User Skills and Utilization of E-Resources by Undergraduate Students at Tangaza University Library, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The rapidly changing world has been influenced by information communication technology that has affected every aspect of education, and the institutions of higher learning mostly in developed countries. The expansion of ICT has offered better opportunities in the learning environments especially for developing countries. Therefore, the study aim was to establish the relationship between undergraduate student’s ICT skills and use of electronic resource at Tangaza University Library, Nairobi County. This research is anchored on the Technological Determinism Theory. The study adopted a descriptive research design and both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study adopted a stratified random sampling in which 168 respondents from a target population of 1680 were selected. Data were collected using questionnaires, observation, and interviews and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and results presented in tables, and figures. Researcher observed research ethics during the entire research period. The findings showed that user skills had a positive correlation. The study concluded that user skills were significantly related to the utilization of e-resources by the undergraduate student because the P-Value for each variable was < 0.05 which shows that ICT skills are significantly related to the utilization of e-resources by undergraduate students of Tangaza University Library. The study recommends that Tangaza University Library should ensure that orientation programs on usage and access of e-resources and regularly conducted for user access training, usage, and retrieval of resources through ICT. The management board should conduct workshops and seminars on ICT skills and ICT literacy for students and staff to enable the university to develop a culture of ICT usage.