Abstract

This study investigated the Influence of Search Skills on Web Information Searching and
Retrieval amongAcademic Staff and Students in Nigerian Universities. The study adopted
a survey research design andcopies of questionnaire were used as instrument for data
collection. The subjects were made up of theacademic staff and students in Ahmadu Bello
Universities Zaria, University of Nigeria Nsukka, andUniversity of Ibadan. However, 384
academic staff and students were selected for the sample. To achievethe objective of the
study, one research question was raised and answered, hypothesis was formulatedand
tested. Descriptive (Percentages, Means and Standard Deviation) and Inferential statistics
(One wayAnalysis of Variance) was used to analyze the data collected. The study
established that there is a strongstrategic Internet skill in all the users. Whereas, the null
hypothesis formulated was retained, suggestingno significant difference among the
academic staff and students in Nigerian Universities studied. Thestudy therefore
recommended that for users to succeed in searching and retrieving information
andimprove their retrieval skills, the information literacy programmes organized in the
libraries should laymore emphasis on hypermedia, the art of critical thinking and web-
based searching. The study concludedthat for academic staff and students to successfully
retrieve web information they require certain skillsand [Link]: Web
Information searching and retrieval, search skills, Academic staff,
[Link] ability to search and retrieve information from the web remains
a challenge to information seekers ascurrent search tools tend to retrieve too many
documents of which only a small fraction may be relevantto the users’ need. As a result,
users waste so much time, money and energy trying to obtain or accessrelevant
information. The Web assists the boost of social collaborations, provides more channels of
learning and interaction among users in the field of education, business and makes things
more possible tocreate new forms of activities (Hasim & Salman, 2010).All categories of
users (experts and novice) are afforded the same information retrieval opportunities
toaccess information from the web by using emerging information retrieval systems
(Tenopir, Wang,Zhang, Simmons, & Pollard, 2008). Yet, defining the best practices for
assisting users to find theinformation they seek remains an unrealized goal (Janette,
1999). It has been discovered that successfulinformation retrieval is more than mastering
searching techniques and knowing the information [Link]
statementThe number of information resources that is available and growing rapidly on
the Web is enormous. Dueto their variability in subject, complexity, language, etc., they
are of potential value to all members of theweb community. Studies have revealed that
searching for information on the Web is like surfingaimlessly with the waves of water
(Loan, 2010). Although there are billions of information resourcesavailable on the Web,
the resources are not of uniform quality, nor do they offer equal value to allstakeholders in
the higher education. For one to succeed in web information retrieval task, what
isrequired is not just connectivity but certain skills regarding his or her ability to triumph.
Web users aresupposed to identify their need for information, articulate such needs, and
formulate effective queries sothat the return or the outcomes of information retrieval
efforts for information needs are [Link] researcher has observed that Academic Staff
and Students in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria arefacing challenges retrieving the
needed information. This is evident considering the time spent on the webtrying to
retrieve the required information. To buttress this point, Ndubuisi & Udo (2013) stated
that eventhough the web has numerous advantages, problems in accessing and using web-
based informationresources are still noticed, particularly among postgraduate students.
The finding of Liyana,Noorhidawati, & Hafiz (2010) on the use of the web by
postgraduate students of the computer sciencedepartment of the University of Malaya,
reported that the students were having difficulties in finding information that is suitable to
their learning style using the available information retrieval tools. Thus,identifying or
locating web resources, in a consistently efficient and effective way that are both
relevantand of high quality, poses significant information retrieval challenges for
Universities (Waldhart, Miller,& Chan, 2000).The challenge faced by librarians is
“ensuring that individuals who need information can obtain it withminimum cost (time
and money) and without being overwhelmed with irrelevant matter” (Mohammed,2011).
Going by the factors that motivate or urge the web users to search and retrieve needed
information,it is necessary that users of information retrieval system must be acquainted
with the ways of searching,retrieving and evaluating web information. Otherwise, all the
information networks capturing the wholeglobal information will be of no use for those
who are not able to successfully access, search, and retrievethe needed information.A
study by Tatiana & Andreas (2013) also showed that more than half of web users search
theweb predominantly alone. Unfortunately, not all of them succeed in information
inquiry and theyexperience difficulties. Thus, the focus of this research is to look at
factors influencing web informationsearching and retrieval from the perspective of the
user’s search [Link] of the Study1. To discover the type of search skill that
influence web information searching and retrieval amongAcademic Staff and Students in
Nigerian Universities.HypothesisHo1: There is no significant difference among the
Academic Staff and Students in NigerianUniversities in the search skills that influence
their web information searching and [Link] ReviewInformation searching is
mostly seen as an action by which users try to fulfill their information [Link]
the Web often results in lists containing numerous hyperlinks, leading to specific Web
siteswhich themselves often contain numerous hyperlinks. This places the user in a role
traditionallyperformed by the system-weeding through the information in the list to
determine relevancy. For the goal of defining information skills, several studies consider
successive steps to explain the process ofinformation searching behavior. The successive
steps were originally developed in the context oftraditional information retrieval; they can
also be extended to online search engines. However, accordingto Van Deursen (2009)
these skills include; Operational Internet skills, Formal Internet skills, InformalInternet
skills and Strategic Internet skills. In the discussion of skills required by Web users the
researcherwill focus on the following:Operational Internet skillsOperational skills are
often studied and captured in many terms, e.g., instrumental skills, operationalskills,
technical competence, technical proficiency, computer literacy, IT literacy and IT fluency.
All ofthese terms indicate a set of basic skills in using computer technology. The
following definition can beused to measure operational Internet skills:Operating an
Internet browser: Opening websites by entering the URL in the browser’s location
bar;navigating forward and backward between pages using the browser buttons; saving
files on the HardDisk; opening various common file formats (e.g., PDF); bookmarking
websites; and changing thebrowser’s [Link] Internet-based search
engines: Entering keywords in the proper field; executing the searchoperation; and
Opening search results in the search result [Link] Internet-based forms: Using the
different types of fields and buttons and Submitting a [Link] Internet
skillsOperational Internet skills need to be complemented by formal skills that allow the
use of [Link] traditional media are linear, giving the user little control over the
flow of information. Hypermediaallows users to choose their own non-linear paths. Users
can move not only forward but also backwardand to unknown locations, referred to as
cross-referencing. Cross-referencing characterizes a difficultproblem for users of the
Internet. Without a sense of location, distance, and necessary direction, it is notsurprising
that users often have a strong sense of disorientation, the most frequently cited problem
inhypermedia use. Users might become disoriented and lost in the non-linear structure of
the Internet. Loss of a sense of orientation can involve not knowing where one is, where
to go next, how to get back to aprevious site, what path one has followed or where to look
for information. The following definition formeasuring formal skills was
proposed:Navigating on the Internet, by: Being able to recognize and click links that are
embedded indifferentformats such as text, images, menus and website lay-
[Link] a sense of location while navigating on the Internet, meaning:o Not
becoming disoriented when navigating within a website;o Not becoming disoriented when
navigating between websites; ando Not becoming disoriented when browsing through,
and opening search [Link] Internet skillsThere are several terms that strongly
relate to information skills, for example information competence andinformation literacy.
According to the ALA (2001), an information literate person is ‘‘able to recognizewhen
information is needed and has the ability to locate, evaluate and use the needed
informationeffectively” (Correia & Teixeira, 2003).The model of Marchionini (1995) is
most appropriate for digital [Link] first measurable step is choosing a specific
system, which depends on the informationseeker’s previous experience with the task
domain, the scope of his/her personal informationinfrastructure, and the expectations
about the answer that may have been formed (Marchionini,1995).After choosing a search
system, a user must formulate search queries whose quality directlyaffects the quality of
the generated search results. When using search queries, advanced searchoperators such
as quotation marks can improve the precision of search results, but this must belearned
(Marchionini & White, 2007).Selecting the most relevant results is the next step and often
a difficult one. Results are oftenpresented in lists that can be simple lists, hierarchical
lists, visualizations, snippets or metadata records (Greene et al., 2000). When the lists
only contain few search results, they can beinspected comprehensively. However, often a
vast number of often unsuitable results aregenerated (Livingstone, 2005).Finally, the
evaluation of information sources is considered. Information is not always of thesame
quality. This calls upon specific skills that enable users to check the actual correctness
ofdata and the reliability of the sources (‘the art of critical thinking’ Gilster, 1997).The
process described is recursive and not limited solely to the information seeking process
insearch engines. During the process, people will reflect on whether the process relates to
the informationproblem, the effort is as expected, and whether the extracted information
maps well onto the task(Marchionini, 1995).The following operational definition is used
for measuring the level of information skills:Being able to locate required information,
by: Choosing a website or a search system to seek information;Defining search options or
queries; Selecting information (on websites or in search results); andEvaluating
information [Link] Internet skillsWhile the skill dimensions discussed above all
relate to an effective use of the Internet, strategic skills aremore related to the purpose of
this use. Van Dijk (2005) defines strategic skills as the capacity to usecomputer and
network sources as the means for particular goals and for the general goal of
improvingone’s position in society. Strategic skills appear to be the most complex of all
the types of digital skillsdistinguished and have never been measured at [Link]
advantage of the Internet is a process that entails four analytically distinct [Link] first
step is goal orientation: This means being aware of the opportunities that the web offers
andtaking advantage of these opportunities for a particular personal or professional goal.
Keeping an eye onthis goal and acting towards it are difficult and hard to learn skills,
especially in a digital media landscapethat offers an enormous number of distracting
stimuli for other goals.
The second step is taking the right actions on the Internet; This means combining the
various possibleinformation sources to achieve the best means for the goal desired. After
the right actions are taken, it istime to make decisions to reach the original goal by using
the (often excessive amount of) informationretrieved [Link] decisions; e.g.,
what site am I going to visit, what search engine am I going to use or am I to use
adatabase or not? Is the third step and should be done by consulting the right information
sources, relevantfor work, study or personal [Link] final step is gaining the actual
benefit; When the right decisions are made, they can be turned intobenefits of a personal,
social, professional or educational [Link] these four steps into consideration, the
following indicators for measuring strategic skills wereconsidered:Taking advantage of
the Internet, by: An orientation towards a particular goal; taking the right action toreach
this goal; making the right decision to reach this goal; and gaining the benefits belonging
to [Link] survey research design was adopted for this study. This method
is found suitable due to the scatterednature of the population across the three region of the
country. The population of the study comprised ofthe three first generation universities in
the geopolitical zones of Nigeria. They are (Ahmadu BelloUniversity, Zaria) Northwest,
(University of Ibadan) Southwest, and the (University of Nigeria Nsukka)Southeast. The
study focused on the academics and students of the Universities. There are One
hundredand five, thousand (105,000) students and Six thousand, two hundred and
nineteen (6,219) academic staffin the three Universities, totaling One hundred and eleven
thousand, two hundred and nineteen (111, 219).Three hundred and eighty four (384) were
selected as sample. This is according to Krejcie & Morgan(1970) who stated that for a
population over 100, 000 a sample size of 384 should be selected. The surveywas
administered to the proportionate stratified randomly selected sample from the
population. Theparticipants were selected based on their involvement and use of web
information resources and their being easily accessible in their various e-libraries,
computer centres and offices, as such sampling errorcannot be completely ruled out
because of the difference between sample and population size. Each itemadapted 5-
pointLikert scale with the following anchors: 1(strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (agree),
4(strongly agree) and 0 (undecided). Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
version 20.0 was [Link] and Inferential statistical methods such as percentage
for demographical data; mean andstandard deviation for research questions (descriptive
statistics) and One Way Analysis of variance for [Link] of the 384
copies of questionnaire distributed to both the academic staff and students in the
threeUniversities studied, 321copies (83.50%) were duly completed and returned. This
high response ratecould be attributed to the efforts put by the research assistants
especially in A.B.U (86.71%) and UNN(87.69%). However, UI recorded (76.19%) the
lowest among the [Link] AnalysisType of Operational Internet skills that
influence Web Information Searching and RetrievalOperational skills are often studied
and captured in many terms, e.g., instrumental skills, operationalskills, technical
competence, technical proficiency, computer literacy, IT literacy and IT fluency. All
ofthese terms indicate a set of basic skills in using computer technology. In order to
ascertain the type ofoperational Internet skills that influence web information searching
and retrieval among the academicstaff and students in the Universities studied, the
responded were provided with a list of options onoperational Internet skills that influence
information searching and retrieval. They were requested toindicate which Internet skill
influence their information searching and retrieval from the options providedin table 1.
Table 1 Type of Operational Internet skills that influence Web Information Searching and
RetrievalS/N Operational InternetSkillsResponses on Level of Agreement with the type of
Operational Internet skills thatinfluence Web Information Searching and
RetrievalAveragesSA A SD D U Total x̄ / SDAS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St
AS St1. I can open websites byentering the URL in thebrowser’s location bar46 106 29 83
1 4 4 7 16 25 96 225 2.92 3.07 1.44 1.262. I can navigate forwardand backward
betweenpages using the browserbuttons41 112 50 91 2 7 2 4 1 11 96 225 3.33 3.27 0.72
1.013. I can save files on theHard Disk40 117 42 90 3 11 2 4 9 3 96 225 3.05 3.36 1.19
0.854. I can open variouscommon file formats(e.g., PDF)45 118 44 94 3 7 2 0 2 6 96 225
3.32 3.38 0.84 0.865. I can bookmark websites 28 77 54 78 5 12 6 12 3 46 96 225 3.03
2.57 0.92 1.516. I can change thebrowser’s preferences28 104 41 74 7 8 10 14 10 25 96
225 2.73 3.00 1.25 1.297. I can enter keywords inthe proper field31 88 53 108 4 14 4 5 4
10 96 225 3.07 3.11 0.95 1.038. I can execute the searchoperation31 112 55 87 5 7 1 8 4
11 96 225 3.08 3.25 0.96 1.029. I can open search resultsin the search result lists34 104
49 106 3 5 6 8 4 2 96 225 3.10 3.36 0.96 0.7410. I can use the differenttypes of fields,
buttonsand submit a form36 89 43 74 3 9 6 10 8 43 96 225 3.00 2.70 1.15 1.50Key: SA-
Strongly Agree, A-Agree, D-Disagree, SD-Strongly Disagree, U-Undecided, AS-
Academic Staff, St-Students, SD-Standard Deviation

It was discovered from table 1, that responses related to: I can open websites by entering
the URLin the browser’s location bar; I can save files on the Hard Disk; I can open
various common file formats(e.g., PDF); I can bookmark websites; I can enter keywords
in the proper field; I can executing the searchoperation; and I can open search results in
the search result lists have average mean scores of over 3.00for all the Academic Staff and
Students web users in the three institutions studied. This finding impliedthat seven out of
the ten Internets operational skills have above three points’ mean scores for all the
usersacross the three Universities studied indicating strong Internet operating skills. This
also implied that thefactors have high influence on the respondents web information
searching and [Link] responses related to: I can open websites by entering the URL
in the browser’s location bar; Ican change the browser’s preferences; and I can use the
different types of fields, buttons and submit aform; all have average mean scores of over
2.00 and 1.00 mean score for all the Academic Staff andStudents web users in the three
institutions studied respectively. This implied that the factors have lessinfluence on the
academic staff and are of no influence on the [Link], the finding from the
analysed data does not concur with the successive steps identifiedby Van Deursen (2009)
which placed basic skills in using computer technology and operational Internetskills as
the first skill required for effective information retrieval. An operational Internet skill was
placedthird for the academic staff and second for the students with mean scores of 3.06
and 3.10 respectively,appendix 4 and 5. The successive steps were originally developed in
the context of traditional informationretrieval; which can also be extended to online
search engines. Based on this finding the successive stepsidentified by Van Deursen have
been altered. It thus be said that this study has debunked the successivesteps identified by
Van Deursen (2009) which placed basic skills in using computer technology
andoperational Internet skills as the first skill required for effective information retrieval.
Type of Formal Internet skills that influence Web Information Searching and Retrieval
Expectedly, operational Internet skills need to be complemented by formal skills that
allow the use ofhypermedia. As such, the researcher tried to discover the type of formal
Internet skills that influence webinformation searching and retrieval among the academic
staff and students in the Universities studied inNigeria. The respondents were asked to
indicate which formal skills influences their web informationsearching and retrieval from
the options provided in table 2.
S/N Formal Internet Skills Responses on Level of Agreement with the type of Formal
Internet skillsthat influence Web Information Searching and RetrievalAveragesSA A SD D
U Total x̄ / SDAS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St1. I am able to recognize
and clicklinks that are embedded indifferent formats such as text,images, menus and
website lay-outs30 121 58 85 1 5 3 5 4 9 96 225 3.14 3.35 0.87 0.942. I do not become
disoriented whennavigating within a website24 84 45 105 17 7 10 11 0 18 96 225 2.79
3.02 1.01 1.133. I do not become disoriented whennavigating between websites23 83 60
99 3 11 4 14 6 18 96 225 2.95 2.97 0.99 1.164. I do not become disoriented
whenbrowsing through and openingsearch results23 86 64 100 2 11 5 13 2 15 96 225 3.08
3.03 0.75 1.11Key: SA- Strongly Agree, A-Agree, D-Disagree, SD-Strongly Disagree, U-
Undecided, AS- Academic Staff, St-Students, SD-Standard DeviationI am able to
recognize and click links that are embedded in differentformats such as text, images,
menus and website lay-outsI do not become disoriented when navigating within a
websiteI do not become disoriented when navigating between websitesI do not become
disoriented when browsing through and opening searchresults0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
4Formal Internet skills12

Fig 1 Formal Internet SkillsTable 2 and Fig 1 revealed that formal Internet skills such as I
am able to recognize and clicklinks that are embedded in different formats such as text,
images, menus and website lay-outs; and I donot become disoriented when browsing
through and opening search results have average mean scores ofover 3.00 for all the
Academic Staff and Students in the three institutions studied. This implied that thefactors
have high influence on the respondents’ information searching and retrieval because they
allrecorded above 3.00 mean [Link], factors ranging from; I do not become
disoriented when navigating within a website;and I do not become disoriented when
navigating between websites; all have average mean scores of over2.00 for all the
Academic Staff and Students in the three institutions studied. It can thus be concluded
thatthe factors have less influence on the respondents’ information searching and retrieval
because they allrecorded above 2.00 mean [Link] can be argued from the fore going that
formal Internet skill which were recognized and placedsecond after operational Internet
skills in the successive steps identified by Van Deursen (2009) failed tooccupy same
position in the present study when the cumulative mean scores were put together. From
theanalysed data in appendix 4 and 5, it can be seen that it occupied the last position for
academic staff andthird position for students in all the Universities studied with average
mean scores of 2.99 and [Link] implication of the finding is that the
academic staff are weak when it comes to cross-referencing. Without a sense of location,
distance, and necessary direction, users could have a strongsense of disorientation, being
the most frequently cited problem in hypermedia use. Users might becomedisoriented and
lost in the non-linear structure of the Internet. Loss of a sense of orientation can be
statedas not knowing where one is, where to go next, how to get back to a previous site,
what path one hasfollowed or where to look for information. Thus, formal Internet skill is
found to be less significant in
information searching and retrieval among the academic staff in the Universities studied.
Cross-referencing is characterised as a difficult problem for users of the [Link] of
Informal Internet skills that influence Web Information Searching and RetrievalThere are
several terms that strongly relate to information skills. Examples are
informationcompetence and information literacy. According to the ALA (2001), an
information literate person is‘‘able to recognize when information is needed and has the
ability to locate, evaluate and use the neededinformation effectively” (Correia & Teixeira,
2003).In order to find out the type of respondents’ informal Internet skills influence on
web informationsearching and retrieval in the Universities studied in Nigeria, the
responded were provided with a list ofoptions on informal Internet skills that influence
their web information searching and retrieval. Theywere requested to indicate which skill
influences their web information searching and retrieval from theoptions provided in table
3. The data collected in this regard was analysed and presented in the table 3
S/NInformal Internet Skills Responses on Level of Agreement with the type of Informal
Internet skillsthat influence Web Information Searching and RetrievalAveragesSA A SD D
U Total x̄ / SDAS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St1. I can choose a website
or asearch system to seekinformation46 125 45 91 1 4 2 4 2 0 96 225 3.38 3.49 0.77
0.672. I can formulate and definesearch options or queries29 97 55 94 3 8 3 12 6 14 96
225 3.02 3.12 1.02 1.093. I can select the most relevantresults or information (onwebsites
or in search results)34 108 54 103 4 4 2 7 2 3 96 225 3.19 3.37 0.84 0.754. I can evaluate
webinformation sources23 78 58 2 1 4 8 9 6 132 96 225 2.95 1.51 0.97 1.88Key: SA-
Strongly Agree, A-Agree, D-Disagree, SD-Strongly Disagree, U-Undecided, AS-
Academic Staff, St-Students, SD-Standard DeviationI can choose a website or a
searchsystem to seek information I can formulate and define searchoptions or queries I
can select the most relevantresults or information (onwebsites or in search results)I can
evaluate web informationsourc

Fig 2 Informal Internet SkillsIt can be observed from table 3 and fig 2 that the common
informal Internet skill that influenceinformation searching and retrieval by the academic
staff and students in the three Universities studiedwere: I can choose a website or a search
system to seek information; I can formulate and define searchoptions or queries and I can
select the most relevant results or information (on websites or in searchresults) they have
mean scores of above 3.00. This shows that such skills have high influence on
therespondents’ information searching and retrieval because they all recorded above 3.00
mean [Link] factor that: I can evaluate web information sources, has average mean
scores of above 2.00 forall the Academic Staff web users in the three institutions studied,
this factor has less influence on boththe academic staff and students. The implication of
this finding is that students possess weak onlineinformation evaluating skills with average
mean score of 1.51 which was the [Link] the successive steps identified in the study
by Van Deursen (2009) which placed informal Internetskill as third in the ranking of the
skills required for effective retrieval, the final analysis of this studyshowed that it is
placed second for academic staff and last for students with cumulative mean scores of3.13
and 2.87 respectively, appendix 4 and 5. This shows that the students in the universities
studied wereweak in this specific skills that enable users to check the actual correctness of
data and the reliability ofthe sources (‘the art of critical thinking’ Gilster, 1997). Hence, it
could be said that the weak criticalthinking skill among the students in the selected
Universities studied affects their information searchingand [Link] of Strategic
Internet skills that influence Web Information Searching and RetrievalIn an attempt to
ascertain the type of strategic Internet skills that influence web informationsearching and
retrieval among the academic staff and students in the Universities studied in Nigeria,
therespondents were asked to indicate which strategic Internet skill influences their web
informationsearching and retrieval from the options provided in table 4
S/N Strategic Internet Skills Responses on Level of Agreement with the type of Strategic
Internetskills that influence Web Information Searching and RetrievalAveragesSA A SD D
U Total x̄ / SDAS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St AS St1. I am aware of the
opportunities that theweb offers and I take advantage ofthese opportunities for a
particularpersonal or professional goal40 125 51 84 1 5 2 6 2 5 96 225 3.31 3.42 0.76
0.842. I can combine the various possibleinformation sources to achieve the bestmeans
for the goal desired31 99 59 1123 5 1 6 2 3 96 225 3.19 3.33 0.79 0.753. I can decide on
what site am I going tovisit, what search engine am I going touse or am I to use a database
or not?33 112 58 94 2 6 3 8 0 5 96 225 3.27 3.34 0.62 0.854. I gain the benefits (personal,
social,professional and or educational) byachieving this goal.28 107 61 1052 2 1 6 4 5 96
225 3.11 3.36 0.87 0.78Key: SA- Strongly Agree, A-Agree, D-Disagree, SD-Strongly
Disagree, U-Undecided, AS- Academic Staff, St-Students, SD-Standard DeviationI am
aware of the opportunities that the web offers and I take advantage of these
opportunitiesfor a particular personal or professional goalI can combine the various
possible information sources to achieve the best means for the goaldesiredI can decide on
what site am I going to visit, what search engine am I going to use or am I to usea
database or not?I gain the benefits (personal, social, professional and or educational) by
achieving this goal.2.95 3 3.05 3.1 3.15 3.2 3.25 3.3 3.35 3.4 3.
Fig 3 Strategic Internet SkillsThe strategic Internet skills identified in table 4 and Figure 3
relate to effective use of the [Link] Internet skills are more related to the
purpose of this use. Van Dijk (2005) defined strategicskills as the capacity to use
computer and network sources as the means for achieving and improvingone’s goal and
position in [Link] 4 and Figure 3 presented the respondents’ responses on strategic
Internet skills. It can bededuced from the table and figure that all the Academic Staff and
Students web users in the threeinstitutions studied have average mean scores of above
3.00 for all the factors. That is; I am aware of theopportunities that the web offers and I
take advantage of these opportunities for a particular personal orprofessional goal; I can
combine the various possible information sources to achieve the best means forthe goal
desired; I can decide on what site am I going to visit, what search engine am I going to
use or amI to use a database or not I gain the benefits (personal, social, professional and
or educational) byachieving this goal. This clearly shows that that the factors have high
influence on the respondents’ webinformation searching and retrieval because they all
recorded above 3.00 mean [Link] can thus be argued from the findings that, there exist
strong strategic Internet skills in all theweb users in the selected Universities of Nigeria.
On the contrary, it was placed last in the successivesteps identified in the study by Van
Deursen (2009). With the cumulative mean scores of 3.22 for theacademic staff and 3.36
for the students, strategic skills appeared to be the most complex of all the
[Link] Statistical AnalysisThe data analysed in this section is
based on the data collected with respect of the null hypothesisraised in the study. It was
tested using one way ANOVA because the study involved testing significantdifferences of
the means of two independent (unrelated) groups. The ANOVA allows comparing
themeans of two or more groups simultaneously. The researcher adopted 0.05 as the level
of significance for testing the hypotheses. This was because the research involved human
beings and the 0.05 level ofsignificance is generally accepted due to likely human error
involved. The finding is presented as [Link] 1: There is no significant
difference among the Academic Staff and Students in NigerianUniversities in the search
skills that influence their web information searching and [Link] hypothesis was
subjected to One Way ANOVA test to determine the difference among the web userson
the influence of their search [Link] 5 Analysis of difference among the web users in
the search skills that influence informationseeking and retrievalSum of Squares df Mean
Square F [Link] Groups 33.616 2 16.808 .166 .847Within Groups 32104.553 318
100.958Total 32138.168 320Table 5 shows that the F value is .166 and p value is .847
which is greater than alpha=0.05. Hence, thenull hypothesis four is retained. This shows
that there is no significant difference in search skills thatinfluence the respondents’ web
information searching and retrieval in the Universities studied. The searchskill that
influence the academic staff’ and students’ web information searching and retrieval in
theUniversities studied didn’t significantly differ.Findings1. The analysis of search skill of
the academic staff and student in Nigerian Universities studiedindicated that:I.
Operational Internet skill successive steps for academic staff (third) and students
(second)with average means scores of 3.06 and 3.10 respectively, doesn’t concord with
thesuccessive steps identified in the Van Deursen (2009) studies which placed basic skills
inusing computer technology or operational Internet skills as the first skill required
foreffective information [Link]. Formal Internet skills successive steps for academic
staff (fourth) and students (third)with average means scores of 2.99 and 3.09 respectively,
shows that the academic staffare weak in hypermedia task (cross-referencing).
arching and retrieval is not only based on the possession ofnecessary skills and
knowledge but it also requires the confidence to use the skills [Link] on the
findings of the study and the conclusion reached, the following recommendationwas
proposed for Nigerian Universities.1. Information competence and information literacy
programmes organized in libraries should laymore emphasis on Hypermedia, the art of
critical thinking and web-based searching. Hypermediaallows users to choose their own
non-linear paths so that they can move not only forward but alsobackward and to
unknown locations and equally the teaching of specific skills that will enableusers to
check the actual correctness of data and the reliability of the sources should
beincorporated.