Information Literacy among Female Postgraduate Students of Karnatak University, Dharwad: A Study

Abstract

Due to the rapid increase in information sources as information proliferates multidimensionally in various forms and formats, therefore it has become difficult for any information user to get the required information when it is needed. Hence, it is prudent for every individual to be wise, informed user to assume greater control over their own learning by acquiring the information literacy skills. Keeping with this view, the present study was undertaken to assess the information literacy skills among female postgraduate students of Karnatak University, Dharwad. The main objective of the study was to determine the student’s skills to access the information, identify their awareness about different information resources, search strategies, ability to evaluate information and also to ascertain the student’s awareness regarding the legal and ethical implication of information usage. The study also highlights on the problems of students in accessing information. Data analysis and interpretation are entirely based on the feedback received from the respondents. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents, i.e. 83.11% use simple keywords as a search strategy, 70.12% of respondents agreed that they use basic criteria, i.e., reliability, accuracy, authority, timeliness for evaluating information, 62.33% of respondents use number of citations of the published articles and 11.68% prefer peer-reviewed articles as a parameter to check the quality of information which is published in journals.

Keywords: Information literacy, information literacy competences, students, universities