Information-Seeking Behaviour of First-Year Undergraduate Students at Mzuzu University, Malawi

Abstract

The paper presents a study that examined the information-seeking behaviour of first-year undergraduate students at Mzuzu University, Malawi, by focusing on three research objectives, namely the information needs of first-year undergraduate students, the predominant sources of information for first-year undergraduate students, and information-seeking barriers of first-year undergraduate students. The study stratified the sample into five faculties and distributed questionnaires with a mix of closed-ended and open-ended questions to 215 first-year undergraduate students. According to the study findings, 135 (62.7%) students who returned the questionnaires predominantly need information for academic work such as assignments, test and examinations. The predominant sources of information used by students are library books, lecture notes or handouts, and text books assigned to the course with scores of 100 (74%), 98 (72.6%) and 63 (46.7%) respectively. The study concludes that as much as library books are the main source of information, the unavailability of relevant books, poor Internet connectivity, students’ lack of computer and search skills, frequent power outages, and underdeveloped ICT infrastructure including low Internet bandwidth, were found to be the inhibiting factors that students faced in accessing and using some information resources at Mzuzu University. Mzuzu University can mitigate some of these challenges by investing in ICT infrastructure and through the department of Library and Information Science and the library working collaboratively in teaching information literacy to students.

Information behaviour of prison inmates in Malawi

“…Folorunso (2019) argues that agencies/authorities responsible for the prison library should ensure that the library is funded adequately and receives annual allocations to cover salaries, library materials, staff training and all other requirements. An analysis of the literature reviewed shows that there is lack of extant literature on information sources of prison inmates in Malawi except for studies focusing on the academic environment (Chawinga and Zozie, 2016; Chipeta et al, 2018).…”

“…There is a dearth of published literature on information behaviour of prison inmates in Malawi except for a few studies on students in the education sector (Chawinga and Zozie, 2016; Chipeta et al, 2018) and in the agriculture sector (Phiri, 2017). However, there is a rare mixed methods study in prisons by Chaima (2010) on the ‘Effectiveness of secondary school education in five Malawian prisons’.…”

“…The study revealed insufficient availability of books and library materials and lack of physical space for use. The findings of these studies (Chawinga and Zozie, 2016; Chipeta et al, 2018) all point to unavailability of relevant books, poor Internet connectivity, students’ lack of computer and search skills, frequent power outages and underdeveloped ICT infrastructure, including low Internet bandwidth, as some of the inhibiting factors that respondents faced in accessing and using some information resources. This shows that the challenges faced by respondents in these studies in accessing and using information resources are to some extent similar to those faced by inmates as revealed by the studies.…”

“…Sambo et al (2017) and Chipeta et al (2018) argue that an information need leads people to seek information from different sources to satisfy a need. This need arises out of individual uncertainties and belief that they can be satisfied or helped by information.…”

“…The prison library becomes an important part of the entire prison environment by providing the capacity for prisoners to seek information and address their information behaviour. Chipeta et al (2018) established that people use information to manage their work, to solve problems or simply to survive. Campbell (2005) explains that information is of great use to an inmate as it means utmost relief from poor prison conditions if not from incarceration itself.…”