Accessibility and postgraduate students use of electronic resources in University of Cape Coast

Abstract

The study specifically targeted the first year postgraduate students of UCC. Usage, usefulness or importance and problems encountered when using electronic resources were explored. The sampling technique that was used is stratified random sampling. This study used structured questionnaires as the main data collection instrument. Questionnaire was administered by the researchers themselves and Statistical Product and Service Solutions version 21.0 was used for the analysis. The data collected for the study were analysed using descriptive statistics. The major finding of the study is that majority of post graduate students access electronic resources both on and off campus. Also, the results showed that academic databases and Dspace were useful for academic work. Some of the major problems respondents indicated using electronic resources includes: inadequate computers in the library, poor internet connectivity, power outages, and insufficient search skills. A number of recommendations were put forward for improvement of library use but the most prominent suggestion was that Internet connectivity and power generation should be improved for better services.