Institutional Internet Accessibility and Academics’ Technology-related Information Seeking Patterns in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto

Abstract

This study investigated institutional Internet accessibility and academics’ technology-related information seeking patterns in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS). Survey research design was adopted to carry out the study. The population of the study includes academics across the faculty of social sciences with a total of 56 lecturers selected through enumerative technique which represent the sample for the study. The data for the study was obtained through the administration of structured questionnaire. Four research questions were developed and answered in the study. Findings reveal that Institutional LAN, Mobile Network and personally subscribed network are available for academics and browsing is their most prominent pattern of technology related information seeking. The findings also established varying level of access to Internet facilities. Adding into the curriculum of academics’ in UDUS, they resort to other private network provider that gives them access to the Internet when other sources failed. The study concludes that poor Internet connectivity and frequent power outages happen to be the most prominent challenges faced by the academics’ when seeking for technology-related information. The study recommends that the university management should increase their broadband network in order to enable the academics have free-flow of information access on the internet among others.