72. Also, it was found that the level of computer literacy skill of the respondents was found to be moderately high with overall mean score of 75.71. The study recommended that scholars should add the use of digitised databases to the use of print resources and the Management of the polytechnics should provide proper and consistent computer and information literacy programmes in their curricular to cater for low computer skilled users.