Uncovering Web search tactics in South African higher education

Abstract

Background: The potential of the World Wide Web (‘the Web’) as a tool for information retrieval in higher education is beyond question. Harnessing this potential, however, remains a challenge, particularly in the context of developing countries, where students are drawn from diverse socio-economic, educational and technological backgrounds. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the Web search tactics used by postgraduate students in order to address the weaknesses of undergraduate students with regard to their Web searching tactics. This article forms part of a wider study into postgraduate students’ information retrieval strategies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus, South Africa. Method: The study utilised the mixed methods approach, employing both questionnaires (Phase 1) and structured interviews (Phase 2), and was largely underpinned by Bates’s model of information search tactics. This article reports and reflects on the findings of Phase 1, which focused on identifying the Web search tactics employed by postgraduate students. Results: Findings indicated a preference for lower-level Web search tactics, despite respondents largely self-reporting as intermediate or expert users. Moreover, the majority of respondents gained their knowledge on Web searching through experience and only a quarter of respondents have been given formal training on Web searching. Conclusion: In addition to contributing to theory, it is envisaged that this article will contribute to practice by informing the design of undergraduate training interventions to proactively address the information retrieval challenges faced by novice users. Subsequent papers will report on Phase 2 of the study.

Library-faculty collaboration in the light of a business administration bachelor’s program: ‘The Scientific Wave’

“…The rate of students passing the thesis course also shows an increase from 90 percent in 2010 to 98 percent in 2019. The results of the content analysis confirm earlier studies stressing the impact IL sessions may have on students' learning outcomes (e.g., Atwong & Heichman Taylor, 2008;McInnis Bowers et al, 2009) Furthermore results show students' use of high-quality information sources instead of lower-level Web search tactics mentioned by Civilcharran et al (2015).…”

E-Health literacy of medical and health sciences university students in Mashhad, Iran in 2016: a pilot study

“…Previous studies found that the level of e-Health literacy of undergraduate health students was low and that they felt the need for improving their skills in e-Health literacy ( 16 – 18 ). Studies have also shown that university students lack the skills in identifying valuable sources for their information and mainly use low level sources ( 14 , 19 ). Besides, studies have also shown that university students gained the required skills in obtaining information by experience ( 14 , 19 ).…”

“…Studies have also shown that university students lack the skills in identifying valuable sources for their information and mainly use low level sources ( 14 , 19 ). Besides, studies have also shown that university students gained the required skills in obtaining information by experience ( 14 , 19 ). It was also shown that even in the North American and European countries, E-Health related education is only provided to students of medical fields, and mainly doctors and specialists and students of other medical related fields are ignored while, there is a lack for such education even in doctoral and specialist level in developing countries ( 15 ).…”

Awareness and Usage of Information Retrieval Functionalities Found in the Online Public Access Catalogue by Undergraduates at the University of Venda

“…These findings reveal that library user education training by librarians is crucial, not only for enhancing students' basic research and information skills, but also for making them aware of library resources (Chinyere 2014;Saliba 2021). However, Civilcharran, Maharaj, and Hughes (2015) found that most respondents in SA higher educational institutions gained their search skills through experience rather than through formal training. This demonstrates that the users' knowledge of information resources is not in a fixed position, but is constantly shifting from unfamiliarity to familiarity with experience (Blummer and Kenton 2014).…”