Information Sharing and Research Activities of Final Year Student in Library and Information Science Department

CHAPTER ONE

Objectives of the Study

The following objectives guided the study:

To find out the reasons that make Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria to engage in information sharing and research activities.
To determine the types of information sharing and research activities engage in by Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria.
To find out the ways through which Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria engage in information sharing and research activities.
To identify whether information sharing and research activities influences information sharing among Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria.
To determine the level of satisfaction derive from information sharing and research activities by Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria.
To find out the challenges encountered by Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria during information sharing and research activities.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Information sharing and research activities

Information sharing and research activities is an important process of information sharing. It is a process through which individuals share information between or among themselves in a particular environment such as market, hospital, Motor Park, Police station, refugees’ camp and the rest. Sloan and McPhee(2013) and Mohammed(2015) asserted that information is shared between two or more individuals as they engage in information sharing and research activities. The individuals may be within the same age bracket, and hence the name information sharing and research activities. Nick and Harwood (2014) established that information sharing and research activities leads to sharing of new information between or among individuals.

Information sharing and research activities can be between or among children, youths or elderly people who are mostly within the same age bracket. For example, in a particular community, say a village, children who are mostly within the same age bracket gather themselves to play.

During such gathering, they exchange ideas. As a result, they learn a lot from their peers (Skills You Need, 2016). Furthermore, Kalpana(2014), Reza, et al.(2014) and Hartzell(2016) submitted that information sharing and research activities enables individuals to learn from their peers during interaction as information is shared between or among such individuals. Genius (2015) maintained that information sharing and research activities allows for the exchange of ideas between or among peers.

Similarly, information sharing and research activities takes place in the schools between or among students. Lee (2016) submitted that informal social interaction promotes active learning which could lead to the understanding of the concept under discussion as well as the development of the students’ cognitive domain and self-confidence. Discussion among peers such as students eliminates fear, tension etc. and develops courage amongst them when discussing issue with other people (McFaul, 2016). Information sharing and research activities can be carried out at the convenience and whenever. Information sharing and research activities tends to favour weak students as they are carried along during the informal social interaction. Green et al. (2015) asserted that during information sharing and research activities, weak students are carried in the interaction and makes the issue under discussion.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Method Adopted

Survey research method was adopted for this study. This method allows the researcher to get insight into the thoughts and opinions of the respondents under study. Cherry (2015) asserted that survey research method can be used to collect information on a wide range of things including facts, personal attitude, past experience etcfrom the respondents. In the same vein, Brewer et al. (2015) established that survey research method gives the researcher the opportunity to gain insight into the attitudes, thoughts and opinions of members of the population.

Population of the Study

The population of this study comprised the Final year students of Library and Information Science, Ahmadu Bello University,

Zaria who were admitted from 2010/2011 to 2014/2015 sessions. According to the list of Final year students in the Department (2015), twenty three (23) of them were studying Masters in Library and information science. Table 3.1 presented the population of this study.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Response Rate

A total of twenty three (23) copies of questionnaire were distributed to the Final year students of Library and information science admitted from 2010/2011 to 2014/2015 in the Department of Library and Information Science, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Twenty two (22) copies of the questionnaire were duly completed, returned, examined and found useful for analysis. This represents 95.6% response rate. Table 4.1 presented the distribution of the response rate.

CHAPTER FIVE

Content Summary

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter summarised the entire research, conclusions and recommendations based on the research findings. It also advanced some suggestions for further research.

5.2 Summary of the Study

This study focused on the influence of information sharing and research activities on information sharing among the Final year students of Library and information science in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. In order to carry out this study, six (6) research questions and six (6) null hypotheses were formulated. The research questions sought to find out the reasons for engagement in information sharing and research activities; methods through which information sharing and research activities is carried out; and types of information sharing and research activities engaged by the students among other research questions. The research method adopted was survey. The population of this study comprised allthe Final year students of Library and information science in the

Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria admitted from 2010/2011 to 2014/2015 sessions. The total number of the students was twenty three (23). The data related to the research questions were analysed using frequency and percentage. Null hypotheses one, three and six were tested using Kruskal Wallis H Test. Hypothesis two was tested using one-way ANOVA, while hypotheses, four and five were tested using Chi-square independence.

5.3 Summary of the Major Findings

The following were the major findings of the study based on the data collected and analysed:

The major reason for engaging in information sharing and research activities by the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria was to share information about their understanding on a particular course in their field of study.
Peer tutoring was the type of information sharing and research activities mostly engaged in by the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and

Information Science, ABU, Zaria.

The method through which the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria mostly engaged in information sharing and research activities was peer tutoring.
The major avenues through which information sharing and research activities influenced information sharing among the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria were information sharing through peer tutoring, small group discussion and discussion between two individuals.
The Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria were mostly satisfied with discussion between two individuals as information sharing avenue.
The major challenge encountered during information sharing and research activities as information sharing process by the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria was difficulty in controlling the students by one person.
It was found that there is no significant difference among the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria on their reasons for engaging in information sharing and research activities.
It was found that there is no significant difference among the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria in the types of information sharing and research activities they engaged in.
There is no significant difference among the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria in the methods they adopted for information sharing and research activities.
It was found that information sharing and research activities among the Final year students of

Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria has significant influence on the information they shared among themselves.

It was found that information sharing and research activities among the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria has significant influence on their satisfaction with their learning process.
There is no significant difference among the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science, ABU, Zaria on the challenges they encountered during information sharing and research activities.

5.4 Conclusion

From the analysis and summary of the findings of this study, it was concluded that information sharing and research activities has significant influence on information sharing among the Masters

Students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science,Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The students were found to be engaging in information sharing and research activities to share information among themselves about their understanding on a particular field of study. They mostly shared information among themselves through peer tutoring. They also used discussion between two individuals in sharing information.The major challenge they encountered during information sharing and research activities was difficulty in controlling the students by one person. The reason for this could be attributed to the fact that the students were mostly in the same age bracket, hence the name information sharing and research activities. This could lead to the lack of acquiring right information by the students during information sharing and research activities.

5.5 Recommendations

In line with the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made:

The Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science,Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria should be encouraged tostick to information sharing and research activities because through such interaction, information that can lead to the better understanding of a particular course in their field of study is acquired.
In addition to peer tutoring that the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science,Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria mostly engaged in, peer mentoring should also be employed more as peer mentor can share information with a colleague that can lead to the understanding of his or her discipline.
The Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science,Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria should be encouraged to use peer mentoring, peer debating etc. as other information sharing methods where important information needed by the students can be acquired in addition to peer tutoring mostly engaged in by these students.
A part from peer tutoring, small group discussion and discussion between two individuals, the Final year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science,Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria should engage in peer mentoring and peer debatingas these methods have the capacity of influencing the understanding of the students on a particular concept when information is shared through them.
In order to develop the habit of learning from many avenues, theFinal year students of Library and information science in the Department of Library and Information Science,Ahmadu Bello University Zaria should commit themselves and pay more attention to group assignment carried outside the formal classroom as well as ask their peers when seeking for more information about a particular concept. The methods have the capacity of influencing the satisfaction of their information need in addition to discussion between two individuals they mostly get satisfied with as information sharing process.
The major challenge encountered by the Final year students of Library and Information Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria which is, difficulty in controlling the students during the interaction, should be addressed through engaging in the interaction with students who have full interest and are ready to participate gently in the interaction.

5.6 Suggestion for Further Research

Based on the findings and conclusion of this study, the following areas were suggested for further researches:

Influence of Social Interaction on Information Sharing among Postgraduate Students in the Department of Library and Information Science in AhmaduBello University, Zaria.
Influence of Formal and Informal Interaction on Information Sharing among Academic

Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

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