Awareness and Use of the Internet by Academic Staff and Students of the University Of Ghana

Abstract

The aim of the study was 10 find the extent of awareness and use of the Internet and its sources by academic staff and postgraduate students of the University of Ghana. The purposes for. motivations. the limitations and barriers in using the Internet were explored; so were the differences in use among staff, students, and faculty. The survey method was used. Questionnaires were distributed to 175 academic Staff and 216 postgraduate students. One hundred and twenty three (123) and 121 usable responses were received from staff and students respectively. The responses have been presented and analyzed. The main findings of the study indicate that, both staff and students are fully aware of the Internet and most of its services. Academic staff in general use the lnternet and its services more than students. However. both staff and students from the science faculty use the Internet and its services more than those from the Arts and Social Science facu lties. The study also established that, among the services. Email is highly used by both staff and students. The main motivation far using the Internet is communication with friends and colleagues; and the main limitation in Internet usage is slow data transmission in the case of staff, and difficulty in locating information in the case students. The main barriers to using the Internet arc: frequeat1y disrupted service and inadequate time available to users for accessing the net. A significant relationship has been established between Internet use and age of student, faculty of student, and computer usage of both staff and students Both staff and students found the Internet a very useful resource that. provides them with information in their subject fields. The main reason for non-use of the Internet is inadequate training The study recommended among others, the training of staff and students to use specific tools to ensure effective use of the internet in all their academic pursuits.