Exploring the use of social software by master of library and information science students

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of master of library and information science (MLIS) students of social software.Design/methodology/approachA web‐based questionnaire is used as a survey instrument. The MLIS students at Kuwait University (KU) and the University of Wisconsin‐Milwaukee (UWM) are identified as the population of this study. In total, 132 MLIS students participate in the survey.FindingsThe majority of students from the two schools are aware of social software applications and their use. Blogs, video sharing, collaborative authoring, communication and social networking received the highest mean scores. Their perceptions about online activities, their use of social software and the obstacles to its use were not significantly affected by institutional affiliation. It was further found that the institutional affiliation exhibited significant differences for their perceptions of social software applications in education.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample issues present one of the main limitations of this study and the bias of the survey method.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study can meaningfully contribute to a better understanding of the affect of social software on MLIS students. It also can be applied to the implementation of these applications in library and information science (LIS) education.Originality/valueMost research on social software concentrates on students from other fields; very little research has considered student in LIS. This research is also the first survey to investigate how MLIS students in Kuwait using social software.