Abstract
This study provided insight into the significance of the open Web as an information resource and Web search engines as research tools amongst academics. The academic staff establishment of the University of South Africa (Unisa) was invited to participate in a questionnaire survey and included 1188 staff members from five colleges. This study culminated in a PhD dissertation in 2008. One hundred and eighty seven respondents participated in the survey which gave a response rate of 15.7%. The results of this study show that academics have indeed accepted the open Web as a useful information resource and Web search engines as retrieval tools when seeking information for academic and research work. The majority of respondents used the open Web and Web search engines on a daily or weekly basis to source academic and research information. The main obstacles presented by using the open Web and Web search engines included lack of time to search and browse the Web, information overload, poor network speed and the slow downloading speed of webpages.
Highlights
South African universities made the Web widely available to the higher education community as there is a high Web penetration rate amongst academics
Question 1: Have you used the open Web in the past year for academic or research information needs? The vast majority of respondents used the open Web for academic and research purposes
This study explored how University of South Africa (Unisa) academics perceive the open Web in the constantly evolving information resource landscape and to what extent they apply the many new free Web retrieval tools and applications
Summary
South African universities made the Web widely available to the higher education community as there is a high Web penetration rate amongst academics. International literature indicates increased usage amongst academics of open Web-based information resources and retrieval tools, such as search engines when searching for academic and research information. The search skills and confidence level of respondents suggest that academics are increasingly self-sufficient in locating, accessing and using open Web information.
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