Information Searching behaviour of Research Scholars in the Department of History, A.M.U., Aligarh: A Study

Abstract

Purpose: The major aim of this paper is to present the findings of a survey of research scholars in the Department of History, AMU to assess information seeking on the web. Methodology: A questionnaire comprising of 15 questions was distributed to 60 research scholars. Total of 31 questionnaires were received over a period of two weeks. Findings: The major findings of the study revealed that most of the scholars had long experience of using web, but majority were not aware of Boolean operators and those who were aware did not use Boolean operators. Google was their favorite search engine. The main purpose for using web was for research and respondents spent more than one hour/day. They were unaware of leading databases. The sole problem was low speed, but almost all participants were satisfied with using web sources. Practical Implications: This article provides insight into research scholar’s web searching behavior for fulfillment of academic needs.