THE INFORMATION BEHAVIOUR OF LAW STUDENTS IN

NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

BY

OLORUNFEMI, DOREEN YEMISI

(Student No: 201000006)

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award

of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Library and Information
Science) in the Department of Information Studies at the
University of Zululand, South Africa.

2014

i
DECLARATION
I declare that this study, “The information behaviour of law students in Nigerian universities”,
unless where specifically stated otherwise, is my own original work. It has not been submitted
to3 any other university for the award of any other degree. All the information used has been
acknowledged both in the text and in the references.

…………………………… …………………………
Olorunfemi, Doreen Yemisi Date

…….……………………… ……………………….........
Prof. B.J. Mostert Date
Promoter/Supervisor

……………………………… …………………………………
Prof. D.N. Ocholla Date
Co-Promoter/Supervisor

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DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to the Almighty God, for His enablement, support, and for opening
the doors for me to pursue my Doctoral studies at the University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa
in South Africa.

To my treasured daughter Ibiwumi, whose sacrifices and understanding always instilled hope
and motivated me during difficult times in my studies.

To my mother Mrs. C. A. Ayegbusi, for ensuring that I went to school at the early stages of
my life after the demise of my father, and for caring for my daughter while I was in South
Africa. This work is further dedicated to my kid brother, Engr. Temitope Ayegbusi and Mr.
Oluwole Oyedele Sanni, who cared for my daughter in my absence and my younger sisters for
their support and encouragement during my studies.

Lastly, this thesis is dedicated to my late father, Michael Oniku Olorunfemi, who introduced
me to the world of learning: “Ba’ami, after placing me on the path of God’s divine purpose,
you died in my secondary school (Year One). Baba, today your dreams finally came to pass.”

iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I acknowledge the Almighty God for the gift of life, energy, good health
and the will to achieve this academic feat. He began this work in me and He carried it to
completion, may His name be praised.

To my promoters, Professor Bertha Jantine Mostert and Professor Dennis Ngong Ocholla, I
express my sincere gratitude for the guidance, encouragement, inspiration, invaluable
suggestions and the keen interest shown through every step of this study. I am also grateful to
the University of Zululand for granting me the opportunity to study at the university.

I would like to express my gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria for granting me the
Nigerian Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) scholarship to pursue the Doctoral
programme in South Africa. I also wish to thank Adekunle Ajasin University Governing
Council and the University Management for their support. Special gratitude goes to the
University Librarian; Mr. Williams A. Akinfolarin for giving me the opportunity to pursue
this programme. I would further like to thank the Deputy Director of Academic Planning, Mr.
Isaac Olusola Asunloye, who implanted the research ideas. This achievement would not have
been possible without your collective valued official supports. God bless you all.

I also like to thank Dr. Tinashe Mugwisi, and the staff members at the Department of
Information Science, University of Zululand - Mr. M. Shongwe and Mr. Ntando Nkomo for
their useful contributions.

My sincere thanks extend to all the undergraduate law students and staff members from the
law faculties and law libraries in Nigerian universities that participated in this study. Their
invaluable assistance during data collection made the work much easier. The universities are:
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba; Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; Ekiti State
University, Ado-Ekiti; Imo State University, Owerri; Kogi State University, Anyigba;
Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye; Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; University of Benin; University of Calabar; University of
Ibadan; University of Ilorin; and University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.

iv
I wish to acknowledge the foundational contribution of Dr. Joseph O. Omoniyi, the current
university librarian at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. Special thanks to Mr. Rexwhite Tega
Enakrire, a doctoral student in this department for his moral support during my trying period
at the University of Zululand.

I say thanks to my daughter, Ibiwumi Olayemi Osanyingbe, for her endurance during my
sojourn in South Africa. Finally, I give gratitude and thanks to the Almighty God, whose will,
inspiration, blessing and support have enable me to come this far.

v
ABSTRACT
Information seeking skills are important for students who are preparing to embark on
information intensive professions such as the legal profession. Despite law libraries being
available in all the Nigerian universities offering law as an undergraduate programme, law
students generally do not seem interested in making optimal use of the available facilities and
sources to find relevant information for their studies and to prepare them for their chosen
career. Though many information behaviour studies relating to students do exist it is
important to establish how and why students, especially those who have to rely on
information to perform their duties as legal practitioners, seek for information and how they
use the available information facilities and services to satisfy their information needs. The
specific objectives of this study were to: investigate the information behaviour of law students
in Nigerian university law libraries, determine the purposes for which law students retrieve
information in Nigerian university law libraries, investigate the library information resources
available to law students in Nigerian university law libraries, examine how law students
utilise information resources in university law libraries, specifically ICT resources, determine
the challenges faced by law students in the use of law library electronic resources and other
law sources in the process of information retrieval in Nigerian university law libraries,
provide recommendations for improving law library systems in Nigerian universities and to
develop a theoretical model that suits the information seeking behaviour of law students in
Nigerian university law libraries.

The research paradigm followed a positivism and interpretive perspective using both
qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study adopted a survey research design. The
study targeted all the law students in Nigerian universities. Out of the 30 universities offering
law as a course of study in Nigeria, a total of 12 universities were chosen for the study
namely: Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti; Imo State
University, Owerri; Kogi State University, Anyigba; Nasarawa State University, Keffi;
Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; University
of Benin, Benin; University of Calabar, Calabar; University of Ibadan, Ibadan; University of
Ilorin, Ilorin: and University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. From the 12 chosen universities,
1,534 law students were randomly selected; this represents the sample for the study. Data
was collected using a questionnaire, an interview and observation methods.

vi
The findings revealed that the surveyed law students generally exhibited a positive attitude
towards patronage of law libraries, and that printed information sources are the main
information sources utilised by respondents in law libraries. Digital libraries found in the law
libraries were found not to be optimally used. Reasons given were the unavailability and
inaccessibility of computers and the lack of Internet connectivity. The majority of the
respondents indicated that they possessed the ICT skills required to search for information
using electronic information resources in the law libraries. The Internet facilities provided in
the law library where only used by 33% of the respondents when it was necessary to find
academic related information. An ability test showed that only 47% of the respondents tested
had the Internet skills to effectively retrieve applicable information sources/databases on the
Internet.

It was revealed that access to ICT facilities in the law libraries was poor, and the existing
electronic libraries and other sources like the Internet and law databases were underutilised by
the surveyed law students for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of access to the electronic
law libraries, lack of ICT resources, or the fact that the existing ICT sources were not intended
for law students’ use. Observations showed that only three law libraries provided access to
law databases out of the twelve law libraries. Other challenges identified concerning the use
of the law libraries included: erratic power supply; Internet connectivity problems; slow
downloading speed; non-subscription to law databases; lack of qualified staff to manage and
maintain the electronic law libraries; inadequate amount of computers for student utilisation;
unhelpful library staff; and inadequate funding to provide quality ICT resources in the
universities’ law libraries.

The study recommended that law students should be allowed access to all law library
resources and be provided with current and relevant library sources, electronic sources and
ICT equipment that will encourage them to frequent the law libraries and use its information
resources. Additionally, the libraries need adequate support and enough funds to facilitate the
purchase of current legal material; upgrade ICT equipment; subscribe to legal databases;
upgrade Internet connectivity; and improve their power supply. The study also recommended
that library sources

vii
(print and electronic) should be aggressively advertised to attract students’ attention and more
library orientation and ICT training courses should be provided.

Keywords: Nigeria, law students, law libraries, ICT information seeking skills, information
behaviour.

viii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II

Acknowledgements -------------------------------------------------------------------- IIV

Abstract ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI

List of figures -------------------------------------------------------------------------- XX

list of tables --------------------------------------------------------------------------- XXI

List of acronyms and abbreviations----------------------------------------------- XXIII

CHAPTER ONE -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH BACKGROUND --------------------------- 1

1.1 Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

1.2 Conceptual setting of the study ----------------------------------------------------- 2

1.2.1 Conceptual setting ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2

1.2.2 Information seeking behaviour --------------------------------------------------- 2

1.2.3 Law students’ information seeking behaviour ---------------------------------- 4

1.2.4 Information retrieval systems ----------------------------------------------------- 6

1.2.5 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) --------------------------- 6

1.2.6 Law ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7

1.2.7 Legal advice ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8

1.2.8 The role of the lawyer ------------------------------------------------------------- 8

1.2.9 Lawyers’ information needs ---------------------------------------------------- 10

1.3 Nigerian landscape and information environment ------------------------------ 11

1.3.1 Universities in Nigeria ---------------------------------------------------------- 12

1.3.2 Brief history of legal education in Nigeria------------------------------------ 15

1.3.3 ICT infrastructure available in Nigerian Universities ----------------------- 19

1.4 Statement of the problem ---------------------------------------------------------- 20

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1.5 Aim of the study -------------------------------------------------------------------- 22

1.6 Research objectives ---------------------------------------------------------------- 23

1.7 Research questions ----------------------------------------------------------------- 23

1.8 Theoretical framework ------------------------------------------------------------- 24

1.9 Scope and limitations of the study ----------------------------------------------- 26

1.9.1 Scope of the study --------------------------------------------------------------- 26

1.9.2 Limitations of the study ------------------------------------------------------ 27

1.10 Significance of the study ----------------------------------------------------- 28

1.11 Ethical considerations ------------------------------------------------------------ 30

1.12 Dissemination of research findings --------------------------------------------- 30

1.13 Definition of key terms----------------------------------------------------------- 30

1.13.1 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ----------------------- 31

1.13.2 Information needs--------------------------------------------------------------- 31

1.13.3 Information seeking ------------------------------------------------------------ 31

1.13.4 Information seeking behaviour ------------------------------------------------ 31

1.13.5 Information utilisation --------------------------------------------------------- 31

1.13.6 Lawyer --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31

1.13.7 Law Librarian ------------------------------------------------------------------- 32

1.13.8 Law library ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 32

1.13.9 Law students -------------------------------------------------------------------- 32

1.13.10 Legal education ---------------------------------------------------------------- 32

1.13.11 Legal information ------------------------------------------------------------- 32

1.13.12 Level of study ----------------------------------------------------------------- 32

1.13.13 Library -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32

1.13.14 Organisation of the thesis ---------------------------------------------------- 33

x
1.14 Summary --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34

CHAPTER TWO ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 35

NIGERIAN LEGAL KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION SOURCES,

SYSTEMS AND SERVICES --------------------------------------------------------- 35

2.1 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 35

2.2 Information sources in the legal discipline-------------------------------------- 35

2.3 Legal information services available in nigerian academic law libraries --- 36

2.3.1 Westlaw database ---------------------------------------------------------------- 40

2.3.2 Lexis-Nexis ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 40

2.3.3 Compulaw database -------------------------------------------------------------- 41

2.3.4 Legalpedia database ------------------------------------------------------------- 41

2.4. University libraries ---------------------------------------------------------------- 42

2.5 National Universities Commission Virtual Library ---------------------------- 42

2.6 Internet ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43

2.7 Other available information systems and services ----------------------------- 44

2.7.1 Personal information sources --------------------------------------------------- 45

2.7.2 Court libraries -------------------------------------------------------------------- 45

2.7.3 Private law libraries ------------------------------------------------------------- 46

2.7.4 National and governmental libraries in Nigeria ------------------------------ 46

2.7.5 Bookstores ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 46

2.7.6 Nigerian Newspapers ------------------------------------------------------------ 47

2.8 Summary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48

CHAPTER THREE -------------------------------------------------------------------- 50

INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF LEGAL PROFESSIONALS

AND LAW STUDENTS --------------------------------------------------------------- 50

3.1 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50

xi
3.2 The importance of legal information --------------------------------------------- 51

3.3 Information behaviour and the need for information literacy among law
students ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53

3.4 Ict Utilisation by law students ---------------------------------------------------- 56

3.5 Challenges faced by academic law libraries in Nigeria ------------------------ 59

3.6 Summary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61

CHAPTER FOUR: --------------------------------------------------------------------- 62

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK --------------------------------------------------- 62

4.1 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 62

4.2 Theoretical framework ------------------------------------------------------------- 62

4.3 Overview of related theoretical models of information behaviour ----------- 64

4.3.1 Taylor’s (1968) Model of Information Behaviour ---------------------------- 64

4.3.2 Belkin’s (1980) Anomalous States of Knowledge (Ask) -------------------- 65

4.3.3 Wilson’s Model of Information Seeking Behaviour ------------------------- 65

4.3.4 Dervin’s (1983) Sense-Making Approach ------------------------------------- 66

4.3.5 Ellis’s (1989) Model of Information Seeking Behaviour -------------------- 67

4.3.6 Kuhlthau’s (1993) Information Search Process Model -------------------- 68

4.3.7 Cheuk’s (1998) Information Seeking and Using Process -------------------- 69

4.3.8 Wilson’s (1996) Global Model o f Information Seeking Behaviour -------- 71

4.3.8.1 Stage 1: Activating Mechanisms --------------------------------------------- 72

4.3.8.1.1 Stress/Coping Theory ------------------------------------------------------- 72

4.3.8.1.2 Risk/Reward Theory --------------------------------------------------------- 73

4.3.8.1.3 Social Learning Theory/ Self -Efficacy ------------------------------------ 73

4.3.8.1.4 Intervening Variables ------------------------------------------------------- 74

4.3.8.2 Stage 2: Information Seeking Behaviour/Method of Acquiring

Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 74
xii
4.3.8.2.1 Passive attention ------------------------------------------------------------- 74

4.3.8.2.2 Passive search ---------------------------------------------------------------- 74

4.3.8.2.3 Active search ----------------------------------------------------------------- 75

4.3.8.2.4 On-Going search ------------------------------------------------------------- 75

4.3.8.3 Stage 3: Information Processing and Use ----------------------------------- 75

4.3.9 Niedźwiedzka’s (2003) Model o f Information Seeking Behaviour --------- 75

4.3.10 Davis Et Al., (1989) Technology Acceptance Model ----------------------- 78

4.4 Relevant theories reviewed -------------------------------------------------------- 81

4.4.1 Critique of Wilson’s (1996) Model of Information Behaviour ------------- 83

4.4.2 Critique of Niedźwiedzka’s Model of Information Seeking Behaviour --- 84

4.4.3 Critique of Davis et al., (1989) Model of Technology Acceptance -------- 84

4.5 Applicability of the models ------------------------------------------------------- 85

4.6 Appraisal of the reviewed literature --------------------------------------------- 87

4.7 Summary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 88

CHAPTER FIVE ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 89

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ---------------------------------- 89

5.1 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 89

5.2 Research ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 89

5.3 The research paradigm ------------------------------------------------------------- 90

5.4 Research methodology ------------------------------------------------------------- 92

5.5 Research design--------------------------------------------------------------------- 93

5.5.1 Justifying the use of survey research design ---------------------------------- 94

5.5.2 Criticism of the survey research design --------------------------------------- 95

5.6 Research method-------------------------------------------------------------------- 96

5.6.1 Qualitative research method ---------------------------------------------------- 96

xiii
5.6.2 Mixed method -------------------------------------------------------------------- 97

5.7 Placing the study in context ------------------------------------------------------- 98

5.8 Population of the study ------------------------------------------------------------ 98

5.9 Sampling techniques and size ----------------------------------------------------- 99

5.10 Data collection instruments ----------------------------------------------------- 102

5.10.1 Questionnaire ------------------------------------------------------------------ 103

5.10.1.1 Questionnaire layout -------------------------------------------------------- 104

5.10.2 Interview ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 104

5.10.2.1 Structure of the interview schedule for law librarians ------------------ 105

5.10.2.2 Structure of the interview schedule for law deans ----------------------- 106

5.11 Observation ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 106

5.12 Data collection procedure ------------------------------------------------------- 107

5.12.1 Pre-Fieldwork ------------------------------------------------------------------ 107

5.12.2 Administration of questionnaires -------------------------------------------- 108

5.12.3 Administration of interviews ------------------------------------------------- 109

5.12.4 Administration of observations ---------------------------------------------- 109

5.12.5 Problems encountered during the administration of research instruments

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 110

5.13 Method of data analysis --------------------------------------------------------- 112

5.13.1 Validity and reliability of the research instruments ----------------------- 112

5.13.2 Pilot survey --------------------------------------------------------------------- 114

5.13.3 Ethical issues ------------------------------------------------------------------- 115

5.14 Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 115

xiv
CHAPTER SIX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 117

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS -------------------------------------- 117

6.1 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 117

6.2 Data analysis: law student responses ------------------------------------------- 118

6.2.1 Demographic information ------------------------------------------------------ 120

6.2.1.1 Distribution of law students by gender ------------------------------------- 120

6.2.1.2 Age ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 120

6.2.1.3 Distribution of respondents according to university and level of

education -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 121

6.2.2 Information seeking behaviour of law students ----------------------------- 122

6.2.2.1 Attitudes and opinions about the available information resource s ------ 123

6.2.2.2 Purpose for which legal information resources is needed ---------------- 127

6.2.2.3 Ability to search for print and electronic information sources in law
libraries --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 128

6.2.2.4 Methods used to gain information seeking skills ------------------------- 128

6.2.2.5 Challenges experienced when searching for information ---------------- 130

6.2.2.6 Suggested solutions to challenges ------------------------------------------ 132

6.2.2.7 Information resources and services available to law students and the
frequency of use ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 134

6.2.2.7.1 Most preferred medium ---------------------------------------------------- 136

6.2.2.7.2 Format and information sources’ preference when retrieving

information ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 137

6.2.2.8 ICT availability in law libraries --------------------------------------------- 137

6.2.2.8.1 Kinds of ICT and electronic resources available and their utilisation
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 138

6.2.2.8.2 Efficiency of available ICT facilities ------------------------------------ 139

xv
6.2.2.8.3 Internet utilisation ---------------------------------------------------------- 140

6.2.2.8.4 Devices used for internet access within the law libraries -------------- 141

6.2.2.8.5 Skills to effectively search for information on the internet in law

libraries --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 143

6.2.2.8.6 How information is sought on the internet in academic law libraries 144

6.2.2.8.7 Changes in information seeking behaviour due to ICT utilisatio n ---- 145

6.3 Interviews with librarians and deans of law ----------------------------------- 146

6.3.1 Interview with deans of law --------------------------------------------------- 147

6.3.2 Law Librarians ------------------------------------------------------------------ 148

6.3.2.1 General information seeking behaviour in law librarie s ----------------- 149

6.3.2.2 Law student’s ICT utilisation in law libraries ----------------------------- 150

6.4 Observation of the library facilities, environment and other amenities ---- 156

6.5 Summary ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 160

CHAPTER SEVEN ------------------------------------------------------------------- 161

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ------------------------------------------------------- 161

7.1 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 161

7.2 Characteristics of the respondents----------------------------------------------- 161

7.3 Types of library information resources and services, available to law students
in nigerian university law libraries ------------------------------------------------- 161

7.4 Attitudes and opinions about the available information sources and resources
in nigerian university law libraries -------------------------------------------------- 162

7.5 Purpose for which nigerian law students retrieve legal information -------- 164

7.6 Methods used to gain information seeking skills ------------------------------ 167

7.7 Types of information sources and services used and frequency of use by law
students --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 168

7.7.1 Format preference when retrieving information ----------------------------- 169

xvi
7.7.2 Information sources format and location preference when receiving
academic information ----------------------------------------------------------------- 170

7.8 Availability and utilisation of ICT in the law libraries ----------------------- 171

7.9 Internet utilisation ----------------------------------------------------------------- 173

7.9.1 Devices used to access the internet ------------------------------------------- 174

7.9.2 Methods used to seek information on the internet -------------------------- 175

7.9.3 Information seeking behavioural changes observed due to ICT utilisation

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 175

7.10 Skills to search for information using print and electronic sources in the law
libraries --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 176

7.11 Challenges experienced in seeking information in the law libraries ------- 178

7.12 Suggestions for the improvement of ICT facilities in law libraries ------- 180

7.13 Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 180

CHAPTER EIGHT ------------------------------------------------------------------- 182

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ----------------- 182

8.1 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 182

8.2 Summary of the Findings --------------------------------------------------------- 182

8.2.1 To Investigate the information seeking behaviour of law students in

Nigerian University law libraries ---------------------------------------------------- 183

8.2.2 To Determine the purposes for which law students retrieve information
in Nigerian University law libraries ------------------------------------------------- 184

8.2.3 To Investigate the library information resources available to law students

in Nigerian University Law Libraries ----------------------------------------------- 184

8.2.4 To examine how law students utilise the university law library information
resources, specifically ICT resources ----------------------------------------------- 188

xvii
8.2.5 To Determine the challenges faced by law students in th e use of ICT and
other law sources in the process of information retrieval in Nigerian University
Law Libraries --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 188

8.2.6 To suggest a theoretical model or adaptation that would suit the

information seeking behaviour of law students in Nigerian University Law
Libraries. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 189

8.3 Conclusions ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 191

8.4 Recommendations ----------------------------------------------------------------- 193

8.4.1 Law students --------------------------------------------------------------------- 193

8.4.2 The law libraries ---------------------------------------------------------------- 194

8.4.3 Availability and utilisation of information resources ----------------------- 195

8.4.4 Challenges ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 196

8.5 What was confirmed and revealed in this study ------------------------------- 196

8.6 Originality of this study ---------------------------------------------------------- 197

8.7 Suggestions for future research -------------------------------------------------- 198

References ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 199

Appendices ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 226

Appendix 1: Sample size model adopted for the study ---------------------------- 226

Appendix 2: Questionnaire for law students ---------------------------------------- 227

Appendix 3: Law students’ information searching retrieval ability test schedule

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 233

Appendix 4: Interview question for deans of law ---------------------------------- 234

Appendix 5: Interview schedule for the law librarians ---------------------------- 236

Appendix 6: Observation schedule (law students and the law libraries) ------- 238

Appendix 7: Nigeria and States ------------------------------------------------------ 239

Appendix 8: Geo-political zones, federal and states universities selected in each

zone -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 240
xviii
Appendix 9: University of zululand research ethical clearance certificate ----- 241

Appendix 10: Permission to conduct research in the university law libraries -- 243

Appendix 11: Research pictures with law deans, law students, librarians and the
electronic law libraries ---------------------------------------------------------------- 250

xix
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1 Wilson’s 1996 model of information ..................................................................... 68

Figure 4.2 Niedźwiedzka (2003) model of information behaviour ......................................... 73

Figure 4.3 Original technology acceptance model (Davis et al., 1989) ................................... 78

Figure 4.4 Convergence of Wilson 1996 and Niedźwiedzka 2003 models of ISB. ................ 79

Figure 6.1 Gender ................................................................................................................. 117

Figure 6.2 Age of respondents ............................................................................................... 118

Figure 6.3 Information seeking skills .................................................................................... 125

Figure 6.4 Medium preference ............................................................................................... 133

Figure 6.5 ICT vailability for student utilisation in the law libraries .................................... 135

Figure 6.6 Skills to effectively search for information on the Internet ................................. 140

Figure 8.1 Proposed new model of information seeking process ......................................... 187

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Geo-political zones, States in each zone .................................................................. 11
Table 1.2 Universities that offer a law degree in Nigeria ........................................................ 13
Table 1.3 List of law courses in Nigerian universities............................................................. 14
Table 1.4 List of sampled law universities in Nigeria ............................................................. 25
Table 1.5 List and location of the private university law faculties in Nigeria ......................... 26
Table 4.1 Link between Theoretical Frameworks and Research Questions ............................ 83
Table 5.1 Total population of the law students sampled ......................................................... 96
Table 6.1 University participation ......................................................................................... 116
Table 6.2 Universities attended and level of study ................................................................ 119
Table 6.3 Attitudes and opinions concerning information services in the law library .......... 121
Table 6.4 Purpose for which legal information sources are required .................................... 124
Table 6.5 Methods used to gain information seeking skills................................................... 126
Table 6.6 Challenges experienced when searching for information ...................................... 128
Table 6.7 Solutions to the challenges .................................................................................... 130
Table 6.8 Available information sources and services and frequency of use ........................ 132
Table 6.9 Formats preferred to receive information for academic purposes ......................... 134
Table 6.10 Kinds of ICT and digital resources available and their utilisation ...................... 136
Table 6.11 Grading of ICT in terms of efficiency ................................................................. 137
Table 6.12 Frequency of Internet utilisation .......................................................................... 138
Table 6.13 Device/s used to access the Internet in law libraries ........................................... 139
Table 6.14 How information on the Internet is sought in law libraries ................................. 141
Table 6.15 Changes in information seeking behaviour due to ICT utilisation ...................... 142
Table 6.16 Available ICT facilities in the law libraries ......................................................... 156

xxi
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
AALL American Association of Law Libraries
AGRICOLA Agricultural Online Database
AULIMP Air University Library's Index to Military Periodicals
BASE Bielefeld Academic Search Engines
CGPA Cumulative Grade Point Average

CLE Council of Legal Education

DOI Theory of Diffusion of Innovation

ICT Information and Communication Technology

ISB Information seeking behaviour

IT Information Technology

ITS Information Technology System

JSTOR Journal Storage

LFN Laws of the Federation of Nigeria
MTN Mobile Telephone Networks
NUC Nigerian Universities Commission
NUCVLP National Universities Commission Virtual Library Programme
NULL Nigerian University Law Libraries
OCLC Online Computer Library Centre
OPAC Online Public Access Catalogue
SABINET Southern African Information Network
TAM Technology Acceptance Model
TRA Theory of Reason Action
TPB Theory of Planned Behaviour

xxii
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH BACKGROUND
1.1 Introduction
In modern society, information behaviour is a day-to-day activity that is fundamental to
people in all vocations and skilled occupations across all disciplines and professional groups
(lecturers, medical doctors, engineers, teachers, librarians, lawyers and students, among
others). Information seeking behaviour has been variously defined by scholars. According to
Wiberley and Jones, (1989:638) information seeking is a basic activity of all scholars, and it is
an aspect of scholarly work that academic librarians have studied to develop their library
collections. Professionally skilled people source information for various reasons and using
different methods, because they rely on information particular to their work type to ‘get their
jobs done’. For instance, a lawyer requires updated legal information in order to successfully
argue matters and win cases in court, engineers require information on new designs and/or
plans for machinery or road construction, and students generally search for information to
enable them to pass examinations and complete research assignments in order to graduate
from university. However, there are different channels through which information sources are
sourced, these include libraries, information centres and especially with the emergence of the
new information environments, cybercafés (Yousefi and Yousefi, 2007). Yousefi and Yousefi
further explain that information globally plays a major role in the educational development of
students, contributing to their success and future achievements.

Information behaviour research is a global phenomenon and numerous studies on academic

staff and students have been conducted in various countries across the globe, among others
were (Shokeen and Kushik 2002; Cothey 2002; Meho and Tibbo, 2003; Baro, Onyenania and
Osaheni, 2010; Aforo and Lamptey, 2012). The field of information behaviour among
students in universities especially in Africa continues to elicit strong interest among scholars
notwithstanding the fact that it has been extensively researched. This could be attributed to
the increase in adoption of ICT for the provision of library information sources and services,
as well as, today’s proliferation of the electronic information resources in university libraries
in general. In the context of Nigerian universities, literature also revealed that, various
authors have differently investigated some Nigerian university law students’ information
seeking activities (Ogba, 2013; Lawal et. al. 2012; Akanwa and Aniche, 2012; Ossai 2011).

1
The current study concentrated on the information behaviour of Nigerian undergraduate law
students in university law libraries, with a particular focus on the law students’ Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) utilisation skills when searching for legal information
in university law libraries.

This chapter thus outlines the conceptual and contextual settings of the study, the history of
legal education in Nigeria, the ICT infrastructure available in Nigerian university law
libraries, and also provides the problem statement, motivation, aim of study, research
objectives, research questions and theoretical framework upon which the study is built. The
chapter also presents the scope and limitations of the study; significance of the study; research
ethical considerations; dissemination of findings; definition of key terms; organisation of the
study; and the summary of the chapter.

1.2 Conceptual setting of the study

1.2.1 Conceptual setting
The conceptual setting of this study gives a detailed description of the applicable ideas so as
to provide a specific ground for the study. Concepts discussed include information seeking
behaviour, law students’ information seeking behaviour, information retrieval systems,
ICT’s, law, legal advice, and lawyers’ information needs.

1.2.2 Information seeking behaviour

Numerous studies have focused on the information seeking behaviour of different users of
resources in libraries (Ikoja-Odongo and Mostert 2006:148; Taylor and Procter 2005; Julien
1996:53). These studies have also provided varying definitions of information seeking
behaviour. For example, Taylor and Procter (2005) define information seeking behaviour as
the ability to efficiently scan literature using manual or computerised methods in order to
identify a set of useful articles and books, while Ikoja-Odongo and Mostert (2006:148)
describe it as the individual’s process of searching for information, a process that requires
the information seeker to apply personal knowledge, skills, and/or information infrastructure
to solve a problem. Marchionini (1995:10) reiterates that information seeking is a
fundamental human activity that is tied to learning and problem solving. Ossai (2011:1)
describes information seeking behaviour as an individual’s manner of gathering and

2
sourcing information for personal use, knowledge updating, and development. Wilson
(2000:45) views it to be the purposive attempt to find information because of the need to
meet some goals. In the process, the individual may interact with manual-based information
systems such as newspapers or the library, or computer-based systems such as the World
Wide Web to retrieve the required information. Wilson (1999:429) defines information
seeking behaviour as the activities a person may engage in upon discovering that
information is required, from searching for that information, to using or transferring the
information. Therefore, information seeking behaviour may be described as the process of
obtaining information in the libraries using own effort, ICT and/or intermediaries like the
library staff.

Julien (1996:53) advocates that information seeking is concerned with determining users’
information needs, their search behaviour, and the use of the information once found. As early
as 1981, Wilson states that the field of information seeking behaviour was one of the most
researched and written about topics in the field of Library and Information Science (Wilson,
1981:3). Wildemuth (2003) believes that when user studies are undertaken, their contribution
needs to be valuable enough to improve the practice of librarianship. According to Nkomo et
al. (2011:132), information seeking behaviour depends on user education, access to a library,
and the length of time devoted to information seeking by the user. The frequency, with which
undergraduate law students seek legal information and the use of relevant information to
study, when preparing for law examinations and in writing theses, arguably correlates with
how skilled these students will be in their future practice as lawyers, and how knowledgeable
they will be as legal practitioners. According to Wildemuth (2003), it is important to consider
the context in which users require information while taking into account the specific
characteristics of the library users. This becomes especially important where ICT facilities are
provided as additional information sources in law libraries.

For legal professionals who appear in court, possession of relevant knowledge can be pivotal
in the outcome of their cases. While the required information is mostly of a legal nature,
occasionally information of a more general nature might also be essential, especially when
background information pertaining to a case is required. Therefore, it is imperative for law

3
students, as future legal practitioners, to engage with information seeking and information
utilisation processes throughout their academic years of study.

1.2.3 Law students’ information seeking behaviour

Scholars have studied information seeking behaviour in several environments over recent
periods in Nigeria, where a number of factors associated with information behaviour of
different professionals (medical, nursing, engineering, teaching) have been found. Anderson
(2011:1) explains that little empirical work has been carried out on the information seeking
behaviour of law students that appears in legal education literature, or library and information
science journals. Similarly in the field of Nigerian law students and their information seeking
behaviour, not many studies have been conducted. In a study by Ossai (2011) she sets out to
clarify the information seeking patterns of both male and female law students of the
University of Benin, Benin City, out of the thirty universities that offer law education in
Nigeria. Ossai’s study found no significant difference in how male and female law students
at the University of Benin source and use information in the law library. Akanwa and
Aniche’s (2012) study focused on Imo State University law students’ use of law library
resources to determine the level of organisation of sources, resources and the attendant
problems. Akanwa and Aniche found that law students have various information needs that
were not sufficiently satisfied, there was an inadequate quality of existing information
materials, limited library services (lack ICT and Internet services) and limited use of the law
library by the law students. Ogba (2013:308) investigated the information seeking behaviour
of final law students in seven universities in the South Western part of Nigeria. The study
established that the final year law students utilise the university law libraries to source for
print law resources, source other information from newspaper vendors and the Public
Libraries.

Oke-Samuel (2008:139) explained that law students in Nigeria generally seek for law
information sources in order to pass examinations, conduct legal research or to complete
assignments and theses to enable them to graduate from university. Accordingly, the law
students aspiring to enter into the law profession require mainly primary information for both
academic and research purposes, and they need to be able to use available law library sources
and electronic resources to prepare for lectures, conferences, and “mock” or trial courts, in

4
addition to the above stated aims of passing examinations and completing assignments and
theses. As already stated, their experiences with searching for, finding and utilising legal
information sources at this stage is likely to influence their information seeking behaviour
later in life when they enter legal practice.

Law students' information seeking behaviour is predisposed to having knowledge of the

subject of law because this determines what they need to search for, what to write when an
assignment is given, and where to search for information. Studies show that law students
often start by reading law textbooks and/or reports to familiarise themselves with the topics
and compare different views on the subject under study. Depending on the outcome of their
search, they may seek further information on the web using the Internet or law databases
(Ossai, 2011:9; Akpoghome and Idiegbeyan-Ose, 2010:108; Oke-Samuel, 2008:139; Lawal,
2007; Ray, and Day, 1998). These scholars established that the Internet and databases are
mostly used if the information sourced from textbooks and law reports is inadequate or
conflicting. It can be assumed that when law students are searching for information they
would consult sources that they think can assist quick understanding of the topics searched.

Wilkinson (2001:256) explained that law students mostly use information sources that are
available in academic law libraries, but that as they start their practice, their information
seeking habits change as they then prefer to use personal textbooks, friends, and colleagues as
information sources. Majid and Kassim (2000:1) likewise found that lawyers and law students
prefer informal and interpersonal sources of information, while Kuhlthau and Tama (2001:25)
found that lawyers and law students prefer printed information when searching through
library information resources. Makri et al., (2008:613) found that law students mostly tend to
rely on readily available resources. Frequently used information sources include colleagues
and law textbooks and reports that are available in law libraries. Olorunfemi and Mostert
(2012:88) determined that the information sources used by law students consist of both print
and electronic documents such as law textbooks and reports, newspapers, electronic books, e-
journals, law databases and the Internet. Moreover, law students often use Google to search
the Internet.

5
1.2.4 Information retrieval systems
Inkpen (2007) describes information retrieval (IR) as the task of representing, storing,
organising, and offering access to information substances, different from data retrieval, which
is about finding precise data in databases with a given structure. In IR systems, the
information is not structured; it only contains free text (web pages or other documents) or it
can be found in multimedia content. Inkpen further explained that the first IR systems were
designed and implemented in the 1970’s to work with small collections of text like legal
documents. Chowdhury (2004) explains that information retrieval systems were originally
limited to manual retrieval systems because most information sources were print-based.
However, today the use of information retrieval systems have since expanded to include
modern tools and techniques (computers) used to access multimedia information (text, audio,
images and video) (Noor-UI-Amin, 2013:38). Information retrieval is an area of study that is
primarily concerned with searching for documents within documents, metadata about
documents, searching databases and the World Wide Web. An information retrieval (IR)
system is designed to analyse, process and store sources of information and retrieve those that
match a particular user's requirements (Chowdhury, 2010). Hornby Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary of English (2011:931) defines metadata as the information that describes
other information in order to help users understand or use the information. The task in
information retrieval is to retrieve documents or texts with relevant information content that
satisfy the user’s information needs.

1.2.5 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) refers to the use of electronic tools and
techniques that make it easier and faster to access, gather and store information. ICT focuses
primarily on the technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications.
According to Bosire (2011:9), information and communication technologies are instrumental
in increasing productivity, efficiency, competitiveness and growth in every sphere of human
life. The ICT that are available in libraries consist of a combination of computer hardware,
software and telecommunications technologies that include electronic journals, electronic
databases, e-books, computers, Internet, wireless networks, and digital libraries, to name a
few. A digital library is a type of information retrieval system, created in different institutions
of higher learning, organisations and industries in the various fields of knowledge like

6
Education, Science, Health, Law (Greenstein and Thorin, 2002). A digital library, also
referred to as either an electronic or virtual library, is a library that stores collections in digital
format. The digital content may be locally stored and/or remotely accessed by users through
computer networks (Trivedi, 2010). The digital libraries provide users with an organised
repository of information and knowledge as a collection of distributed information sources
(Trivedi, 2010).

Demands for digital information sources are increasing (Greenstein and Thorin, 2002).
According to Greenstein and Thorin, libraries are redesigning their services and information
sources to add value to their services and to satisfy the changing information needs of their
users. Information seekers are no longer satisfied with only print materials. Users want to
supplement the print information sources with more electronic resources.

1.2.6 Law
Law is the system of rule enacted by a community or country, in other words law is the body
of rules by which order and justice is maintained in society. Law is a text-based discipline
(Maxwell and Schafer, 2008:63). According to Maxwell and Schafer, the domain of law
possibly has the largest volume of text-based sources in the world. Law, as stated by Singh
(2011) encompasses all the rules of conduct established and enforced by the authority,
legislation or custom of a given community, state, or other groups. Garner and Black, in
Black’s law Dictionary (2004), define law as legislation, judicial precedents, legal principles,
rules and principles that the law courts use to settle disagreements. Common laws are the laws
made by judges in courts; they are the rules formulated by judges over a long period of time
(Farlex Free Dictionary, 2014).

Nigerian law is patterned after common law practice in England. In Nigerian universities, law
as a subject is divided into a number of courses that law students must study if they are to
become solicitors and barristers (lawyers). Compulsory law courses include: Nigerian
Constitutional law, Public law, Jurisprudence, Commercial law, and English Common law.

7
1.2.7 Legal advice
According to Kerins et al., (2004), legal advice refers to dispensing formal opinions regarding
the substance or procedure of the law by an officer of the court (lawyer) in exchange for
financial or other tangible compensation. The process of giving legal advice to a client results
in lawyers having legal tasks that bring about the need to harness more information in order to
enable lawyers to satisfy the peculiar needs of the clients (Kerins et al., 2004) during the
practice of law.

1.2.8 The role of the lawyer

A lawyer is a person learned in the law; an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is
practicing law (Tuhumwire and Okello-Obura, 2010; Black, 1979:799). The lawyers are those
professionals whose jobs are to conduct law suits for clients and to advise clients about their
legal rights and obligations in all matters relating to law (Merriam-Webster Unabridged
Dictionary, 2013). Lawyers are trained and licensed to prepare, manage, prosecute or defend
clients in the law courts; the lawyers serve as agents to people and give advice on legal
matters that may not necessarily require court action (Exforsys, 2006).

A lawyer is primarily responsible for advising people about laws, writing formal agreements,
and/or representing people in court and to generally carry out the practical application of legal
theory and knowledge (Tuhumwire and Okello-Obura, 2010). The duty of the lawyer is to
carry out the practical application of legal theory and knowledge to resolve the problems of
the individuals that hire them. A judge, on the other hand, is a lawyer appointed to preside
over matters in a court of law. According to the Hornby Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary of English (2011:809), a judge presides over a court trial and makes legal
decisions, upholds rules, and determines and criticizes matters brought before him/her. In
Nigeria, the lawyer’s role is a pervasive one; lawyers and judges, whether in private or
corporate practice, in academia or in government, shape peoples’ lives and that of the society
as a whole. By virtue of their position in society, lawyers or judges require the right of access
to legal information in order to function in their different capacities as service providers, legal
advisers, and legal administrators (Tuhumwire and Okello-Obura, 2010; Fowler, 2007:6;
Otike and Mathews, 2000:241). The role of lawyers generally includes the enforcement of
fundamental human rights. According to Ozekhome (2013) the lawyer has a prominent role to

8
play in the defence and protection of human rights of the citizenry not only against the abuse
of the fundamental processes of government, but also their fundamental rights. Ozekhome
further states that the role of a lawyer becomes more compelling especially in developing
countries where the majority of the citizenry wallow in ignorance and abject poverty.

However, lawyers’ roles significantly vary across different legal practices (Geoffrey et al.,
2004:20) and legal practice varies from country to country (Merriam-Webster Unabridged
Dictionary, 2013). For instance in Britain, lawyers are divided into barristers and solicitors. In
the United States of America, lawyers (attorneys) often specialize in limited areas of the law
(e.g., criminal law, divorce, or probate). In France, legal professionals are called “avocet”, in
England, “barrister”, in Germany they are known either as “lawyers” or “notaries”, whereas in
Nigeria, they are known as both “barrister” and “solicitor” (Oba, 2007:14).

The law information sources and the skills to use law resources are very important to legal
professionals, scholars, especially to law students passing through university law faculties, as
they improve their ability to search for knowledge on legal matters law libraries. In this
respect, Devadason and Lingam (1997:41) posit that the roles of lawyers may be affected by
factors such as the availability of legal resources, intended use, characteristics and nature of
resources, and the users’ environment.

As early as 1959, Onalaja emphasised that a lawyer can only be as good as the legal education
system that produces him or her. According to Onalaja, lawyers are expected to have learnt all
aspects of the law, as well as all the library search skills required to source legal information
while still at university. Legal education is a vital ingredient; the quality of it may positively
or otherwise affect justice systems and the lawyers’ roles in the social-political and economic
development of a country. The quality of judicial decisions and the coherence of the reasoning
underlying a judgment depend upon the quality of the argument presented in court. Therefore,
the success of any lawyer largely depends upon the quality of the legal information cited to
prove and argue his or her case before court. The current study on undergraduate law
students’ information behaviour and the use of the new technology (ICT) to search for legal
information sources is germane. It is relevant as it helps to understand how undergraduate law
students were trained at the university level to search for legal information required to

9
transform them into lawyers. As lawyers they will be expected to utilise library search skills
to locate legal information for legal practice.

1.2.9 Lawyers’ information needs

Lawyers work in the legal culture, with its extensive rules and procedures, which requires the
right kind of legal information (Fowler, 2007:6). Lawyers operate in information intensive
environments. Everything they do, whether providing legal advice, representing a client in
court, or drafting a legal document requires information (Otike and Mathews, 2000:241).

However, to work as a lawyer generally involves the practical application of legal information
theories and legal knowledge of knowing how to resolve specific clients’ individualized
problems in order to advance the interests of those who employ their services to perform legal
obligations (Black, 1979:799). According to Haruna and Mabawonku (2001:69) lawyers
require information to resolve a variety of legal problems. In order to attain a reasonable
solution to the problem, the lawyer may need to consult different sources. However, lawyers’
greatest information need is to know the latest decisions of the superior courts, as well as to
know recent legislation to obtain information on local and international seminars and
conferences and the acquisition and application of legal knowledge (Haruna and Mabawonku,
2001:69).

Lawyers need to be well learned in the administration of the law of their countries and also
need to be knowledgeable in laws of other countries of the world because of their position and
roles in society, as mentioned above. Lawyers work in an information intensive environment.
Therefore, the need to apply various library and ICT information search skills is very
important in order to search for legal information from traditional law libraries and the variety
of databases available to the law profession. The Association of College and Research
Libraries (ACRL, 2000) argues that, for man (e.g. lawyers) to be information literate, he/she
requires the ability to identify the information that is needed, and locate, evaluate, organize
and use it effectively for problem-solving. For lawyers, it is extremely important to have
access to useful legal information in order to uphold justice. Tuhumwire and Okello-Obura
(2010) explain that a lawyer will always make a poor submission if he or she does not cite

10
legal information (authorities), and that judgment will not be fair if previously decided cases
are not referred to.

Okello-Obura (1998) defines legal information as all legal records in both electronics and
written formats consisting of the law materials, court rules, case law and legal literature. The
legal information is acquired, processed, organised and stored in law libraries and other
information bearing places e.g. Internet and databases for dissemination to the users of the
law libraries (Igbeka, 1995:99). According to Doherty (1998:60), in the absence of a law
library, lawyers and law professors cannot effectively do their jobs, and therefore the law
library is an indispensable requirement for law offices and the university law faculties. To
law professionals, law materials are crucial as law courts rely heavily on legal precedents to
judge current cases, while law students also need legal materials to train while at university or
law school. Legal information is paramount to the success of the judicial system, to which
Bello (1994:57), in his address at the conference of Nigerian Law Libraries for the Future,
stated that, legal information is an essential tool to lawyers, and its importance in legal
practice cannot be stressed enough.

1.3 Nigerian landscape and information environment

Nigeria is situated in Western Africa and shared borders with the Republic of Benin in the
west, Chad and Cameroon in the east and Niger in the north. The coast lies on the Gulf of
Guinea, part of the Atlantic Ocean in the south. Nigeria occupies a total area of 923,770 sq.
km [356,700 sq. miles] and a total land area 356,667 square mile [923,768 sq. km] (Briney,
2010). Nigeria is officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, comprising three major
tribes (ethnic groups), namely Hausa in the north, Yoruba in the west and Igbo in the east.
The country is sub-divided into thirty-six (36) states. Nigeria is further stratified into six (6)
geo-political zones for easy governance and equitable distribution of socio-economic
resources and amenities among the people. Each of the zones consists of states that are
geographically configured within as follows: north-western zone, north-eastern zone, north-
central zone, south-eastern zone, south-western zone, and south-southern zone. The system of
governance is the federal system, with socio-political power shared between the federal, state
and local governments. Table 1.1 below depicts the geo-political zones in Nigeria, and the
contributing states and the federal capital territory, Abuja.

11
TABLE 1.1 GEO-POLITICAL ZONES, STATES IN EACH ZONE
Zones States in the Zones
North-East Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Yobe

North-West Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara

North-Central Benue, FCT Abuja, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa,

Niger, Plateau, Taraba
South-East Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo
South-West Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo
South-South Akwa-Ibom, Balyesa, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, Rivers
Source: Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (1997)

1.3.1 Universities in Nigeria

Universities in Nigeria can be divided into public (federal and state) and private universities.
According to Okon and Onyancha (2011:55), the law to establish private universities was
promulgated by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1993. Federal universities are
categorised into: first generation universities, i.e. the first five universities established
between 1948 and 1962; second generation universities, i.e. universities established between
1970 and 1975; and third generation universities, representing the universities of technology
and universities of agricultural sciences, to address special areas of technological and
agricultural manpower needs, i.e. the ten additional universities established between 1985 and
1999 (Nigeria Education Profile, 2014). The Rivers State University of Science and
Technology was the first state university established in Nigeria in 1980 in Port Harcourt,
while the first private university, (Benson Idahosa University) was established in Benin City
by Pastor Benson Idahosa in 1994 (National Universities Commission, 2011).

The National Universities Commission (NUC) is the national regulatory body responsible for
setting the general standards for academic programmes and courses offered at all Nigerian
universities. This body is also responsible for the issuing of licences for the establishment of
new universities in Nigeria. According to Lawal et al., (2012:27) the NUC acts as a central
co-ordinating body that oversees the administration of universities in Nigeria, including
federal, state and private universities. It controls the funds that the federal government
allocates to federal universities and accredits all courses.
12
From the information gathered from the Nigerian National University Commission database,
there are a total number of one hundred and twenty-four (124) approved government
universities in Nigeria as at 2011, comprising thirty-seven (37) federal universities, thirty-
seven (37) state universities, and forty-five (50) private universities. However, out of the 124
universities, only 38federa, state and private NUC approved universities that offer a law
degree programme (see Table 1.2). These universities are located across the six geo-political
zones, thirty-six (36) states and the federal capital territory in Nigeria (UTME/DE Brochure,
2011/2012; National Universities Commission (NUC), 2011). The University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, was the first university to introduce a law programme in 1962, while the most recent
law programme was established in 2008 by the Rivers State University of Science and
Technology.

13
TABLE 1.2 UNIVERSITIES THAT OFFER A LAW DEGREE IN NIGERIA
Federal Universities State Universities Private Universities
Ahmadu Bello University Abia State University Afe Babalola University
Bayero University, Kano Adekunle Ajasin University Babcock University
Nnamdi Azikiwe University Ambrose Alli University Baze University
Obafemi Awolowo University Anambra State University Benson Idahosa University
University of Abuja Bauchi State University Bowen University
University of Benin Delta State University Crescent University
University of Calabar Ebonyi State University Igbinedion University
University of Ibadan Ekiti State University
University of Ilorin Imo State University
University of Jos Kogi State University
University of Lagos Lagos State University
University of Maiduguri Nasarawa State University
University of Nigeria, Nsukka Onabanjo State University
University of Port-Harcourt Osun State University
University of Uyo Rivers State University
Yobe State University

Source: Council of Legal Education, 2014).

(http://www.nigerianlawschool.edu.ng/notices/quota.pdf)

In Nigeria, the education of a lawyer starts at university. Undergraduate applicants are

admitted into the law faculties in Nigerian universities through the Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examination (Adi, 2012). Okoroma (2011) posits that it takes five years to
complete an undergraduate law degree in Nigerian universities and that upon completion; law
graduates are awarded a Bachelor of Law (LLB) certificate. According to Okoroma, the
undergraduate law curriculum requires law students to study twelve compulsory law core
courses and eleven optional law courses, which are essential to qualify as a law graduate. Adi
further explains that the requirement for admission into any university in Nigeria requires the
completion of secondary school education, possession of five credits in West African Senior

14
Secondary School Examination in Arts and Social Science subjects including: English,
Mathematics and Literature (Adi, 2012).

Most of the students admitted into law degree programmes usually possess qualifications that
are higher than the minimum. Many already possess first degrees in other disciplines before
applying for a first degree in law. The full details of the admission requirements for each
Faculty, as well as the available courses, are contained in a brochure published annually by
the Federal Government control body, the Unified Matriculation Examination/Direct
Entry/Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in Nigeria (UME/DE/JAMB, 2011/2012).
However, the following table shows the list of core law courses and optional law courses in
Nigerian universities:

TABLE 1.3: LIST OF LAW COURSES IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

Core law courses Optional law courses
Legal Methods Administrative Law
Nigerian Legal System Banking and Insurance Law
Contract Law Conflict of Laws
Constitutional Law Law of Conveyancing
Company Law Criminology
Commercial Law Family Law
Criminal Law Industrial or Labour Law
Law of Equity and Trusts Islamic Law
Law of Evidence Public International Law
Land Law Revenue/Taxation Law
Law of Torts Intellectual Property Law
Jurisprudence
Source: International bar Association (2014)
http://www.ibanet.org/PPID/Constituent/Student_Committee/qualify_lawyer_Nigeria.aspx

1.3.2 Brief history of legal education in Nigeria

The history of legal education in Nigeria can be traced back to 1860. Mitee (2008) explains
that legal education in Nigeria is a remnant of British colonization that was imposed on the
15
Nigerian traditional legal system in 1862 when Lagos was created as a British colony.
According to Ojomo (2012), the need to adjudicate legal disputes emanated from changes in
the socio-economic and political landscapes introduced by the system of government of the
colonial administrators. This led to the introduction of Consul Courts by the British
government, who appointed consuls to handle disputes between indigenes and foreign traders,
while the traditional courts continued to administer cases involving only indigenes. The
establishment of these courts demanded that lawyers draft agreements, advise the colonial
administrators on commercial transactions, and plead for litigants in the English court (Oke-
Samuel, 2008:139). Nigerians that possessed basic education and were experienced in court
procedures, like court clerks, were appointed by the chief justice as lawyers (Oba, 2007:14).
Some were given licenses to practice law, while others were appointed as local attorneys and
colonial solicitors to occupy judicial positions (Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules, 1948).
These attorneys were known as local-made solicitors, self–taught attorneys, or colonial
solicitors (Doherty, 1998:5).

By 1879, aspiring lawyers could learn the law by attending one of four Inns of Courts (Middle
Temple, Inner Temple, Lincoln’s Inn, and Gray Inn) in Great Britain. Upon returning home,
they either joined the local attorneys or enrolled as practicing lawyers at the Supreme Court.
These lawyers also had formal law qualifications as they were trained at the Court Inns to
either read for the Bar examinations and observe the compulsory twelve Diner terms required
for call to Bar, or to write the Law Society’s examination after serving an apprenticeship
under experienced solicitors (Mitee, 2008).

In 1945, the University of London instituted a formal law degree which all prospective
Nigerian lawyers had to gain to formally qualify as lawyers (Hibbitts, 2003). At this university,
prospective Nigerian lawyers’ training content was mainly based on an unwritten constitution
of the West, which created problems for the returning lawyers because they were to function
within a federal structure that was based on the written Nigerian constitution. Upon return, a
Nigerian lawyer could enrol as a barrister and solicitor because the Nigerian legal system
imbedded both in the practice of law. In order to address the issues in the overseas training
package of Nigerian lawyers, the government set up Unsworth committees that considered and
recommended the future of the legal profession in Nigeria. The various reports of these

16
committees stressed the need for the local university training of lawyers. The recommendations
of the said Unsworth Committee gave birth to the principal statutes needed to actualise the
training and practice of legal practitioners in Nigeria (Mitee, 2008). Thus the recommendations
of the Unsworth Committee culminated in the establishment of a law programme in Nigerian
universities. The recommendations included the following:
 Nigeria should establish its own system of legal education
 A Faculty of Law should be established, first at the University College, Ibadan, and
subsequently at any other university
 A law school, known as the Nigerian Law School, was to be established in Lagos to
provide vocational training for legal practitioners in the roles of barrister and solicitor
 A Law degree should be a requirement for the practice of Law in Nigeria
 The qualification for admission to legal practice in Nigeria should be a law degree
from any university whose course for the degree is recognised by the Council of Legal
Education, and the vocational course prescribed by this Council
 Any person graduating in law from a university, who has not accepted the syllabus
recommended by the Council of Legal Education, should be required to take further
examination as the Council may prescribe
 A Council of Legal Education should be established (Mamman, 2010:2)

The Unsworth Committee’s report gave birth to the establishment of five Law faculties in five
universities in Nigeria, namely the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Ife (changed
to Obafemi Awolowo University in 1987); University of Ibadan, Ibadan; Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria; and the University of Lagos (The Unsworth Committee’s Report 1959).
Today, an aspiring lawyer may choose to attend any of the NUC accredited universities either
in Nigeria or in a foreign university (Oba, 2007:14).

The Nigerian Council for Legal Education approved a preconditioned law curriculum to be
offered at the Nigerian law schools to law graduates. The universities produce law graduates
who proceed to the Nigerian Law School for a minimum of one year of professional training
(Akinseye-George, 2010:11). Law graduate refers to the law students that have just graduated
from university before entering the law schools in Nigeria. Onalaja (1959) cited in Bukar
(2013) explained that a uniform curriculum designed by the NUC and approved by the

17
Council of Legal Education is taught by all the Nigerian universities in order to maintain
minimum academic standards. The legal education law courses were traditionally based in
most law faculties in Nigerian universities (Bukar, 2013). The Council therefore insisted that
the law curriculum must compulsorily include both law courses and non-law subjects.
Gadzama (2013) explains that law students in Nigerian law faculties thus register for elective
courses outside their faculties to complete the package. The courses are to be found in the
Faculties of: Arts, Social Sciences, Management Sciences and Sciences. As it is expected that
by the time law students complete the five academic years at the faculty of law, they will be
equipped to handle the rigours of the Nigerian law school. The law courses include those
identified in Table 1.3 as well as, English Law, English Courts system, English Legal
Systems, Indigenous Law, Customary Law, and Private Law (Oba, 2007:14). On the other
hand, the compulsory non-law subjects to study from other related disciplines are: The Use of
English, the Use of Library, History and Philosophy of Science, Logic and Philosophic
Thought, Nigerian People and Culture, Introduction to Computer and Application, Social
Science and English Literature (Oduwole, 2012). These subjects must be passed before law
students can be admitted into the Nigerian law schools.

Attending Nigerian law school is a requirement specified in Nigerian law for all law graduates
who want to practice as professional lawyers. Admission into a Nigerian law school is also
open to law students who have passed the final bar examinations of the English, Scottish or
Irish Bar or the Solicitor's Final Examinations of England, Scotland or Ireland (Oba,
2007:14). The law students that graduated from foreign universities are admitted into a
Nigerian Law School for two years, unlike law graduates from Nigerian universities who
spend only one year at a law school. The foreign law student must first undergo the Bar Part I
course which teaches four core subjects on aspects of Nigerian law i.e. Constitutional Law,
Legal System, Criminal Law and Nigerian Land Law, before proceeding to the Bar final
courses. Therefore, procedural courses that would equip prospective legal practitioners to
enable them to practice as barristers and solicitors are taught: Civil Procedure, Criminal
Procedure, Law of Evidence, Company Law and Commercial Practice, Legal Drafting and
Conveyance, Legal Ethics; and Legal Office Management; Legal Practitioners Account; and
Legal Skills at the law schools. The Nigerian Law School aims to teach law graduates the
practical aspects of legal practice and procedure (i.e. court practice, criminal procedures, civil
procedures, and so on) (Oba, 2007:14).
18
Those who choose not to practice as lawyers are exempted from attending Nigerian law
schools. The exempted law graduates cannot practice as lawyers or appear in a court of law,
and can only be employed as administrative lawyers (Oba, 2007:14). In order to maintain
professional standards, the practice of law is typically overseen by either a government body
or an independent regulating body such as the Nigerian Bar Association, Bar Council, or Law
Society (Oba, 2007:14).
1.3.3 ICT infrastructure available in Nigerian Universities
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) consists of the hardware, software,
networks, and media for the collection, storage, processing, transmission and presentation of
information (voice, data, text, images), as well as related services (The World Bank, 2013).
Popoola (2002:45) defines ICT infrastructure as “human regulation, telecommunications,
information technology, government support and other information institutions”.
Alzaidiyeen and Almwdiah (2012) explain that among all changes that are taking place in
the world, the information and communication technology insurgency has had the biggest
influence in the 21st century, which has transformed the world into a global village, due to
ICT developments of the economic, industry, tourism, health, social development and
educational sectors (Alzaidiyeen and Almwdiah, 2012:34) worldwide.

In the Nigerian context, Nworgu (2007) posits that the ICT industry in Nigeria has made a
significant impact in the country, especially with the Federal Government’s Policy on ICT,
which enables the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and GSM operators to acquire licenses
to establish ICT business. Therefore, both public and private sectors began to invest heavily
in ICT business (Nwabueze and Ozioko, 2011). Nwabueze and Ozioko further explain that
within a short period of three years, Nigeria witnessed a remarkable expansion in ICT
resources and facilities. During this period many Nigerians obtained mobile phones and
computers to gain access to electronic information resources and GSM facilities.

The education sector, particularly the universities in Nigeria are increasingly witnessing the
rapid impact of ICT development, more so the university libraries, where users are able to
electronically access modern library e-facilities and databases from their remote locations
and within different libraries worldwide (Aina, 2004).

19
The incorporation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in contemporary
universities has been very recent in Nigeria. In 2003, the Nigerian government, just like the
governments of other countries, started investing heavily in ICT in the educational sector
(Idowu et al., 2003:69). To implement the use of information technology in education, the
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was established with a
mandate to introduce information technologies that can be used within and between Nigerian
universities (Speirs, 2010).

The Nigerian government has also invested in the provision of ICT infrastructure by way of
establishing electronic information centres in universities for the benefit of all members of the
academic community. Ogunsola (2004) identified the ICT infrastructure that is currently
available in university libraries as: computer systems, Internet facilities, electronic journals,
and electronic books. The telecommunications facilities have also been upgraded to include
access to email facilities, wireless networks, and video conferencing (Ogunsola, 2004:2).

1.4 Statement of the problem

As alluded to in section 1.2.9 a lawyer needs to be able to search, retrieve, use and
disseminate information on a regular basis. These are skills that are indispensable to the legal
professional if he/she wants to serve their clients and be successful in their profession.
Information is currently available in a much wider variety of formats than a few decades ago,
which implies that the legal professional should be skilled in searching and accessing
information from any of the available formats. The advent of ICTs changed the way in which
information is stored and accessed, adding to the need for skills to find information using the
electronic medium. Databases containing legal information, e-books on law related subjects,
e-newspapers and other documents required by the legal professionals to perform their duties
now abound on the Internet, and on off-line electronic sources such as CD-ROMs.

The skills required to search access and use the available information sources pertaining to the
legal profession is normally acquired at university level, or as students in secondary schools,
especially those from third world countries, who are not exposed to school libraries where
these skills can be obtained. In Nigerian universities, each law faculty is equipped with a
dedicated law library containing both print and electronic information sources aimed at
20
providing law students access to a wide variety of information sources that can be used to
support their studies and also to prepare them for their chosen profession. Additionally, law
students have access to a number of other information sources and services independent from
the law libraries. They can use these additional sources, not only to find applicable
information to assist with their academic work, but also to gain wider knowledge of the legal
field.

According to Tuhumwire and Okello-Obura (2010) law libraries in public university libraries
subscribe to various law databases which can be used by students for legal research and
writing. Databases include, but are not limited to, Lexis-Nexis, Westlaw, Legalpedia,
Compulaw and Ebscohost. These provide access to various law journals, law reports, and
other text resources. Doherty (1998:5) established that the availability of databases in law
libraries has made users’ (deans of law, law students, legal practitioners, etc.) academic and
research work easier and more interesting as it allows the users to effortlessly access material
for lecture preparation, additional reading and assignments. The ability to access and utilise
the print and ICT sources that are available in law libraries, and other information services
and sources, is crucial, because the information provided by them enables the student to pass
all examinations, write assignments, do research and learn where to find and source relevant
information.

There is currently a large volume of literature in the area of information behaviour, and the
literature generally investigates professionals and students from diverse disciplines in
Nigeria, the Western world and other regions and countries (e.g. Khan and Bhatti, 2012;
Daniel, 2012:35; Savolaine, 2007:109; Tackie and Adams, 2007:69; Case, 2006:293; Kerins
et al., 2004; Odusanya and Amusa, 2003:50; Wilson, 1997:551 and Folster, 1995:83).
However, very few of them have specifically investigated the information behaviour of law
students in all Nigerian university law libraries and none have given specific reference to ICT
utilisation as an information seeking strategy.

The few studies already done in a Nigerian context were referred to in section 1.2.2 where it
was indicated that Ogba (2013) studied the information seeking behaviour of final year law
students in seven university law faculties located in South Western Nigeria. Akanwa and
Aniche (2012) sought to establish the level of law library utilisation by law students, in order
21
to determine the level of organisation of the resources and services and the problems of
finding information faced by law students of Imo State University. Lawal et al., (2012)
examined the information literacy of aspiring barrister (law graduates) in Nigeria, while
Ossai (2011) investigated the information seeking patterns of male and female law students
at the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. Specifically, Ossai studied how law students
acquire their information, what resources they use, and the purpose for which information
was sought. However, these studies were limited in scope and context as they (Akanwa and
Aniche, 2012; and Ossai, 2011) only investigated one university each and Ogba (2013:308),
concentrated on seven universities in only one zone, i.e. the south-western part of Nigeria.

From the experience of this researcher as the head librarian in the Faculty of Law at the
Adekunle Ajasin University, it was observed that law students do not seem to fully utilise the
available ICT resources when searching for information in the law library. The researcher
attributed this to a possible lack of skills to source information using these resources. The
researcher also observed that it seemed as if the students had not been exposed to the core
information retrieval tools required for the law profession, and therefore the students could
not effectively find or retrieve the required information from the legal sources available in the
law library. The law students also, on a regular basis indicated to the researcher that in their
opinion, all the information they required could be found in their textbooks, or the
information sources they had available at home or in their hostel rooms. It was further
observed that the law library was used mainly as a reading place, or as a place to write
assignments. This led the researcher to ask whether the same behaviour prevailed in other
university law libraries in Nigeria.

Therefore, this study sought to bridge the gap by examining the information behaviour of law
students in Nigerian universities with specific reference to their utilisation of the available
ICT-based law resources within the law library environment.

1.5 Aim of the study

The aim of this study is to investigate the information behaviour of undergraduate law
students in Nigerian universities with a particular focus on ICT use to obtain information.

22
1.6 Research objectives
The main objective of this study is to investigate the information behaviour of law students in
Nigerian university law libraries.
 To determine the purposes for which law students retrieve information in Nigerian
university law libraries
 To investigate the library information resources available to law students in Nigerian
university law libraries
 To examine how law students utilise information sources in Nigerian university law
libraries, specifically ICT-based resources
 To determine the challenges faced by law students in the use of ICT in the process of
information retrieval in Nigerian university law libraries
 To suggest a theoretical model or adaptation that would suit the information behaviour
of law students in Nigerian universities.

1.7 Research questions

Based on the problem and objectives highlighted, the study seeks to answer the following
research questions:
 What is the information seeking behaviour of law students in Nigerian university law
libraries?
 What are the reasons for which Nigerian law students retrieve information in
university law libraries?

 What information resources are available to law students in Nigerian university law
libraries?
 What ICT sources are available for student use within the law libraries?
 How are Nigerian university law students utilising information resources, specifically,
ICT-based resources in the process of information retrieval?
 What skills do law students possess to utilise ICT sources, and how was it obtained?
 What are the challenges faced by law students utilising ICT-based resources in the
process of information retrieval?

23
1.8 Theoretical framework
In order to understand the processes that surround information behaviour, it is necessary to
look at a variety of theories that have been proposed by information seeking behaviour
authors, such as: Taylor, Wilson, Belkin, Dervin, Ellis, Cheuk, Kuhlthau, Davis et al., and
Niedźwiedzka, among other proponents. For instance, while Taylor identifies visceral,
conscious, compromised and formalised needs, Wilson proposes physiological, cognitive and
effective needs; Belkin identifies Anomalous States of Knowledge; Dervin proposes Sense
Making; Ellis mapped a behavioural framework, consisting of starting, chaining, browsing,
differentiating, monitoring, extracting, verifying, and ending; Kuhlthau developed an
information seeking process model; Cheuk likewise developed an Information Seeking and
Use Process model; Davis et al. introduced a technology acceptance model of perceives use
and perceived ease of use, while Niedźwiedzka created a new model of Information Seeking
Behaviour based on Wilson’s work. These different information seeking behaviour models
have contributed in no small measure to librarians’ understanding of library users’
information seeking behaviour. Niedźwiedzka’s model of information seeking behaviour,
Wilson’s model of human information behaviour and Davis et al.’s technology acceptance
model (TAM) were adopted for the foundation upon which this study is based. The variables
which this study borrowed from those three models are information behaviour, reason for
searching for or using information, resource availability, and utilisation. TAM applied
perceived use (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) to study the intention to use and actual
system use behaviour and is directly linked to behavioural intention based on perceived
usefulness and attitudes towards using the computer system (Davis, 1989). As attitudes
toward the system are dependent on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, three
external variables could have influence on PU and PEOU, which entailed the individual’s
perceived skills, situational constraints and the kind of ICT available (Charnkit, 2010:59).
Davis et al.’s model (TAM) contributes to knowledge of how users perceive new
technologies and the influence on their use of electronic resources. Morris and Dillon
(1997:58) explain that TAM is an effective and cost effective tool for predicting end user
acceptance of systems.

Scholars, researchers and students from various disciplines are using various ICT tools and
digital technologies to perform their daily activities and to support other peoples’ information

24
need. Scholars (Davis, 1989; Doll et al., 1998; Singh et al., 2006) have also studied the
dependability and rationality of TAM in numerous technologies and systems. The report from
these studies found that TAM was a reliable and valid model to predict and explain human
behaviour regarding acceptance of ICT and information systems (Charnkit, 2010:58). The
Technology Acceptance Model thus provides an effective and consistent rationale that
predicts how users accept and use the new technologies (Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 1989).
TAM is also used to measure technology acceptance (King and He, 2006:740) and it foresees
users’ acceptance based on their ability to perceive it as useful and easy to use for the
required purposes (Davis 1989:320).

The perceived usefulness according to Davis is the point when users believe that utilising a
particular system could improve their job performances (Davis, 1989:320). Several studies
have replicated Davis’s original study (Davis 1989) to provide realistic evidence on the
relations that exist between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and computer system
use (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000; Hendrickson et al., 1993; Segars and Grover 1993:517;
Subramanian 1994; Szajna 1994; Adams et al., 1992). Adams et al. (1992) replicated the
work of Davis (1989) to ascertain the validity and reliability of TAM instrument and
measurement scales. Adams also extended it to different settings using two different samples;
the result established the internal consistency and replication reliability of the two scales.
Venkatesh and Davis (2000) extended the original TAM model to explain perceived
usefulness and intention for use, in terms of social influence and cognitive instrumental
processes such as, job relevance, output quality, result demonstrability and perceived ease of
use. The extended model tagged “TAM2” was also tested in two different settings using both
voluntary and mandatory settings. The report from the Venkatesh and Davis extended model
also confirmed TAM2 (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000:186). Additionally, researchers are also
showing interest in using TAM to research the use of modern technologies like, mobile
phones, electronic libraries and Internet technology. These studies showed that TAM is
concerned with personal computer usage and application software usage such as, E-mail,
Word processing programs and Windows operation systems (Doll et al., 1998; Chau, 1996).
The validity of TAM’s questionnaire instrument were also tested, the study found high
reliability and good test-retest reliability that had predictive validity for intent to use, self-
reported usage and attitudes towards use (Hendrickson et al., 1993). These studies confirmed

25
the validity and reliability of Davis’ instrument to support its use with different populations
of users and different software choices (Szajna, 1994:319). Al-Hajri and Tatnall (2007:36)
investigated managers’ perceptions of Internet technology and their tendency to implement it
in banking industries. This study employed Davis et al.’s technology acceptance model to
investigate law students’ perceptions and use of the electronic sources in the selected twelve
university law libraries in Nigeria.

1.9 Scope and limitations of the study

This section discusses the scope and limitation of the study in terms of the universities from
which law students and key informants were selected.

1.9.1 Scope of the study

Due to the logistical problems of conducting research work in a vast country like Nigeria, the
study was limited to twelve purposely selected university law libraries, under the assumption
that the information behaviour of law students in all the 33 universities in Nigeria could be
generalised from the information gathered from the twelve selected university law libraries.
The thirteenth university was used in a pilot study. The criteria used to select these thirteen
universities were based on the fact that the universities are those offering law as a course of
study. In addition, all the universities offering law as a course of study which were supposed
to be part of the participating universities, particularly those in the north-east and west, were
ignored based on the fact that they are in an area currently ravaged and terrorized by the
Boko-Haram insurgency. Due to this, the researcher only limited the selection of participating
universities to areas where there are no terrorist activities. Table 1.4 below shows the
stratification of Nigerian Universities based on zones and the states in which they are located.

TABLE 1.4: LIST OF SAMPLED LAW UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

Name of sampled universities Zones States
Imo State University, Owerri South-East Imo State
University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus South-East Anambra State

26
 Ambrose Alli University South-South Edo State
University of Benin, Benin-City South-South Edo State
University of Calabar, Calabar South-South Cross River State
1. Nasarawa State University, Keffi North-Central Nasarawa State
2. Kogi State University, Anyigba North-Central Kogi State
3. University of Ilorin, Ilorin North-Central Kwara State

1. Ekiti State University Ado, Ekiti South-West Ekiti State

2. Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife South West Osun State
3. Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye South-West Ogun State
4. University of Ibadan, Ibadan South-West Oyo State

1. Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba South-West Ondo State

1.9.2 Limitations of the study

The limitation of this study is that samples were drawn from only the public universities that
offer the discipline of law in Nigeria and may not represent the whole population of law
students in Nigerian universities. This is because the private universities that offer law as a
discipline in Nigeria were not included in this study, because of their low accreditation status.
Out of the ten private universities that are offering law education in Nigeria, only four have
provisional accreditation approval, while six were yet to be accredited by the Nigerian
Council for Legal Education to operate the discipline of law. This is against the backdrop of
the public universities that have full accreditation, provisional accreditation or pending
approval to operate law education within the accredited universities. The second limitation is
that law courses offered in some of the private universities were also yet to meet the standard
requirements of the National Universities Commission (NUC) for accreditation of the
curriculums. The third limitation is that private universities are not on the same level as the
government established universities in terms of administrative structures, proper funding and
adequate infrastructures, (equipment facilities, resources, staff, deans of law, training, staff
qualification, etc.). The following Table 1.5 shows the list and location of all the private
universities that offer the discipline of law in Nigeria.

27
Table 1.5: Approved private university law faculties and location in Nigeria
Private Universities States
Afe Babalola University Ado, Ekiti State
Babcock University Inishan, Ogun State
Baze University Abuja, Federal Capital
Benson Idahosa University Oka, Benin City Edo State
Igbinedion University Okada, Edo State
Bowen University Iwo, Oyo State
Crescent University Abeokuta, Ogun State

Source: My School Gist (2014) http://www.myschoolgist.com/ng/approved-faculties-of-law/

Based on the above identified reasons, the researcher opted to investigate only twelve out of
the public universities that have approval to offer law programs in Nigeria. Additionally, the
researcher did not sample the first year (100L) law students in the twelve universities
surveyed due to the curriculum structures of the law programs, which do not offer law
subjects (except Legal Method) to first year law students. Most first year students take
courses from various faculties in universities until their second year when they can focus only
on the courses in their chosen discipline. Other public university law faculties were equally
not sampled for this study because of their geographical location in Nigeria. For example,
some of the universities that were located in the far northern part of Nigeria were not
included; due to the current problems experienced in that region (religious fanatics have
turned the region into a war zone). Also, some areas in the eastern and western parts of
Nigeria were not included because their participation would require more travel and time,
which would be too costly for the researcher. These reasons led the researcher to sample
universities in areas that could be conveniently reached within the stipulated budget and time
frame of the study.

1.10 Significance of the study

According to Ikoja-Odongo (2000:22), the importance of a study can be measured by the
contributions that it makes to the people under investigation and the society as a whole.
Knowledge of how ICT is used for information seeking can contribute to the educational

28
standard of lawyers in training, enhance their job performance in courts, and improve their
role as lawyers in future practice. The study identified the level of ICT utilise and the
challenges that law students faced, proposed strategies to improve awareness and the use of
electronic information resources in university law libraries in Nigeria. The significance of
this study to law students, law faculty members, university library managers, and the
government is discussed below.

It is anticipated that this study will be useful in understanding why undergraduate law
students of the surveyed universities have not been accessing electronic information sources
in the law libraries and highlight the need to inspire the students to utilise the sources in the
law libraries. It is envisaged that the study will also encourage the provision of effective ICT
resources in law libraries, which could contribute to the increased usage of e-resources and
legal databases among undergraduate law students. The early introduction of students to these
valuable information sources can greatly contribute towards their success as legal
practitioners.

By highlighting the existing ICT search skills of law students it is hoped that law librarians
will take note of possible weaknesses in their user guidance programmes, which could lead to
more focussed information literacy interventions that could improve the ability of the
students to seek and retrieve information relevant to their academic needs in the law libraries.

The Law Faculties should also benefit, as the results could give an indication about the
information sources students harness to find the information required to do their assignments,
prepare for class and do their research projects. With this knowledge available lecturers can
structure their topics such that the students will be able to access relevant and current
information making use of a variety of information resources, and the law libraries could also
adapt their information services to suit the identified information behaviour of the students.

It is hoped that the results of this study will assist the main university libraries, as the
umbrella organisations under which the law libraries function, to take note of the specific
information resources required by the law libraries to provide for the information needs of
their clientele. It might also lead to increased funding allocations from the University
Management to allow the law libraries to fulfil their mandate.
29
1.11 Ethical cconsiderations
In research, ethics are a set of moral principles or values that guide the conduct of research.
These include protecting participants from harm, obtaining informed consent, observing
privacy and confidentiality of research participants/data, being honest and accurate with the
data, and unbiased reporting and disseminating of research results (Lwoga et al., 2010:23).
According to Leady (1997:116) research should not be conducted under circumstances that
prevent the total disclosure of the purposes of the research to the participants. Issues of ethics
arise primarily when specifying the research problem, formulating the research questions, and
collecting, analysing and writing up the results of data (Creswell, 2003:62).

This study respected the confidentiality of individuals, the university community and the
sampled law students. A written letter was delivered to the Vice Chancellors, University
Librarians and the Deans of the law faculties of the various universities, asking permission to
approach their undergraduate law students for the study. Every source used in this study was
acknowledged and referenced. The assurance of confidentiality towards respondents (law
students, law librarians and law teachers) was done; researcher ensured that the purpose of the
study was fully explained to the respondents. The respondents gave their consent to be
photographed when; they were informed about the camera intended to be used in recording
their facial images in the offices of the key informants; in lecture halls when questionnaires
were being administered to the law students and; during the ICT information retrieval test
carried out on law students in cybercafés outside the universities.

1.12 Dissemination of research findings

The researcher intends to disseminate the findings of this study through local and international
journal articles, conferences, seminars, and copies of the thesis. The findings will also be
disseminated via group discussions in association with law librarians and staff from the law
faculties.

1.13 Definition of key terms

This section provides the definitions of key terms that were used in this study.

30
1.13.1 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
This refers to electronic tools that library users can use to easily and quickly access, gather
and store information. The focus in ICT is primarily on the use of electronic processes,
especially computers, for gathering, storing, and retrieving useful information.

1.13.2 Information needs

This refers to law students’ legal information requirements to write research assignments or
pass their legal examinations. It also refers to legal professionals' desire to locate and obtain
library information and/or electronic information to satisfy and resolve their legal research
and writing problems.

1.13.3 Information seeking

Information seeking refers to the way in which law students search for information within law
materials such as, books, journals and e-resources.

1.13.4 Information seeking behaviour

This refers to the attitudes exhibited by undergraduate law students and the efforts that they
make to access legal information resources within the law library environment in Nigerian
Universities. It is the sum of activities that law students engage in when identifying their legal
information needs, searching for information, and retrieving the information.

1.13.5 Information utilisation

This is when the legal information that is received by the law students is applied in their
academic activities and the extent to which the acquired information is used to meet their
legal information needs. It also refers to the physical and mental acts involved in
incorporating the legal information into the student’s existing knowledge.

1.13.6 Lawyer
The professional name of someone who advises people about laws, writes formal agreements,
or represents people in a court of law.

31
1.13.7 Law librarian
A qualified member of staff who is in charge of the law library, with two degrees in two
different professions, i.e. a law degree combined with a degree in librarianship.

1.13.8 Law library

A library consisting of legal material attached to the Law faculty under the management of
the main university library, primarily for the use of law students, law teachers, and
researchers. It houses processed, well-organised material that covers all subject areas of the
law, as well as virtual or digital libraries that provide access to law databases and electronic
information resources.

1.13.9 Law students

This refers to the undergraduate students in 100L-500L i.e. first to fifth year students studying
law as a profession in Nigerian universities.

1.13.10 Legal education

This refers to the teaching and instruction of law courses and subjects at universities in
Nigeria.

1.13.11 Legal information

Legal information refers to the legal material sourced by law students in Nigerian
Universities in the course of their academic training. The knowledge acquired through legal
information material or sources is essentially what transforms law students into practising
lawyers.

1.13.12 Level of study

This indicates the year of study in the level (100L-500L) of education at the university or
other tertiary education institutions in Nigeria. This level of study is the same as year of study
e.g., student in 200L is the same as students in year two of their study.

1.13.13 Library
The university building that housed all the university’s print information materials on a
variety of subjects and electronic information resources. The resources are arranged on
32
shelves in well-organised way to enable students and other readers to access them, with little
or no expense on their part. The primary objective of the library, as used in this study, is to
strategically plan, acquire, organise, process and disseminate its holdings for easy access to its
users.

1.13.14 Organisation of the thesis

The thesis is organised into eight chapters.
Chapter 1: Introduction and research background
Chapter one lays the foundation for other chapters by providing the research background and
an overview of the conceptual and contextual settings of the study, statement of the research
problem, motivation of the study, and aim of the study. It also presents the research
objectives, research questions, scope and limitations of the study, significance of the study,
and ethical considerations of the study.
Chapter 2: Nigerian legal knowledge and information sources, systems and services
Chapter two provides an overview of legal knowledge and information sources, systems and
services available to law students in Nigerian university law libraries.
Chapter 3: Information seeking behaviour of legal professionals and law students
Chapter three reviews related literature by other scholars under the following sub-headings:
concept of legal information in Nigeria; the relevance of library information to law students,
information sources and services in the legal discipline; ICT and services in the legal
profession; information needs of law students in Nigerian universities; information seeking
strategy of law students in Nigerian universities; ICT utilisation skills of law students in
Nigerian universities; law students’ utilisation of digital libraries; and the challenges of digital
libraries in legal research and writing .
Chapter 4: Theoretical framework
Chapter four reviews the theoretical models of information seeking behaviour. It also
specifies the theoretical framework of the study; the models of human information behaviour
on which the study is based.
Chapter 5: Research design and methodology
Chapter five presents the research design and methodology of the study. The chapter provides
a detailed explanation of the study design, the philosophical research perspectives of the
study, research methods, area of study, research population, target population, sample and

33
sampling technique, research instruments, validity and reliability of the research instruments,
pilot survey, and the procedure used for data collection.
Chapter 6: Data presentation and analysis
Chapter six presents the data analysis of the study. This examines responses collated from the
respondents during the field survey in order to interpret the information seeking behaviour
and ICT utilisation skills of law students in Nigerian university law libraries.
Chapter 7: Discussion of findings
Chapter seven discusses the findings of research from all the instruments employed, providing
an overview of the information seeking behaviour and the ICT utilisation skills of law
students in Nigerian university law libraries.
Chapter 8: Summary, conclusions and recommendations
Chapter eight provides the summary and conclusion, with a theoretical model adapted for the
information seeking process and use that addresses the information seeking behaviour of law
students in Nigerian universities with reference to ICT usage. The chapter also presents
recommendations for further research on the information seeking behaviour of the students.

1.14 Summary
This chapter introduced the conceptual and contextual setting of the study. Concepts related
to the legal profession and information behaviour have been discussed. The Nigerian law
education environment was contextualised, and the history of legal education in Nigeria, and
the ICT infrastructure available in Nigerian university libraries were discussed. The research
problem, aim of the study, research objectives, research questions of the study, the scope and
limitations of the study, the significance of the study and the theoretical framework upon
which the study was built were also provided. The chapter also presented the research ethical
considerations; dissemination of the research findings and definition of the key terms. The
next chapter provides a detailed discussion on the available law-related information sources,
systems and services available to both law students and legal professionals in Nigeria.

34
 CHAPTER TWO
NIGERIAN LEGAL KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION SOURCES, SYSTEMS
AND SERVICES
2.1 Introduction
Law students need to actively use library information services and all other available
information services in order to meet their information requirements and achieve their
educational goals. Although, Igbeka (1995:99) states that library systems and information
centres are the best agents to provide legal information sources and services, other
information service opportunities can also be used to provide information. In order to
achieve educational success, all information service providers must be optimised. According
to Watt and John (2009:2), law students need to be well groomed in research skills because
of their future role as lawyers, and in the words of King George III: “A lawyer is not the one
that knows the law, but the one who knows where to find law” (Watt and John, 2009:2).

This study sought to investigate the information behaviour and ICT utilisation of law students
in Nigerian universities. This involved identifying the patterns of information seeking, how
the information is used, and how the available information sources such as computers, the
Internet, databases, and other tools are used to find information. Lawal et al., (2012) and
Ossai (2011) explain that in order for law students to adopt and use new technologies such
as ICT, they must be conversant with the use of these technologies. This chapter provides
background information on legal knowledge information sources, systems and services that
can be found in Nigerian universities and in the country.

2.2 Information sources in the legal discipline

Information sources include formal and informal resources, human resources, and print and
electronic resources that can be accessed by users to meet their information requirements
(Wachira and Onyancha, 2012; Declan, 2011; Kaye, 1995:16). Legal information sources
can either be primary or secondary sources. Primary sources are the sources from which
legal principles originate, while secondary sources are descriptions of/or commentaries on
the law, often explaining the meaning of and providing references to primary sources of law
(Dina et al., 2013 and Lawal et al., 2012). Thurgood Marshall Law Library Guide to Legal
Research (2014) explain that the primary legal sources are of two categories: legislation

35
(statutes and regulations), and case law (the decisions of courts and administrative tribunals).
Primary legal resources are the products of official bodies (legislature) that have the
authority to make and amend laws, which can affect the legal rights of citizens e.g. statutes,
acts, rules and regulations, law reports, judgements, court orders, administrative tribunal
reports, and so on (Thurgood Marshall Law Library Guide to Legal Research, 2014).

In Nigeria, government agencies (government printers) are mainly responsible for

publishing law reports. Law reports are also published by individuals on a commercial basis.
However, some law reports by individuals are not regularly published due to the high cost of
producing the law reports. There are also other primary court publications that address legal
matters, such as court rulings and judgement law reports, reports of commissions of
enquiries, legal research and writing reports, and published court cases, among others.

Secondary legal sources can be an excellent starting point for legal study because they
provide a broad overview of the law (Dina et al., 2013). Secondary legal information sources
are background resources that have no power to affect the legal rights of citizens, and are
cited for their informative value. Secondary sources include law textbooks, law journals,
encyclopaedias, dictionaries and electronic sources, many of which are written by Nigerian
academia, the bench, and members of the Bar (Dina et al., 2013).

The list of primary and secondary law reports that have been published over the years is
exhaustive, as attested to by Dina et al., (2010). Researchers such as Lawal et al., (2012) and
Ossai (2011:1) have established that in addition to legal information sources that are
indigenous to Nigeria, Nigerian law libraries also store a wide range of globally available
legal information sources like: Administrative Regulations, Aviation Legislation, Civil
Procedure Law Library Court, Commercial Law Reports, Constitutional Law Reports, Court
Precedents, Current Law Annotations, Dictionary of Legal Words and Phrases, England Law
Reports and Estate Planning.

2.3 Legal information services available in Nigerian academic law libraries

A law library is a facility that has been specially created for law users to search, access, and
use the legal information sources that have being acquired, processed, and organised. This

36
library, as explained by Ajidahun (2010), provides legal professionals (legal practitioners,
scholars, researchers, law teachers and law students) with quality information sources and
services, such as relevant law books, journals and periodicals. The law library is responsible
for the operational and strategic management of its user services, promoting law library
services, and implementing the library’s mission. Runyon (2009) explains that law libraries
are a dynamic and responsive force in the educational activities of universities and their
associated law schools. According to Iwhiwhu and Okorodudu (2012) the library is expected
to be proactive, vibrant and be abreast of the latest developments in information
dissemination to maintain relevance and keep up with the multifarious needs and
expectations of law library users. It is therefore important for the law library to be able to
provide services and facilities that meet the information needs of its users.

Academic law libraries are established as a unit of university libraries and based within, or
in a separate building near, the law faculty in universities that offer a law degree
programmes (Tice, 2011: 159; American Association Law Library, 2006:2). As an
appendage of the law faculty, the academic law library plays a very important role in support
of the teaching, learning and research activities of its users within and outside university
campuses (American Association Law Library, 2006:2). University law libraries are meant
to be used by faculty members, law students, students from other faculties in the university,
and members of the public that need to use the law collection. However, non-law students
and others are not permitted to use the law libraries as a place for general study (Indiana
University Maurer School of law, 2013).

The Council for Legal Education (CLE) in Nigeria mandated that academic law libraries
should be well stocked with both print and electronic information resources to meet NUC
and CLE requirements (NUC, 2011).

Lawal et al., (2012:27) explain that the Council of Legal Education (CLE) and the Nigerian
Universities Commission (NUC) have created standards in terms of the quantity and quality
of legal materials, facilities, and human and electronic resources that can be found in
academic law libraries. The required standards include: backlog and current law materials;
spacious reading areas; and a separate electronic or digital library. Academic law libraries

37
are therefore designed according to the National University Commission’s guidelines for
establishing libraries in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria (Sections 19a and 19b). At
its core, the aim of the university law library is to provide law students with legal
information required to complete their studies and impart to them the necessary skills to
conduct library information searches. The law library thus nurtures quality legal education
through the provision of legal material that covers the university law curriculum (Ekiti State
University, 2013).

A wide variety of both primary and secondary sources are available within academic law
libraries. Sources include professional law digests, indexes, abstracts, monographs, legal
databases, correspondence, newsletter/bulletins, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC),
card catalogue, law reports, law reference materials, statutes, acts, decrees, research articles,
theses, research reports, government publications, bibliographies, law dictionaries,
encyclopaedias, pamphlets and past examination papers that are kept in the reserve sections
of the libraries. These information sources can be available in both print and electronic
format. This allows for access to the sources both by way of a physical visit to the library, or
via remote access. However, remote access to the e-resources is currently mainly available
on campus. Dina et al., (2013) identified some of the legal publications (print and electronic
formats) that can be commonly found in academic law libraries to include: Nigerian law
reports 1947-current, Nigerian Supreme Court of Judgements, Court of Appeal law reports,
Nigerian Weekly law reports, Nigerian Constitutional law reports and Nigerian criminal law
reports.

Some of the services rendered within the academic law library include the identification of
potentially useful information sources, the organisation and maintenance of the collection of
law subject materials to facilitate legal research and writing, and the dissemination of
information to legal professionals, law students and other users. Reference services are
provided to law students, academic staff, scholars, and researchers that require legal
information. Law libraries also provide other relevant information services that enable users
to easily access processed and organised legal information. These services include the
Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), users’ services, bibliographic services, current
awareness services, document delivery, interlibrary loans, audio visual services, customer

38
relations services, reserved areas, computer and (wireless) Internet facilities, e-mail
facilities, telephone services, scanning and facsimile services, photocopying services, and
bindery services (Oluwasemilore, 2013; Law Library: University of Lagos, 2013). Facilities
provided to enable readers to work in comfortable conditions in law libraries include library
equipment such as reading tables and chairs, library space, fans, air conditioners, lighting,
ventilation, and study carrels (Law Library: University of Lagos, 2013).

In order to facilitate the optimal utilisation of library services and information sources and to
teach and enable students to find and retrieve information sources themselves, user
education is provided in most universities (Law library: University of Lagos, 2013). A
service that is less common in academic law libraries is the practice of resource sharing, also
known as inter-library lending. Ejedafiru (2010) and Ali et al., (2010) lament the lack of
resource sharing, even though its importance is acknowledged by the majority of law
librarians. The most common form of inter-lending that is currently available takes the form
of photocopying the required sources, and presenting the copies to the user. Although ICT
are becoming more available within libraries, no plans currently exist to use them for the
purposes of resource sharing (Ejedafiru, 2010).

The introduction of ICT into the service environment heralded new innovative web-based
services such as online information requests or reference services. Library and information
services thus provide law students with a set of technology and library resources to serve the
mission of the academic staff and students in general (Krubu and Osawaru, 2011).

Most law libraries provide computer workstations for law students to access the library
catalogue and other legal sources available in the electronic library. However, Internet
availability is not common in libraries due to factors such as the lack of a stable electricity
supply to power the ICT and poor telecommunications facilities (Ololube et al., 2009). Some
law libraries are not connected to the Internet due to inadequate funding to subscribe to the
Internet. If the law library is connected to the Internet, access to the databases can be either
free of charge (meaning fees have already been embedded into the students’ school fees), or
the students have to purchase airtime to gain access to the Internet.

39
A law database is a collection of legal files, law reports, court case and court judgements
kept together within a computer system that can be accessed online by way of ICT-based
electronic devices. According to Thanuskodi (2009), ICT-based resources that are currently
available in the legal discipline include CD-ROM databases, online local and international
databases, as well as audio visual and multimedia collections. Additional ICT-based
resources may include the Internet, micro films, microfiche, electronic books (e-books), and
e-journals. Subscription to legal databases depends on the availability of funding and ICT
infrastructure. According to Akpoghome and Idiegbeyan-Ose (2010:109), “A law database
contains all the laws, cases, indexes, and materials that legal practitioners and law students
can access at a very high speed without any stress.”

The databases that are utilised in Nigerian academic law libraries are mostly the same as
those found in the universal law libraries. In addition to these databases, most academic law
libraries subscribe to one or more general law databases. Ossai (2011) identified legal
research and writing databases to include: Westlaw; Lexis-Nexis; Legalpedia; Compulaw,
Law Pavilion, Hein Online and Ebscohost.

2.3.1 Westlaw database

Westlaw is a key online legal proprietary database service provider to lawyers and legal
professionals. This database contains more than 40,000 databases (Wheeler, 2011:361) that
feature full-text, case-law sources, state and federal statutes, legislation, administrative
codes, newspaper and magazine articles, law journals, law reviews, treatises, legal forms and
other information resources from the United Kingdom (UK), (McKnight, 1997:189)

2.3.2 Lexis-Nexis
LexisNexis contains full-text content of legal and public records from the American and
Canadian law reviews as well as other jurisdictions, especially the UK. It presents judgments
made in USA and UK courts, and in some other jurisdictions (LexisNexis Academic,
(2003). It is an online academic research database that law faculties and law students use to
find legal information (LexisNexis Legal and Professional, 2003). LexisNexis law database
sources include:
 Shepard’s Citations for all U.S. Supreme Court cases back to 1789

40
  Law review articles from over 500 publications
 Legal news from more than 300 legal newspapers, magazines, and newsletters
 U.S. Supreme Court decisions from January 1790 to present, searchable by majority
opinion, minority opinion, concurring opinion, counsel, or headnotes
 U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decisions
 U.S. District Court decisions from 1789 to present
 Decisions from Bankruptcy Courts; U.S. Court of International Trade; Tax Courts;
Courts of Customs and Patent Appeals, and Veterans, Commerce, and Military
Courts
 State court decisions at all court levels for all 50 states and territories
 All Federal laws from 1988 to the present
 Federal regulations: Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Attorney
General Opinions, and Federal Acquisition Regulations and Supplements
 Codes for all 50 states and territories, plus constitutions, court rules, and Attorneys
General opinions etc. It also provides access to biographic information (LexisNexis
Academic, 2003).

2.3.3 Compulaw Database

Aderant Compulaw Holdings (2013) explain that Compulaw is a legal database that offers
the most complete, comprehensive, and detailed legal rules. Compulaw offers legal authority
for federal, state and supreme courts, appellate court, federal high court, and other courts.
Information is also provided on topics such as appellate, arbitration, bankruptcy, eminent
domain, family law, federal capital city, federal and international intellectual property,
judges’ rules, local rules, probate, tax code, and workers’ compensation (Aderant Compulaw
Holding, 2013).

2.3.4 Legalpedia database

Legalpedia is the most comprehensive digital repository of Nigerian legal resources with
super-fast search engine that grant one access to about 4000 Supreme Court cases. More so,
it is the most comprehensive legal electronic library software solution in Nigeria, with a
super-fast search engine that significantly reduces the time and cost of conducting legal
research and writing. With its extremely easy-to-use software, it provides quick access to a
41
collection of supreme court cases, court of appeal cases (1960 to date), laws, rules of courts,
articles, dictionaries, and Latin maxims (Super shareware, 2013). Legalpedia is a device that
eliminates inefficiencies by providing quick access to legal information, and stresses that
legal professionals provide efficient legal services when they use the Legalpedia database to
find legal information (Legalpedia, 2010).

Law students are also provided with access to a number of databases that are not directly
related to their field of study, but which might be useful in gaining information on diverse
topics to prepare for cases, databases such as Academic Search; African Journals Online;
AGRICOLA (Agricultural Online Access; Analytical Abstracts); Anthropological Index
Online; AULIMP (Air University Library’s Index to Military Periodicals); and BASE
(Bielefeld Academic Search Engine). These databases might not always be available within
the academic law library, but can be accessed from the main university library’s databases.

2.4. University Libraries

University library collections normally consist of books, reference materials, archives,
journals, electronic sources and resources, and a host of other collections. The collections of
these libraries are normally determined by the different types of courses, disciplines and
professional programmes offered by the university. In addition to academic law libraries,
law students can also seek information from the university’s main libraries, especially when
the electronic resources are inadequate or unavailable in law libraries. All databases
subscribed to by the university libraries are available free of charge to students, including
law students. There are also useful Nigerian university library websites that students can use
to access both local and international legal information sources. For instance, the NUC
Virtual Library is an open access educational website created for Nigerian higher institutions
of learning which can be accessed through assigned usernames or university passwords.

2.5 National Universities commission virtual library

The National Universities Commission (NUC) established a virtual library for the benefit of
academic institutions (universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, mono-technics,
and other institutions of higher learning) in Nigeria. This e-library provides access to
information sources such as Hein Online, EBay, Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis. A new user

42
requires a valid username and password, which can be obtained from the university
librarian. Passwords are also supplied to staff and postgraduate students. Most virtual library
resources are Internet Protocol (IP) based resources, which can be accessed once users are
within the university’s IP range, thus restricting access to within the library or on campus.

The NUC established the virtual library with the goal of ensuring that academics and
students in every field of knowledge in Nigeria have access to the most current publications
in their fields to facilitate teaching, learning and research. The NUC recommended the
provision of personal computers to all academic staff members as well as students to
facilitate access to the virtual library from offices and libraries. Most universities in Nigeria
have achieved the recommended distribution of computers to faculty academic staff. In
contrast, while a distribution ratio of one computer to every four students has been
recommended, this has not yet been achieved. Despite some challenges, university libraries
in Nigeria are taking enormous strides to build campus-wide-area networking and e-learning
course delivery systems (Agyeman, 2007:7).

2.6 Internet
Internet is the world's largest computer network that connects computer terminals through
wires or telephone lines in a web of network sharing software. With the appropriate tools,
individuals can access huge quantities of information, searching subjects and databases on
the numerous computers that are connected to the Internet, or one can also communicate
with another person anywhere in the world, so far as the person has the right tools (Slice and
Dice Data, 2007).

Generally speaking, different tools/devices (computer/laptop, modem or mobile phone) may

be used to access information from the Internet. These devices vary according to the users,
the purposes and the places where information is sought. In libraries, the computer is
commonly the device used to connect to the Internet, while modems and mobile phones are
commonly used by individual users in their homes and other places outside the libraries.
However, in the Nigerian university library context, computer systems are used to connect to
the Internet, in which case, students are allowed to come into the libraries and use the
computer provided for the purpose of searching the Internet for information. Some libraries

43
also provide laptops for students’ use within the libraries. Depending on the policy of the
particular library, students may borrow the laptops for use in the library for limited time
periods to enable other users to use the same laptops. Additionally, students or other users
are allowed to come into the libraries with their laptops to use wireless connections or
Internet connection ports that are strategically located in libraries.

Internet access is available on all campuses, mostly through wireless connections. The
Internet provides a myriad of information sources that might be of use to a law student,
although some, such as African Studies, First Search Unified Catalogue of Member
Libraries’ Catalogues (OCLC), JSTOR, and SABINET Online for Government Gazettes and
Bills (MTN Foundation Universities Connect Library Users’ Manual, 2013) are subscription
based. The Law Library (www.nigeria-law.org/LawLibrary.htm) which has digital material
on all aspects of Nigerian law, and the Doing Business website
(http://www.doingbusiness.org/law-library) has the largest free online collection of business
law and regulations in the world that covers Nigeria among other countries.

There are free online legal databases, examples of such online databases include: Nigeria
Law Reports; Monthly Judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria; Western Nigeria Law
Reports; Directory of Open Access Journals; and Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN).
The websites maintained by organisations outside Nigeria also host large numbers of
Nigerian legal information sources, such as the Library of Congress website (Library of
Congress, 2010).

2.7 Other available information systems and services

In addition to academic law and university libraries, Nigeria has a large variety of
information systems and services that are at the disposal of any potential information seeker.
Law students can use their personal information resources; visit business centres,
cybercafés, or professional law libraries; interact with their friends and colleagues; and use
mass media channels such as daily newspapers, the radio or television.

44
2.7.1 Personal information sources
Personal information sources refer to the law students’ use of their own material or resources
to search for information. These sources include personal computers or laptops, law
textbooks, and mobile phones. Law students are likely to use their own information sources
if access to law library information sources is denied. This is especially the case with
electronic information resources.

2.7.2 Court libraries

Court libraries are attached to law courts in Nigeria and exist to meet legal professionals and
judges’ information requirements. Librarians and other library staff members of court
libraries actively work to facilitate quick and easy access to relevant legal information, not
only to the judges in the administration of court cases, but also to lawyers appearing before
the court, law graduate students during court attachment training, and other users of the
libraries. Law libraries are attached to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Court of Appeal,
Federal High Court, State High Courts, and Magistrate Courts (Jegede, 1985:229). The High
Court in different states in Nigeria also holds collections of several volumes of legal
material. For instance, the High Court of Lagos State holds a collection of 600,000 volumes
(Encyclopaedia of the Nation, 2013). Jegede identified the following law libraries in
Nigeria:
• Federal Court libraries (Supreme Court library, Appeal Court library, and Federal
High Court library)
• State High Court library
• Law School library
• Practitioners library
• Federal law library
• State Department law library
• Libraries of Legislatures
The specialist law libraries are the oldest type of law library in Nigeria, serving commercial
firms, courts of justice, and government departments; legal practitioner’s libraries, which
target practicing barristers and solicitors; the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
Library; and the Nigerian Council of Legal Education Library (Ifebuzor, 1994:39).

45
2.7.3 Private law libraries
Every practicing lawyer has a law library at their disposal, as law firms also keep valuable
legal information resources in their private law firms for their legal practice and for the use
of junior lawyers in their employ. These kinds of libraries are also classified as law libraries
(Jegede, 1985:233). They are normally available to students attending law school and to
candidate lawyers doing their practical year at law firms (Lawal et al., 2012). The author
observed that there are prominent lawyers, whose law libraries are comparable to
government law libraries, including those of ‘Gani Fawehinmi Law Firm’, ‘Rotimi William
Law Chambers’, and ‘Sasegbon Law Firm’, among others. Although, the law chambers
belong to private legal practitioners, the chambers have good law libraries comparable to
government or university law libraries in Nigeria, having qualified librarians employed to
manage the print information sources and the electronic resources within the libraries. This
researcher is aware that the Gani Fawehinmi Law Firm provides access to legal information
to all users at no cost.

2.7.4 National and Governmental libraries in Nigeria

The National Library of Nigeria has more than one million information sources, including
about 35,000 United Nations documents, as well as the National Information and
Documentation Centre (Encyclopaedia of the Nations, 2013), making it the largest
depository of knowledge in the country. The information sources available in this collection
are mainly used by government officials to assist them with policy making. Federal and state
government departments have libraries in their respective capitals. National libraries are also
found in all state government headquarters. Most government departments also display
information sources on their websites. The International Centre for Nigerian Law also has
access to some Nigerian legislation and case law (Dina et al., (2013).

2.7.5 Bookstores
Bookstores are available in most of the universities that offer law. Many of these bookstores
sell academic and law textbooks, while some also sell journals from various disciplines.
Additionally, there abound online bookstores where law students can purchase books or
journals, such as Walahi.com (www.walahi.com); Kalahari.com (www.kalahari.com.ng);
Laterna (www.laternabooks.com); and Debonair (Naira land Forum, 2013).

46
2.7.6 Nigerian Newspapers
Newspapers in both print and electronic format are freely available in universities and law
libraries. According to the Europe World Yearbook (2012), Nigeria has 25 daily
newspapers, 8 Sunday newspapers, and 9 weeklies covering a wide range of topics. Most of
these newspapers also have electronic versions which are available on a website e.g.
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com. Some of these newspapers are printed in English and a
smaller number are available in local vernacular. Some Nigerian newspapers publish current
legal information on a regular basis. For instance, The Guardian, The Daily Times, This Day
(Tuesdays), and Vanguard serve as a rich source of legal information in Nigeria. They have
a comprehensive section devoted to law reports and other legal matters, such as unreported
cases, rulings or court judgments.

2.7.7 Journals
A law journal is a scholarly periodical that focuses on legal issues and is generally published
by an organisation of scholars and law students in law faculties, law schools or bar
associations. The purpose of the law journal is to publish scholars’ work in the field of law.
Law journals publish extensive, comprehensive articles, written by law professors, judges,
or legal practitioners, as well as shorter pieces, commonly referred to as notes and
comments, written by student members of the law journal. Law journal articles are often
reports of law specialists or experts on current legal problems and possible solutions to the
problems. Law journals are frequently cited as a convincing authority in court (Mosk,
1998:62).

In Nigeria, law faculty members generally cover all facets of the law in their journal
publications, and name the journal after the particular university’s law faculty (e.g.
Adekunle Ajasin University, Faculty of Law Journal, 2011). Some law faculties publish
special journals on specific subject areas of the law in addition to, or in the place of a
general law journal, for example: The Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Journal;
International Law Journal; Environmental Law Journal; and Human Rights Law Journal.
There are also a number of journals focusing on court cases, research work, statutory,
regulatory and public policy issues, such as the Journal of Legislation and Public Policy.
Other than the law faculties’ respective law journals, the following law journals are
commonly found on academic law library shelves: Journal of the Nigerian Association of
47
Law Teachers, Journal of the Nigerian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, and Journal of
Private and Property Law.

With the emergence of electronic information, many law journal publishers worldwide are
now publishing the content of their law journal articles online in addition to print issues. For
instance, Harvard Law Review Forum, Stanford Law Review Online, and Columbia Law
Review offer online legal scholarship, analysis, and commentary. Some law journals no
longer even publish printed journals, choosing to publish their law journal content only
online. Many electronic law journals can be accessed as open access journals, which
academic staff and law students can access without having to pay any fees. The online
resources through which law students can access information without paying any fees are:
National University Common Virtual Library, African Digital Library, and Directory of
Open access Journals and E-journal.org.

2.8 Summary
This chapter explained the contextual setting of the research; it reviewed literature on legal
knowledge, information sources, systems and services in Nigerian university law libraries
and the other information systems and services available to law students. The reviewed
literature also identified various avenues, such as, electronic information resources, law
libraries and the university main libraries through which legal information sources and
services can be tapped in Nigeria.

This chapter brought to light several significant points; it expressed the existence of a large
number of printed primary and secondary law sources published by both Nigerian and
international authors. It also revealed the presence of numerous electronic sources and
resources, law databases, both foreign and local, and Internet facilities. The chapter has also
shown the different information sources in the legal discipline and a countless host of other
information facilities in close proximity to the law students, such as the main university
libraries, private law libraries, court libraries, National Universities Commission Virtual
library, Nigerian National Libraries, and other information dissemination bearing outfits that
law students can use to access legal information.

48
The next chapter reviews related literature on the information seeking behaviour of legal
professionals and law students as explored by other scholars.

49
 CHAPTER THREE
INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF LEGAL PROFESSIONALS AND
LAW STUDENTS
3.1 Introduction
Law libraries, under the management of university libraries, provide distinct legal
information resources that law students and other law professionals can use in their quest to
acquire legal information and knowledge. Law libraries do not just collect legal information
sources and resources; they are responsible for various tasks that match the legal information
needs of law students and other users of the law libraries.
The organisation of a review of literature may vary from discipline to discipline. A literature
review could be a self-contained unit, an end in itself or a preface to a scholarly work, and
the reason for conducting the research. Also a literature review is a required part of the grant
and research proposal and it is often a chapter in theses and dissertations. The purpose of the
literature review is to analyse a segment of a published body of knowledge, summary,
classify, and compare the previous research studies, review literature and theoretical articles
(University of Wisconsin System, 2014).

The aim of writing a literature review is to convey knowledge and ideas that have been
established on a topic and to identify what their strengths and weaknesses are (Taylor, 2008)
Kadli and Kumber (2013:951) explain that a literature review’s purpose is to provide the
background to, and justification for the research study. A literature review requires the
ability to: conduct exhaustive bibliographic searches; organise the collected data
meaningfully; describe, critique and relate each source to the subject; and present the
organised review logically (Taylor, 2008). Lastly, it is also very important to correctly cite
all the reviewed sources (Kadli and Kumber, 2013:951).

Taylor (2008) explains that the aim of a literature review is not only to provide a descriptive
list of the available material or a set of summaries of scholarly works that are related to the
current research work, but also to synthesize scholars’ views regarding a particular area of
research. Kadli and Kumber (2013:951) argue that a literature review is conducted in
research studies to ensure a thorough understanding of the topic; identify potential and
similar works done in an area of study; and to identify knowledge gaps and the methods that
are appropriate to the study. According to Taylor (2008), a literature review must:

 Be organised and relate directly to the research question;

50
  Synthesise results into a summary of what is and is not known;
 Identify areas of controversy in the literature; and
 Formulate questions that need further research.
The current study reviewed related literature on the information seeking behaviour of legal
professionals, legal information, information behaviour and the need for information literacy
among law students, ICT used by law students and the challenges faced by both academic
law libraries and law students in Nigerian universities.

3.2 The importance of legal information

The concept of ‘legal information’ can best be understood if the term ‘information’ is clearly
defined. As observed by Losee (1997:254), the word ‘information’ has being defined,
understood and interpreted differently across various disciplines, vocations and professions.
Quite a number of these interpretations of information focus on decision making and
attempts to get meaning to into things that assist man to understand the environment.
Therefore, Dervin and Nilan (1986:16), for example, define information to be “something
constructed by human beings” to assist in not only in decision making but also an attempt to
construe meaning to life. Opeke (1993) likewise views information to be a vital element in
decision-making. Folorunsho and Ibrahim (2005:54) extrapolate on this view, defining
information to be a fact, an opinion or an idea from any source that lends support to
adequate life decision making. Walonick (2010) also asserts that the meaningful use of
information could lead to better informed decisions and a better choice of actions in the
future.

Ajiboye and Tella (2007:41) in their study of university undergraduate students’ information
seeking behaviour, conceive information as something that students need during their
studies when they construct meaning about their subjects in their learning process. Whereas,
Mostert (2004:114) describes information as “a property of matter, any message, document,
or information resource; any publicly available symbolic material; or data”, which can give
useful meaning that can help to arrive at a decision. Mostert and Ocholla (2006:136) go on
to state that information is “ideas, facts, and imaginative works of the mind and valuable
data, which is potentially useful for decision making and the tools that answer questions that
lead to a state of knowing”. The state knowing tend to make information to be a vital
resources that everyone need to access for the social development and life oriented plans to
succeed in ones chosen careers. As Das and Karn (2008:56) noted that, information is a vital

51
resource because it stimulates the educational development of the society, leading to a
situation where the people are well informed and well aware of right and wrong in a society.
With relevant information, people in various professional groups such as lawyers, engineers,
and health professionals make concrete decisions that help them to efficiently perform their
daily activities.

In the legal profession, information is fundamental in helping legal professionals to fulfil

their legal obligations to clients. Legal information is equally important to ordinary people
in society because law is supposed to be understood and used by everybody, including non-
lawyers (Khan and Bhatti, 2012; Otike, 1999:19). The United Nations: World Summit on
the Information Society, held in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005, declared that with the
constant growth of information resources and the corresponding growth of the information
needs of different groups of people in society, information is now the key to global
development (United Nations: World Summit of the Information Society, 2005). From the
above it is clear that access to, and the use of information, is paramount for the legal
professional and the law student alike. On a daily basis informed decisions need to be made
that can either influence the outcome of a court case, or a student’s academic performance.
Depending on the kind of decisions taken by the legal professional or law student, an
individual or a society can be either negatively or positively impacted.

Dada (2011) examined law librarianship and legal research in the digital age, empirical
studies of Anderson, (2009) studied the law students’ information seeking behaviour in law
libraries, and Ogunfolu (2006:264) investigated legal research and the use of source
materials. These studies emphasized the importance of legal information sources in legal
practice and law students and termed the law libraries as the ‘laboratory’ of the legal
profession. In the words of Woxland (1989:456), “The law library is to the lawyer what the
laboratory is to the scientist and the museum is to the naturalist.” In Anderson, the study
made a call for return of law library as a "laboratory" for legal education. Based on these,
law students in Nigeria and their contemporaries from around the world should be impelled
to familiarise themselves with law libraries in order to be able to effectively source relevant
and current information, both in print and electronic formats in order to meet their
educational goals, and also for their future practice in client counselling and representation.

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3.3 Information behaviour and the need for information literacy among law students
Information needs can be conscious or sub-conscious. On the conscious level such a need
can act as an activator to actively search for information. In his book “Looking for
information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behaviour” Case
(2007:72) provides an in-depth insight into what constitutes an information need. According
to Case, an information need refers to the recognition that one’s knowledge is inadequate to
carry out a particular function, goal or plan. An information need is thus an individual or
group’s desire to locate and obtain information to satisfy a conscious or unconscious need
(Taylor, 1962:391). Belkin and Croft (1992:29) explain that the need for information
originates from the problem identified and that the efforts to seek a solution to resolve the
problem give rise to information seeking. The conscious information needs of law students
are closely related to the demands of the academic environment in which they operate,
which require from these students to prepare for lectures, find information to assist them to
complete assignments, or to participate in activities normally associated with legal studies
such as moot courts and law clinic. By recognising the gap in their knowledge on a topic
they normally react by actively interrogating information services or sources in order to
achieve the desired academic outcome.

Khan and Bhatti (2012:1) surveyed the information needs and seeking behaviour of law
faculty members of the University of Peshawar and its affiliated law colleges in Pakistan,
and found that the majority of the law faculty members were not satisfied with the sources,
resources, services and IT facilities provided by the college law libraries. Otike and Mathew
(2000:241) studying the legal information needs of lawyers in Kenya found that lawyers
need information to fulfil their legal obligations to their clients in case preparation. To fulfil
these needs, they seek assistance from the court library, district bar library, or from
collections in their own firms or other sources.

In the context of law students, their specific information needs arise in the course of their
studies. Odusanya and Amusa’s (2003:50) survey identified four aspects of education related
information needs that can be used to infer law students’ information needs in Nigerian
university campuses. They are: current information on research findings on law emanating
from conferences, seminars, and workshops; information related to pursuance of innovative
ideas or exploratory knowledge to satisfy students’ curiosity; information on current affairs
and general knowledge; and information required for [legal] administration (Odusanya and

53
Amusa, 2003:53). Additionally they also need information in their daily activities on
campus. This includes information on matters relating to healthy living, consumer goods,
religion, food, shelter, student unions, scholarships, bursaries and job opportunities.

Retrieving the information required to fulfil these information needs requires a law student
to be information literate. Kim-Prieto (2011:610) describes information literacy as the ability
to “identify access, evaluate, apply, and ethically/legally use information.” Peoples cited in
Toteng et al.’s (2010) study investigated the ability of law students to search the electronic
databases of the University of Botswana Library and law students’ perceptions of the
information literacy course offered by the Library. The study found that many law students
at the University of Botswana were information illiterate because many of them lacked the
necessary legal research skills as regards the use of electronic resources.

The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL, 2011), in their report on the foundation
for the development of legal research, writing competencies and standards for law student
information literacy, based the competencies required by law students on five principles (The
American Association of Law Libraries, 2011), i.e. possessing fundamental research skills;
the ability to implement effective, efficient research strategies; the ability to critically
evaluate the validity and credibility of legal and non-legal information sources; the need to
apply information effectively to resolve a specific issue or need; and to distinguish between
ethical and unethical uses of information sources. These principles clearly indicate the
competencies that law students should acquire at undergraduate level to be successful in their
academic endeavours, and also to function optimally within a legal practitioner environment.
Commenting on the Law student information literacy (LSIL) standards, Kim-Prieto (2011)
stressed the responsibility of law libraries and lecturers to instruct the law students in
obtaining the necessary information literacy skills which can improve their academic
performance and also prepare them for the workplace upon graduation.

Ansari and Zuberi (2011) and Khan and Bhatti (2012:2) posit that information seeking
behaviour is when users consult information systems or libraries for their information needs.
Case (2012:5) defines information seeking behaviour as the conscious effort to acquire
information in response to the gap created in users’ knowledge. Case explains that
information seeking behaviour includes both planned (active search) and unplanned actions

54
(a glance at information or stumbling on information by chance). Case further states that
information seeking behaviour may involve purposive behaviour that has nothing to do with
the person actually searching for information. For instance, a person may be actively evading
information, yet still find the information that he/she requires (Case, 2007:5). However, a
number of scholars have provided diverse definitions of information seeking behaviour (e.g.
Wilson, 2000:49; Leckie et al., 1996:161).

Wiberley and Jones (1989:638) in their study of the ‘Patterns of information seeking in the
humanities at the University of Illinois in Chicago,’ posit that information seeking behaviour
is a fundamental activity that users participate in and manifest through specific behaviours.
Marchionini (1995:27) in his study of information seeking in electronic search
environments, states that information seeking behaviour strategies entails the proposing of
methods used to search for information, how and where information sources are searched.
Marchionini explains that a well-designed strategy or plan would critically examine the
problem and work out the best source of information to match the information

Makri et al., (2006), in a study to inform the design of digital law libraries for law students
at the London University, revealed that academic lawyers often found it difficult to retrieve
information that they were looking for using a digital library. This finding also applies to
Nigerian law students; a study by Lawal et al., (2012:101) found that a number of aspiring
barristers at the Nigerian Law School were experiencing problems with information
retrieval, both in print and electronic format. Akanwa and Aniche (2012), focusing on
information access and utilisation among law students in Imo State University in Nigeria,
found that law students do not seek information in the law library. Majid and Kassim
(2000:1) investigating the information seeking behaviour of the International Islamic
University of Malaysia law faculty members found that legal professionals and law students
relied heavily on their personal information resources and preferred print over electronic
sources, while Ogba (2013:308) found that the information seeking behaviour of the final
year law students in Ekiti State University, Nigeria included browsing the law library
shelves for print legal materials.

Anderson (2011:1) investigating law students’ information seeking behaviour revealed that
law students need to have information seeking skills to be competitive in the labour market.
They need to be able to conduct timely, cost-effective legal research and writing without the
need for extensive training by the law firms (Anderson, 2011:1). However, Jones (2009:8)

55
posited that the law students do not arrive at law school with strong information seeking
skills. According to Jones (2009), law students at the Cornell University Law Library, were
frequently ill-prepared for the complexity and attention to detail required for efficient and
successful legal research and writing.

Kuhlthau and Tama (2001:25) investigated the information search process of eight
practising lawyers in New Jersey and found that the lawyers mainly relied on print
information sources rather than computer databases and people, in their search for legal
information. Ossai (2011:14), in her study on the information seeking behaviour of law
students at the University of Benin, Nigeria, found the same behaviour among the law
students as they mostly frequented the traditional law library to browse the shelves for print
legal sources. Howard et al.’s (2003:1) study, determined that lawyers claimed that print
information sources are much better suited to assist with their process of understanding than
computerized sources. However, Wilkinson (2001:257) observed that lawyers in Ontario,
Canada showed an overwhelming preference for informal sources when seeking information
as opposed to law library sources when searching for information. In addition, the lawyers
preferred sources of information internal to their organisations rather than external sources,
although this was less true for lawyers from smaller firms (Wilkinson, 2001:257). In Toteng
et al.’s (2010:58) opinion a significant shift from print to electronic resources has been
observed as the body of legal information sources grew over time. As this trend is probably
going to continue, it might suggest that both law students and legal practitioners will have to
adapt to the electronic medium as a major source of both current and retrospective legal
information and become less reliant on published documents.

3.4 ICT Utilisation by law students

The use of digital libraries has being found to improve usability and usefulness of
information sources to the users of libraries, especially the new and inexperienced users
Inskip et al., (2008:647). This is due to the vibrant roles that the electronic digital play in
processing and dissemination of information sources to professionals and students (Krubu
and Osawaru, 2011). Students widely use electronic information resources to access
information in support of the print sources for their studies, hence Okello-Obura and Ikoja-
Odongo (2010) agree that electronic resources constitute an important source of information,
and are widely embraced by libraries to process and disseminate information to its users all
over the world. Electronic sources consist of information sources that are in electronic

56
format, and are characteristically very easy to use when accessing information compared to
sources in print. Libraries, irrespective of their purpose, have started incorporating electronic
resources into their services to provide users with more efficient, effective and reliable
sources of information. The age of total reliance on print information sources has passed;
currently large volumes of print information sources are being converted to electronic format
(Issa et al., 2009). Adekunmisi et al., (2011:848) state that many academic libraries in
Nigeria are currently building academic repositories of their publications and other works
that can be digitized and made available to students and members of the academic
communities without restriction.

With this in mind, studies have shown that the under-utilisation of electronic library
information resources is a global phenomenon. Harkers (2013:79) explained in the study
“Information is cheap, but meaning is expensive: Building analytical skill into legal research
and writing instruction” that law students and new attorneys lacked ICT utilisation skills,
that they struggled to locate and use appropriate information sources relevant to their legal
problems, and were not competent legal information researchers. As already stated, Ossai’s
(2011) study found that while most of the law students claimed to rely heavily on library
information resources in the course of their academic programmes, the majority struggled to
locate and identify suitable library information resources. Indu et al., (2012) discovered that
the majority of the students in their study possessed below average ICT skills.

Anderson (2011:2) and Woxland (1989:451) found that “law students are lacking in [ICT
search] skills even after they have completed the usual first-year course in legal research”.
Another study by Young and Blanco (2007) expressed legal professionals’ views concerning
the information search skills of law students who were serving in their law offices. Young
and Blanco found that law students are generally not well prepared to perform legal research
and writing at the expected level due to research related difficulties like:

 Taking a long time to research easy issues;

 Failing to research thoroughly; and
 Failing to make use of secondary sources such as treatises and practical guides.

Noor-UI-Amin (2013:38) in the study of effective use of ICT for education and learning
revealed some of the problems facing the implementation of ICT in education and learning
to include: limited infrastructure, lack of Internet connectivity, insufficient computers, lack

57
of electronic resources and legal databases, and slow broadband. Scholars like Akpoghome
and Idiegbeyan-Ose (2010), Adegbore (2010); Olalude (2007:53); Osunade and Ojo
(2006:20); Adekunmisi (2005:25) posit that many students in Nigerian universities do not
utilise ICT resources in libraries. They also identified additional problems faced by libraries
as: insufficient fund allocation, inadequate manpower, power outages, and prohibitive cost
of importing hardware, software and ICT accessories, and lack of ICT training, among other
factors (further challenges are covered in section 3.5).

Thanuskodi (2009), evaluating the information seeking behaviour at the law faculty at
Central Law College, Salem, found that respondents used computer-based library sources and
facilities less frequently compared to print sources, with Internet-based services and
applications only used by a limited number of respondents. Tunkel (1997) argues that law
students’ inability to utilise ICT is a direct result of the traditional teaching practices in law
schools, where law students are not taught how to carry out independent research that enables
them to utilise ICT in law libraries. According to Barkan (2007:403), the curriculum of legal
education ranks legal research very low in priority compared to other law courses, which
seems to account for the poor ICT utilisation of the law students.

The academic and vocational stages of Nigerian legal education are conducted through
lectures and note-taking, with little or no room for interactive research methodologies (Oke-
Samuel, 2008:139). Ogba (2013:5) also reports that law students depend on their lecture
notes, browse the library shelves instead of using OPAC while they use print textbooks for
most of their academic workloads. This seems to support Tunkel’s (1997), Barkan’s
(2007:403), and Lawal’s (2007) observations that law teachers do not encourage the
utilisation of ICT and digital libraries to source information for their studies. Lawal et al.’s
(2012:101) study investigated the information literacy of aspirant barristers in Nigeria and
examined the efforts undertaken to restructure the legal education system in Nigeria. Their
study found that graduate law students in Nigeria lacked critical thinking skills and the ability
to effectively utilise electronic resources to evaluate and access information. The lack of
critical thinking was confirmed by a young practicing lawyer’s statement, when lamenting
the way the senior lawyers treat the young lawyers in practice. He has this to say: “In fact,
you are not regarded, and then you begin to think that all your years in the university and the
Law School were a waste. This is because you are made to feel like you know next to

58
nothing”. Another young lawyer responded in affirmative, and said: “This is so true…. but
we shall get there”.

The Australian Law Reform Commission (1999) agrees that law teachers do not adequately
prepare law students for future practice and challenges in the legal workplace based on the
pedagogical method employed in teaching law students. Niedwiecki (2006:45) likewise
found that the traditional teaching methods adopted in the teaching of law subjects
discouraged law students’ utilisation of electronic resources. According to Mock (2001:554),
law faculties have failed to create awareness in the law student population of the importance
of using digital information resources to reach their academic goals. Akpoghome and
Idiegbeyan-Ose (2010) agree that the use of ICT resources by law students is largely not
encouraged by law teachers due to the teaching methods adopted in teaching undergraduate
law students. This is also confirmed by Ogba (2013:4), who found that the practice of
teaching is still done by way of direct reading from law textbooks.

Khan and Bhatti (2012:1) investigated the information seeking behaviour of legal
practitioners, and found that most of the law faculty members were not satisfied with the
resources, services and IT facilities, i.e. computers and Internet facilities, provided by the law
colleges’ law libraries. In Nigeria, Adetimirin (2012) investigated the availability, ICT
utilisation and ICT literacy skills of undergraduates in seven universities, and found that
computers, telephones and the Internet were mostly used by the undergraduates, although in
many cases only on an occasional basis due to the shortage of available ICT.

In contrast, Ray and Day’s (1998) study of students’ attitudes towards electronic information
resources across three universities in the United Kingdom, found that many students in the
United Kingdom used electronic sources and that in exceptional cases some of the students
still liked to use print materials to complement the information and communication
technologies.

3.5 Challenges faced by academic law libraries in Nigeria

In Nigerian university law libraries, a number of problems have equally been identified that
have had an adverse effect on users’ desire to patronise libraries and use the available
sources and services. Akuru and Okoro (2011) identified the lack of an adequate power
supply as a major problem. Power supply is the backbone of digital libraries, as a constant

59
supply of energy is required to power both the electronic libraries and the cooling systems
required to maintain the systems. The lack of power also affects the comfort levels of the
users, as the harsh climate in Nigeria requires library buildings to be air conditioned to
create an environment conducive to studying (Akuru and Okoro, 2011).

While Adekunmisi (2005:28) and Akpoghome and Idiegbeyan-Ose (2010) concur that the
lack of a constant power supply has a significant effect on library utilisation, they argue that
inadequately qualified library and technical staff and insufficient funds are the most
prominent problems experienced in Nigerian university libraries. Akpoghome and
Idiegbeyan-Ose (2010) also identified the lack of computer literate library staff as a
challenge to service delivery, while Adetimirin (2012) found that inadequate ICT and the
limited duration in which they can be used by students was another major challenge.

Adegbore (2010) explains that poor funding of libraries is a challenge, but also adds that
lack of a maintenance culture; lack of commitment by staff; and poor resources, software
breakdowns and obsolete commercial software are contributors to the under-utilisation of
Nigerian university libraries. Goldman (2008:414) posits that the increasing number of
undergraduate law students, changes in user expectations and increase in pressure to provide
support and training for electronic products, connectivity problems, reduced funding, and the
shortage of hardware and software, are all factors impeding the utilisation of ICT resources
in law libraries. Namaganda (2013:1), in studying the development, challenges and
prospects of the digital library at Makerere University library in Kampala, Uganda identified
the same challenges, but also mentioned issues of copyright and lack of bandwidth as
impeding factors to the utilisation of digital library services. Iwhiwhu and Okorodudu
(2012) also added that the poor attitude of library staff has been identified in several studies
as a challenge facing users in the utilisation of available library services. Unomah’s (1987:
38) study identified this trend as early as 1987 in a survey on students’ utilisation of
academic libraries in Nigeria, where he found that the attitude of some of the junior library
staff towards library users was not encouraging students’ use of the available services. This
finding is supported by Ifidon and Okoli (2002:22). Thorhauge (2003:308) opines that the
friendliness and helpfulness of library staff are significant criteria for evaluating the service
delivery of academic libraries.

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3.6 Summary
This chapter reviewed literature on the information seeking behaviour of legal professionals
and law students, with particular focus on law libraries in Nigerian universities. Legal
information forms the backbone of a legal practitioners work, thus the importance of legal
information thereof has been enumerated. Furthermore, information behaviour and the need
for information literacy among law students have been considered. While a general
overview of law libraries’ tasks was provided in Chapter two (section: 2.3), the challenges
faced by the academic law libraries in Nigeria was discussed. Several related studies
investigating the information behaviour of law students and legal practitioners have also
been highlighted. From these studies it was clear that, especially in the African context,
information seeking is still much reliant on print and informal sources to gain information.
The current situation concerning the utilisation of ICTs by law students to search and access
information was discussed, and it was clear that several challenges are experienced
prohibiting the law students to make optimal use of the available ICTs and Internet.
Challenges identified include among others inconsistent power supply, lack of funding, staff
incompetency, hardware and software breakdowns and limited access to computers. In
chapter four the theoretical framework will be discussed.

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 CHAPTER FOUR:
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
4.1 Introduction
The previous chapter reviewed literature on the information seeking behaviour of legal
professionals and law students, specifically the influence of legal information and its
relevance to law students; their information needs and seeking strategies; and ICT utilisation
skills and the challenges faced by academic law libraries in Nigeria. This chapter reviews
literature on the theories of information seeking behaviour beginning with an explanation of
the purpose of theoretical frameworks, followed by a review of prominent theoretical
frameworks on information seeking behaviour, a critique of the frameworks adopted for this
study, a discussion of their applicability to the current study, appraisal of the reviewed
literature on theories for the study was also done in this chapter.

4.2 Theoretical framework

The theoretical framework in research provides the scientific ground for studying objects,
situations or phenomena (Van Lill cited in Mostert, 2004). Van Lill (in Mostert, 2004:112)
explains that the theoretical framework provides knowledge on which researchers can base
their research studies. Too (2013) defines a theoretical framework as “a set of theories put
together to provide a basis or support for explaining, viewing or contemplating phenomena”.
Khan cited in Ocholla and Le Roux (2011:1) describes a theoretical framework as the
“structure that holds and supports the theory of a research work and serves as the lens that a
researcher uses to examine a particular aspect of his or her subject field. It elucidates or
explains the rationale, justification or basis of the study.”

Zeidler cited in Ocholla and Le Roux (2011:1) views a theoretical framework as the theory
that answers what the research problems are and why the chosen research methods are the
possible solution to the problems. The possible solution that can provide answers to these
questions can only come from a thorough review of literature (Kemoni, 2008) on the
theoretical frameworks that relates to the research problem and the nature and the purpose of
the theoretical framework(s) on which the research is based. Kombo and Tromp (2006) posit
that a theoretical framework is meant to account for, or explain the occurrence through
illuminating why things happen the way they do. Therefore, theory in any research attempts
to justify the reasons for the research and it also serves as the foundation upon which the
research study is based.

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Best and Khan (2006:10) describe theory as an attempt to develop a general explanation for
certain occurrences. According to Best and Khan, a theory describes the relationship among
key variables with the aim of explaining a current state or to predict a future occurrence.
Khan cited in Ocholla and Le Roux (2011:1) further explains that theory is constructed in
order to explain, predict and master some phenomena, such as relationships, events, or
behaviour. Khan (2010) gave a lecture on developing the theoretical and social framework,
and observed that in many instances, scholars formulate models of reality, and concluded that
theory makes general observations that consist of an interrelated, logical set of ideas and
models. Models are collections of interrelated ideas that are based on theories that were
meant to account for or explain phenomena by clarifying why things are the way they are. A
model guides a researcher to determine what to measure and the relationship between the
items measured (Kombo and Tromp, 2006).

A theoretical model, according to Wilson (1999:250), is a framework for thinking about a

problem that may develop into a statement of relationships between theoretical propositions.
Models, in the general field of information seeking behaviour, are statements often made in
the form of diagrams that attempt to describe information seeking activities, causes, and the
consequences of these activities (Wilson, 1999:250).

Studies of information seeking behaviour originated from concerns about how individuals use
information in their work environment. Ikoja-Odongo and Mostert (2006:145) define
information seeking behaviour as the process of going about in search of information, a
process that requires the information seeker to apply personal knowledge, skills or personal
information infrastructure to solve a problem. Marchionini (1995:1) corroborates that
information seeking is a fundamental human activity that is closely related to learning and
problem solving. Khadli and Kumbar (2013) therefore, advise that, it is important to study
information seeking models to understand what students do when they search for
information, because how students search for information may differ considerably from
librarians’ perceptions of students’ information seeking behaviour (Khadli and Kumbar,
2013).

It is imperative to provide an overview of the development of information seeking models as

they are the building blocks that contribute to the eventual development of the theories that
inform this study that is: Davis et al. (1989)’s Technology Acceptance Model, Wilson’s 1996

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Model of Information Behaviour and Niedźwiedzka’s (2003) New Model of Information
Seeking Behaviour. This is because models and theories proposed by researchers like: Davis,
Dervin, Ellis, Kuhlthau, Niedźwiedzka and Wilson, have gained strength as they have been
adopted as the basis for further research by investigators (Wilson, 1999).

4.3 Overview of related theoretical models of information behaviour

Models are thus proposed to study different users’ information seeking behaviour and their
information needs in order to understand how and what can be done to address, alleviate or
resolve users’ information seeking problems and information needs. In this chapter the
models discussed include: Taylor’s (1968) Model of Information Behaviour; Belkin’s (1980)
Anomalous States of Knowledge; Wilson’s (1981) Model of Information Behaviour ;
Dervin's Sense-making model (1983); Ellis’s (1989) Information Seeking Process;
Kuhlthau’s (1993) Information Seeking Process (ISP); Cheuk’s (1998) Information Seeking
and Using Process; the general Model of Wilson (1996) which describes users’ information
seeking behaviour, Niedźwiedzka’s (2003) New Model of Information Behaviour and Davis
et al.’s (1989) Technology Acceptance Model.

4.3.1 Taylor’s (1968) Model of information behaviour

Taylor perceives human information behaviour to be the sum of activities through which
information becomes useful. Taylor (1991:221) is of the opinion that human information
behaviour hinges on the nature of the person in question, the pending problem to be resolved;
the situation surrounding the person and the problem, and the solution to the problem. This
model identifies four levels of human information seeking behaviour as follows:
 Identification of a visceral need, or a “vague sort of dissatisfaction” that is
unexpressed by the searcher.

 Formulation of a conscious need that is expressed as “an ambiguous and

rambling statement” which sometimes results in communicating the need
to another person.

 Construction of a formalised need expressed as a “qualified and rational”

statement of the need.

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  The establishment of a compromised need, which is a query that is
expressed in a term that fits the organisation of the information system,
such as a library collection or database (Case, 2007:76; Taylor, 1968:182).

The focus in Taylor’s Model of Information Behaviour is on the type of formal information
seeking activity that usually takes place at the desk of the reference librarian in a library
setting. This theory is commonly used in library schools as an instrument for the training of
reference librarians.

4.3.2 Belkin’s (1980) anomalous states of knowledge (ask)

Belkin’s Anomalous States of Knowledge (ASK) reveals how an information need arises.
Turnbull (2011) explains that Belkin provides another view of the information seeking
process, which he describes as information seeking strategies. Belkin’s Anomalous States of
Knowledge is a more task-oriented overlay of Ellis' and Kuhlthau’s models (see sections
4.3.5 and 4.3.6). The set tasks, as stated by Belkin, show that a need arises when an
individual encounters an anomalous state of knowledge, a situation where “the user realises
that there is an abnormality in the state of his or her knowledge with respect to the problem
faced” (Belkin, 1980:135). The person may then address the situation by seeking information,
and then evaluate the information to verify whether the anomaly still exists. If it does and the
person is still motivated to resolve it, the person may continue to search for information
(Belkin, 1980:140).

4.3.3 Wilson’s model of information seeking behaviour

Wilson has put forth a series of three models of information seeking behaviour (Wilson,
1981; 1996; 1999). Wilson’s 1981 model set the precedent of viewing feedback as an
important part of the information seeking process (Wilson, 1981:2).

According to Wilson (1981:2), information seeking begins with the recognition of some need
as perceived by a user. This model is built on the premise that an information need is not a
major need, but that it is a consequent need that arises out of basic needs (Wilson, 1999:252).
The person in need of information may be influenced by physiological environmental needs
(physical, biological and bodily); cognitive abilities (intellectual, perceptive and reasoning);
or affective (emotion and sentiment) needs (Wilson, 2000:49). These needs (environmental,
intellectual and emotional) therefore can serve as intervening variables in the search for the

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required information (Wilson, 2000:49). Wilson's 1981 model can be described as a model of
information seeking behaviour that suggests how information needs arise and what can
prevent an actual search for information (Wilson, 1999).

Wilson’s 1981 model identified the strategies of obtaining information, which he referred to
as information seeking tracks or roads, as:
 The search for information by users who are independent of any information system.
These users seek information in their immediate environment and use their own
knowledge.
 The search paths involving either a mediator or an information systems technology.
 The search strategies employed by a mediator to satisfy a user's demand for
information. The use of a mediator who seeks information to accomplish the set goals
of others.
 The strategies employed by a sophisticated technology on behalf of either the user or
the mediator, which involves using sophisticated technology such as ICT to do the
search on behalf of either the user or the mediator (Wilson, 1981:5).

Therefore in the information seeking process, the users may use their own knowledge to
independently search for information in any available information system e.g. libraries, cyber
cafés or information centres at the user's environment, or users could use the services of
either formal or informal intermediaries to do the search on their behalf (Wilson, 1981). The
weakness of the model is that all of the theories are understood but they are not clear. There
is no indication of the process where the background has any effect on the person, or of the
factors that result in the awareness of barriers, nor whether the barriers have similar or
different effects on individual motives to seek information (Wilson, 1999). Wilson thus
concludes that the 1981 model lack features that can stimulate thoughts about other elements
that a complete model should have (Wilson, 1999).

4.3.4 Dervin’s (1983) sense-making approach

Brenda Dervin is prominent among proponents of models that focus on the cognitive
dimensions of information behaviour. Dervin’s (1992) sense-making metaphor describes
humans as moving through time and space until they discover a cognitive gap where an
information need is perceived. Such gaps must be bridged through the acquisition of new

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information before they can move forward again. The goal of a person’s information seeking
endeavours is to make sense of a particular situation (Dervin, 1992:68).

Wilson (1999:249) explains in his study, “Models in information behaviour research”, that
Dervin developed the sense-making approach based on three essential elements, which define
the context in which information problems arise: a gap, which identifies the difference
between the contextual situation and the desired situation; an outcome, that is, the
consequences of the sense-making process; and a bridge, that is, some means of closing the
gap between the situation and outcome (Wilson, 1999:249). These elements are presented in
terms of a triangle: situation, gap or bridge, and outcome.

Dervin defines her approach not simply as a model or a method of information-seeking

behaviour (Adebiyi, 2012:4), but as a set of assumptions, a theoretic perspective, a
methodological approach, a set of research methods, and a practice, designed for making
sense of a reality assumed to be chaotic and orderly (Dervin, 1996). Dervin’s sense-making
approach tends to see human beings as organised and active sense-makers. Hence, each
moment is potentially a sense-making moment in which an individual makes efforts to make
good use of certainty to fill the created gap. Consequently, the goal of a person’s information
seeking endeavour is to make sense of a given situation (Dervin, 1998:36).

4.3.5 Ellis’s (1989) model of information seeking behaviour

Ellis’s model identifies eight features in the information seeking process (Ellis, 1989:178).
According to Ellis, the detailed interaction of these features in any individuals’ information
seeking pattern will depend on the unique circumstances of the information seeking activities
of the person concerned at that particular point in time. The activities are applicable to hyper-
text environments such as the World Wide Web. The model is based on empirical research
that had been tested in successive studies in an engineering company (Turnbull, 2011; Ellis
and Haugan, 1997:384). Ellis’s (1989) study identifies the following features in his Model of
Information Seeking Behaviour: starting, chaining, browsing, differentiating, monitoring,
extracting, verifying, and ending.
 Starting: the method employed by users to start their search for information, such as
asking knowledgeable colleagues. Starting refers to identifying the initial materials to
search and select as the starting points for the search. It is usually undertaken at the

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 beginning of the information seeking process to learn about a new field (Turnbull,
2011).
 Chaining: this follows the footnotes and citations in known material or connecting
from known items through citation indexes.
 Browsing: “semi-directed or semi-structured searching”. Browsing is a casual way of
looking for information in the area of the researcher’s interest (Turnbull, 2011).
 Differentiating: using known differences in information sources as a way of filtering
through the information obtained; the selection of materials from known sources by
noting the differences in content and/or the importance of the information.
 Monitoring: current awareness searching or keeping up-to-date on a topic by regularly
following specific sources.
 Extracting: is the selective identification of relevant material in an information source.
 Verifying: checking the accuracy of information, which may involve extracting
keywords from a source and searching for corroborating information in another
source.
 Ending: “tying up loose ends” through a final search (Turnbull, 2011; Jarvelin and
Wilson, 2003).

4.3.6 Kuhlthau’s (1993) information search process model

Kuhlthau's model is based on the work of George Kelly, a psychologist who theorised that
learning is a process of testing constructs (Kuhlthau, 1993a:340.). Building on Kelly’s theory,
Kuhlthau developed a model referred to as the Information Search Process (Kuhlthau,
1993a:340). Kuhlthau’s studies published in 1997, 1993a, 1993b and 1991, all focused on the
Information Search Process (ISP), and formed the foundation for the development of new
strategies for the delivery of library skills instruction (Oh and Albright, 2004:326). Oh and
Albright interpret Kuhlthau’s information seeking behaviour as a sense making-process that
is about the development of an individual’s understanding; the shift from uncertainty to
certainty. However, Ingwersen (2000) explained that Kuhlthau (1991) concentrates on the
mental process, just like Wilson’s (1999) and Vakkari (2000), whose model also looks like
Wilson’s 1981 model of information behaviour.

Kuhlthau (1993) developed a general model of the ISP from common patterns that emerged
from the investigation of high school students' information seeking behaviour. Kuhlthau’s

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model incorporates three realms: affective (the feelings associated with the search process),
cognitive (the development of thoughts about research topics), and the physical (actions and
strategies of seeking and using sources). These realms are common to each of the six stages
of the model, which are: initiation, selection, exploration, formulation, collection and search
closure or presentation. Each of the stages is associated with certain feelings and specific
activities.

Kuhlthau’s model centers on a methodological approach to library information seeking skills.

However, these skills are not dependent on specific sources or libraries. Rather, the model
stresses the growth of transferable reasoning skills that increase students' effective utilisation
of information (Kuhlthau, 1993a:11). Although, Kuhlthau’s model focuses on information
behaviour of students, the factor of analysis, the three realms common to the six stages of
Kuhlthau’s model are similar to Wilson’s studies that are broadly covered by Wilson’s (1996)
model of information behaviour. Therefore, Wilson’s model becomes more appropriate and
inclusive for informing this study.

4.3.7 Cheuk’s (1998) information seeking and using process

Cheuk’s model identifies the situations that occur with the psychomotor, cognitive and
affective aspects of information seeking, retrieval and use activities experienced in
workplaces. The first situation describes the use and choice of information sources given by
the manager. Information seekers will use easily accessible general information sources such
as magazines and the Internet to formulate focus. The searchers’ persistence in using just any
information source is low in this situation. However in the process of confirming or rejecting
ideas, searchers use specific and authoritative information sources (Cheuk, 1998).

Secondly, Cheuk identifies information relevance judgment criteria, where searchers prefer to
“pick up” or “accept” what other people tell them when initiating a task and formulating
focus. But in the process of confirming or rejecting ideas, they use data they have already
gathered to compare against: (a) expectations they have formed, (b) common sense, (c)
standards and specifications, and (d) information gathered from various other sources. In
finalizing their ideas, they relate on the decisive factor since they only need senior and
authoritative parties to confirm the ideas (Cheuk, 1998). The decisive factor indicates the
situation when searchers decided to seek formal consent from the authority and seniors to
finalize their ideas.

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The third situation encapsulates information organising strategies. Searchers would, in most
situations, like to organise information that they’ve gathered mentally in their heads.
However, in the process of confirming and rejecting ideas, searchers jot down notes and
make photocopies in an effort to physically organise information that they have gathered
(Cheuk, 1998).

Fourthly, Cheuk proposes information presentation strategies. Searchers in most cases present
background information to the boss or colleagues in charge of the information, with the aim
of getting relevant answers to their queries. In passing on ideas, they aim to pass on new
knowledge and findings to the targeted audience. To finalize their ideas, they present
information with the aim of getting feedback and consensus (Cheuk, 1998).

The fifth situation concerns feelings. Searchers feel doubtful and fearful in the task initiating
situation. They get more worried in the process of confirming or assuming ideas because they
are not sure whether their ideas can be confirmed. Searchers’ feelings are mostly negative
(pressure, frustration) in the idea rejecting situation. When finalising and passing on ideas,
they start to feel relaxed (Cheuk, 1998).

Sixth, is the definition of information in the task initiating and focus formulation situation,
where information is referred to as data, events, physical items, figures, words. In the process
of assuming ideas, information becomes raw data which can be applied. Lastly, in the process
of confirming and rejecting ideas information is evidence, testing results, facts and reasons.
In finalising ideas, information is the feedback and consensus from boss and clients, while in
passing on ideas, information is personal knowledge, assets, and value-added and filtered
management information (Cheuk, 1998). This model directly deal with the information
seeking, retrieval and use activities experienced in workplaces different from the focus of the
current study which investigate the information behaviour of law students in the university
environments. Therefore, this model cannot be appropriately used to for this study.

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4.3.8 Wilson’s (1996) global model of information seeking behaviour
Wilson’s 1996 Global Model of Information Seeking Behaviour was proposed to revise
Wilson’s 1981 Model of Information Seeking Behaviour. It draws upon research from
various fields of knowledge in decision making, psychology, innovation, health,
communication and consumer research, and information science (Wilson, 1999:256). The
1996 model perceives information seeking and use to be associated with different stages of
goal-oriented problem-solving processes, which Wilson identifies as problem recognition,
problem definition, problem resolution, and solution statement.

According to Wilson, Kuhlthau’s stages and Ellis’s features are all related to Wilson’s (1996)
Global Model of Information Seeking Behaviour, as illustrated in Figure 4.1.

Figure 4.1: Wilson’s 1996 Model of Information behaviour (Source: Wilson, T.D.
1999).

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From the model, it is clear that activating mechanisms and intervening variables considerably
influence information seeking behaviour; the context of an individual’s environment can
greatly determine his or her information behaviour. Wilson (2000:49) refers to the 'person-in-
context' as the individual who is in need of information and who makes the decision of
whether or not to search for information. The ‘person-in-context’ refers to an individual with
an information need who experiences certain feelings of inadequacy in his/her knowledge and
is inclined to search for information to bridge the knowledge gap. Wilson suggests that when
studying the information behaviour of individuals, emphasis should be placed on information
seeking to determine what an individual’s information needs are and how information
seeking behaviour relates to other task-oriented behaviour (Wilson, 2000:49). Niedźwiedzka
(2003) explains that Wilson’s model identifies three stages of information seeking behaviour
that either motivates users to search for information or discourages them from searching,
described below:

4.3.8.1 Stage 1: Activating mechanisms

Wilson’s concept of an activating mechanism refers to the instinct that inspires an individual
to want to search for information. However, Wilson’s activating mechanisms suggest that not
every information need motivates users to initiate the information seeking process
(Niedźwiedzka, 2003). The activating mechanisms included in the model are: the
stress/coping theory; risk/reward theory; and the social learning theory, which encapsulates
the theory of self-efficacy.

4.3.8.1.1 Stress/coping theory

Stress is defined as pressure or worries caused by life’s problems, whereas coping enables
one to successfully deal with the difficult situations caused by stress (Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary, 2011:1477). Weiten (2001:530) explains that stress involves any
condition that threatens or seems to threaten man’s effort to achieve success or comfort,
while Louw and Edwards (1997:646) perceive coping to be the efforts put up to prevent,
tolerate or manage the effects of stress. Mostert (2004:126) defines the situation as “stress
and relief that are likely to act as an activating mechanism that tends to prompt an individual
into action to satisfy a perceived need for information”. According to Wilson, the stress and
coping theory offers the chance to clarify why some needs do not invoke information seeking
behaviour (Wilson, 1999:257).

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4.3.8.1.2 Risk/reward theory
According to Niedźwiedzka (2003) this theory explains what motivates some people to
search for information and others not to, and why specific information sources are more
frequently used than others (Wilson, 1999:257). According to the author, the theory of risk
and reward largely depends on the extent and complexity of the risk (avoidable expenses or
wasting time) that may result from searching for information and/or using certain information
sources. The desire to get reward can bring the feeling of necessity, even if the reward is only
the comfort of eradicating the feeling of uncertainty (Niedźwiedzka, 2003).

4.3.8.1.3 Social learning theory/ self-efficacy

Social learning theory is the view that people learn by observing others. Social learning
theory explains how people learn new behaviours, values, and attitudes (Bandura, 1997).
Bandura focused his theory on the concept of self-efficacy in various settings, for instance, a
student may learn how to search for useful information sources from the Internet by
observing how others (friends, family or library staff) browse the Internet in libraries or at
cyber cafés. Social learning requires attention to the person(s) observed (Bandura, 2001).
According to Ormrod’s (2006) study, social learning theory describes the acquisition of skills
that are developed exclusively within a social group. Social learning depends on how
individuals either succeed or fail at dynamic interactions within groups, and promotes the
development of individual emotional and practical skills as well as accurate perception of self
and acceptance of others. According to this theory, people learn from one another through
observation, imitation, and modelling.

In Ormrod’s study (2006), self-efficacy reflects an individual understanding of the kind of

skills that he/she can offer in a group. Self-efficacy is the measure of the belief in one's own
ability to complete tasks and reach particular goals. Psychologists have studied self-efficacy
from several perspectives, noting various paths in the development of self-efficacy (Ormrod,
2006).

Wilson’s (1999:257) social learning theory also embodies the concept of self–efficacy, which
is when users are convinced that they can successfully execute the behaviour required to
produce the desired outcome. Self-efficacy is therefore an estimation of whether an
individual can successfully perform an information search (Wilson, 1999:257).

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4.3.8.1.4 Intervening variables
Intervening variables are the obstacles or situations that exist between two events (variables)
that can hinder an individual from achieving their purpose or objectives in a given situation
(Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2011:788). Intervening variables can be explained
to be the obstacles that may block an individual from carrying out their life objectives.
intervening variables in this situation could be the events that discourage law students from
seeking information in the law libraries for instance, the law students who want to search for
legal information using the electronic law library but are hindered from doing so due to
obstacles like the inaccessibility or unavailability of information sources or the lack of
electronic resources such as internet, computers or databases. Wilson’s 1996 model identified
the intervening variables as psychological, demographic, role related or interpersonal,
environmental factors, and source characteristics (Wilson, 1999:256).

4.3.8.2 Stage 2: Information seeking behaviour/method of acquiring information

Spurred on by activating mechanisms and intervening variables, users may actively or
inactively search for the information that they need. In the process, the information seekers
may finally find a solution (success) which they can use to meet their goals. If the
information need is not accomplished (failure), the search can go back to the first stage of the
information seeking process, where the individual initiates a new search using other methods
to further the search (Wilson, 1999:256). Wilson’s 1996 model identified different methods
of seeking and acquiring information, specifically passive attention, passive search, active
search, and on-going search (Choo et al., 2000).

4.3.8.2.1 Passive attention

Passive attention means that the information seeker is not deliberately or intentionally
searching for information, but earning or gaining knowledge even when he/she is not paying
attention. Choo et al., (2000) describe passive attention as the type of information that is
gained when a person is listening to the radio or watching television programmes; there is no
intention to search for information, yet information acquisition may still take place.

4.3.8.2.2 Passive search

This is when a specific form of conduct leads to the acquisition of important information that
is relevant to the individual. A passive search is said to signify the occasion when some form
of inactive information seeking behaviour leads to acquiring information that is relevant to

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users (Choo et al., 2000). For instance, the person is not deliberately or intentionally seeking
information, but the person tends to learn or gain information even when he/she is not paying
attention to learn. Choo et al., (2000) describe passive attention as the type of information
gained when a person is listening to the radio or watching television programmes having no
intention to seek information, yet information acquisition still takes place. It can be assumed
that passive attention could be an important way of gathering information, more so, when the
person-in-context has no intention to search for such information.

4.3.8.2.3 Active search

According to Wilson’s 1999 study, an active search occurs when users focus their attention
on actively searching for information. Choo et al., (2000) explain that an active search
involves the kind of search commonly used with library and information science literature,
where individuals actively search for information to satisfy their information needs.

4.3.8.2.4 On-going search

This represents the act of continuous information searching carried out by information
seekers in order to update or expand their horizons and their professional knowledge
(Niedźwiedzka, 2003). Choo et al., (2000) explain that during an on-going search, the
individual initiates a search for information based on his or her basic ideas, beliefs and
values, and actively continues to search for more information even after gaining some level
of information in order to update or expand their search.

4.3.8.3 Stage 3: Information processing and use

Wilson has further explained that the information that is processed and used is a necessary
part of the feedback loop (Wilson, 1999:256). According to Niedźwiedzka (2003), the mental
and physical information seeking activities form a recurring process, where individual
components of the framework determine users' behaviour at all stages, and where the
information obtained becomes a new part of the active structure.

4.3.9 Niedźwiedzka’s (2003) model of information seeking behaviour

Niedźwiedzka proposed a new Model of Information Behaviour based on Wilson's work.
This model modifies Wilson’s 1996 model by incorporating a graphical representation that
illustrates the stages of information behaviour and their relationships in a broader way, where
every user’s interest is represented. She also attempted to preserve all components of

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Wilson's model; although some were compressed into one type (demographic variables were
included in the category of personal variables). The model remains general, but its general
concepts can be unfolded when necessary to reveal the compressed variables (e.g.
environmental variables) (Niedźwiedzka, 2003). Niedźwiedzka’s proposed new model is
illustrated in figure 4.2.

Figure 4.2: Niedźwiedzka (2003) Model of information seeking behaviour

Source: Niedźwiedzka, B. (2003).

The model illustrated in Figure 4.2 proposes that information seeking behaviour occurs as an
outcome of a need that is perceived by an information user. The information user makes
demands upon formal or informal information sources and services that ultimately result in
the success or failure to find relevant information. When successful, the individual makes use
of the information found and may either fully or partially satisfy the perceived need. If the
information fails to satisfy the need, the search process has to be repeated. The model also
shows that information seeking behaviour may involve other people through information
exchange; information that is perceived to be useful may be passed on to other people as well

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as used by the person in context (Niedźwiedzka, 2003). The model introduces several
changes to Wilson’s 1996 model. They include:
 Identification of the context in the intervening variables; Immersion of the chain of
information behaviour in the 'context', to indicate that the context variables influence
behaviour at all stages of the process (identification of needs, looking for information,
processing and using information);
 Stress is put on the fact that the activating mechanisms can also occur at all stages of
the information acquisition process; and
 The introduction of two basic strategies of looking for information: personally and/or
using various intermediaries (Niedźwiedzka, 2003).

The model is immersed in the framework of Wilson's intervening variables, that is personal,
role-related, environmental and source characteristics. According to Niedźwiedzka (2003),
such presentation of the relationships emphasizes the fact that these factors are always
present and can either positively or negatively influence the information seeking process at
all stages. The model also indicates that the activating mechanisms can occur at each link of
the chain of behaviour, which can lead to the acquisition and utilisation of information.
Niedźwiedzka removed the psychological theories that explain the activating mechanisms
from the Wilson model because psychological theories form part of the human knowledge
base. According to Niedźwiedzka (2003), it would be better to construct a set of explanatory
theories standing behind respective concepts rather than to introduce them as components of
the information behaviour cycle. Niedźwiedzka’s model indicates that activating mechanisms
occur at each link of the chain of behaviour that lead up to the acquisition and utilisation of
information.

In this model, the stage at which the information needs manifest is separated from the time at
which the user decides to seek information. The stages of information seeking, selection,
processing and information application are also separated.
The stages in the model include:
 Identification of an information need. This is the stage at which the users
recognise that they have a need for information.
 Decision to seek information. This is the stage at which the user chooses to look
for information from different sources in order to satisfy their need.

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  Information seeking performed by users. This is when the user takes active steps
to search for information.
 Own knowledge. This is when the user independently interacts and searches
library systems or decides to use his or her knowledge to seek information from
other sources. The latter may include the use of his/her personal textbooks,
colleagues, friends, or family. However, when users decide to search for
information, the searcher may also use the formal sources like libraries and
information systems to search for information.
 Selection and processing of information by the user. Here the information seeker
selects useful and relevant information, and may decide to abandon searching
when unable to access the information that they require, which brings him or her
back to the first stage of information needs. (Niedźwiedzka, 2003).

Niedźwiedzka (2003) posits that the model shows that chains of the information seeking
process are simultaneously performed using various approaches, and that the sequences
interconnect and support each other. The cycle-like form of her model subtly suggests
crossroads and circles representative of the fact that the information seeker may decide to
search for information using other systems until they find final closure or until their
information needs are resolved. However, Niedźwiedzka (2003) acknowledges that her model
is not universal because it does not include related issues like information seeking or
information encountering or ‘passive attention’ (Wilson, 1996 Model), which are different
methods of acquiring information.

Niedźwiedzka’s (2003) proposed new model is still at the developing phase and has not been
widely accepted; no known literature could be found that is either in support of or against
Niedźwiedzka’s model. Therefore, Niedźwiedzka’s new model is used in conjunction with
Wilson’s 1996 model.

4.3.10 Davis et al., (1989) technology acceptance model

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is a theory that models how users come to accept
and use a technology (Davis et al., 1989). Over the years, researchers have concentrated their
efforts on developing, adapting and testing models that could help in predicting technology
usage. Among these models, the most popular is the technology acceptance model (TAM) by

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Davis et al., (1989). Since it was first proposed, the TAM has been tested and extended by
many studies. Overall, TAM has been empirically proven successful in predicting about 40%
of a system use (Hu et al., 1999). TAM described how user’s beliefs and attitudes are related
to individuals’ intentions to perform or use ICT. The philosophy of user is that, an attitude to
behaviour is determined by behavioural beliefs about the consequences of the behaviour
based on the information available or presented to the individual and the affective evaluation
of those consequences on the part of the individual. Beliefs are defined as the individual’s
estimated probability that performing a given behaviour will result in a given consequence.
The TAM is a model that addresses the issue of how users come to accept and use a
technology such as the focus of this study. Two variables are peculiar; Perceived Use (PU)
and perceived ease of use (PE), which are hypothesized to be fundamental determinants of
user acceptance (Davis et al., 1989). Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) adapted Theory
of Reason Action (TRA) by replacing it with perceived ease of use. TAM has been widely
used to predict user acceptance and use based on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of
use in Figure 4.3).

Ali (2006), states that the model (TAM) suggests that when users are presented with a new
technology software package, a number of factors influence their decision about how and
when they will use it. Their decision is based on the perceived usefulness and perceived ease-
of-use of the specific technology. Perceived usefulness (PU) refers to the degree to which a
person believes that using a particular technology would enhance his or her job performance.
Perceived ease-of-use (PE) is the degree to which a person believes that using a particular
technology would be free from effort to perform his or her job (Ali, 2006). TAM is one of the
most influential extensions of Ajzen and Fishbein’s theory of reasoned action (TRA) in the
literature. It was developed by Fred Davis and Richard Bagozzi (Bagozzi, Davis and
Warshaw 1992). TAM replaced many of TRA’s attitude actions with the two technology
acceptance events, that is, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness (Davis 1989).

Extant literature has revealed that other models have been developed with the intention of
explaining and predicting usage of information technology. They include the Theory of
Reasoned Action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Theory of Diffusion of
Innovation (DOI). However, this study used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to
explain law students’ acceptance and use of electronic information sources. Several
information technology studies, such as, Venkatesh and Davis, 1996; Hendrickson et al.,

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1993; Adams et al., 1992, have replicated TAM or have extensively used the TAM
instrument to investigate a range of issues in the area of user acceptance of the new
Information and Communication Technology, which has been empirically proven to have
high validity. Other scholars like Chuttur, 2009:1; Reid and Levy, 2008:2; Vainny et al.,
2008; Ramayah et al., 2002:1, have also studied TAM’s acceptability and use of the new
computer technology. Chuttur’s (2009:1) study of “Origins, developments and future
directions of the Technology Acceptance Model” explained that users’ acceptance of
information technology has been an important field of study for over two decades and that
many models have been proposed to explain and predict the use of information systems,
Chuttur agreed that the technology acceptance model (TAM) has been the only one to have
captured the greatest attention of the information community. Reid and Levy (2008:2)
claimed that the traditional Technology Acceptance Model has been used to validate over
hundreds of studies in the past two decades. Vainny et al.’s (2008) study also confirmed this,
when their study concluded that TAM is one of the simplest, easiest to use, and most
powerful computer usage models. Ramayah et al., (2002:1) also established that the
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been extensively used in research that looked at
the acceptance of a new technology.

Bagozzi, Davis and Warshaw (1992) explained that the Technology Acceptance Model was
developed (through adaptation of both Ajzen and Fishbein’s 1980; and Fishbein and Ajzen’s
1975 Theory of Reason Action), to understand the causal relation that linked external
variables to intention to use information technology (IT) and the actual use of information
technology system (ITS) in a workplace. The theory of reasoned action (TRA) as proposed
by Ajzen and Fishbein in 1969 and 1980, provided a model that has potential benefits for
predicting the intention to perform a behaviour based on an individual’s attitude and beliefs
(Southey 2011:34). However, Bagozzi et al., (1992) was of the opinion that users’ beliefs,
attitudes, and intentions are the essential issues in the adoption of current computer
technologies, which illustrations focused more on the act of utilising computer systems. The
importance role of learning to utilise computer systems requires a good understanding of the
technology adoption process. This is because insufficient knowledge of how to operate
computers can restrain users from adopting and utilising the information system (Bagozzi et
al., 1992).

The TAM uses TRA as a theoretical basis for specifying the causal linkages between PU and
PE, and users’ attitudes, intention to use and actual computer adoption behaviour. However,

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TAM is considerably less general than TRA, which was specifically designed to apply only
to computer usage behaviour. TAM aimed at investigating the variables that are presumed to
be responsible for the law students’ decision behaviour. Testing the variables requires that the
testing stage of the research is conducted using the computer information systems technique.
This method provides advantages for the interpretation of the results and it also enables a
confirmatory response to the finding realised from the research. Figure 4.3 shows a graphical
illustration of the TAM.

Perceived
usefulness

Usefulness
Attitude Behavioural Actual use
towards use intention to use

Perceived
ease of use
Figure 4.3 Original Technology Acceptance Model (Davis et al ., 1989)

4.4 Relevant theories reviewed

The models of information seeking behaviour discussed in this chapter provided an overview
of the various forms and approaches that users employ when searching for information. These
models map the world of user experiences in the process of searching for information within
their environments. However, of the ten models reviewed in this chapter, three of the
models appear to be most relevant to the current study, that is, Wilson’s (1996) Model of
Information Behaviour, Niedźwiedzka’s (2003) Model of Information Seeking Behaviour and
the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by Davies et al., (1989).

As already stated, Niedźwiedzka’s model modifies Wilson’s 1996 model by incorporating a

graphical representation that broadly explains the stages of information behaviour and their
relationships, with every user’s interest represented. Niedźwiedzka preserved all components
of Wilson's model, compressing some into one variable, and focusing more on Wilson's
intervening variables (personal, role-related, environmental and source characteristics).
However, there are certain variables common to both which, for the purposes of this study,
are tagged as the ‘meeting points’ between Wilson’s model and Niedźwiedzka’s model.
These are demonstrated in Figure 4.4.

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 A. Wilson 1996 Model B. Common elements C. Niedzwiedzka 2003 Model

 Person-in-context
 Specific activating
mechanism theories:  Whole process-in-context
(a) Stress/coping theory  Information seeking
(b) Social learning theory behaviour
(c) Self-efficacy theory (a) Own searching
(d) Risk/reward theory (b) Intermediaries
 Information need  Information resources
 Information behaviour  Information selection
method (a) Own knowledge and
and use process reference collections
(a) Passive attention  Continued feedback
(b) Passive search (b) Computerised search
(c) Active search system
(d) Ongoing search  Information centres and
libraries

Figure 4.4: Convergence of Wilson 1996 and Niedźwiedzka 2003 Models of

Information Seeking Behaviour (Source: The Researcher).

The above Figure 4.4 is divided into three sections, where section ‘A’ represents Wilson’s
model, ‘B’ is the common element shared, while ‘C’ represents Niedźwiedzka’s variables.
The figure identifies the differences in the two models to reveal B, which are the common
variables shared by A and C. In the figure, A identifies three major variables that are unique
to Wilson’s 1996 model, namely: ‘person-in-context’; ‘specific activation mechanism
theories’ applicable to specific stages in the search process (i.e. stress and coping theory,
social learning theory, self-efficacy theory and risk and reward theory) and ‘information
seeking behaviour methods’ (passive attention, passive search, active search and on-going
search). These information seeking methods do not allow for the use of an intermediary. B
clearly shows three components commonly shared by A and C, which are ‘information needs,
‘information selection and use’ and ‘continued feedback’. C indicates the four components
that are peculiar to Niedźwiedzka’s model, i.e.: that users’ experience activating mechanisms
all through the search process; the ‘whole process-in-context’ as opposed to ‘person-in-
context’; information seeking behaviour, where users apply their ‘own searching method’ to
search for information or may choose to use intermediaries; and the identification of specific
information resources (own knowledge of information collection and computerised search
systems and information centres and libraries).

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4.4.1 Critique of Wilson’s (1996) model of information behaviour
According to Godbold (2006), Wilson’s remark that “feedback loops must exist within all
models, since progression towards a goal is hardly ever unproblematic” (Wilson, 1999:267)
connotes that the order of information seeking tasks may be reversed to include dead-ends,
changes of direction, iteration, abandonment and beginning again. However, Godbold adds
that Wilson's 1996 Model of Information Behaviour only demonstrates information transfer,
exchange and use (Godbold, 2006), but no link to show what users would do if the
information process ends in failure.

In his critique of Wilson’s 1996 model, Godbold further states that Wilson only describes
users’ specific actions in the process of identifying their particular information needs and
their search for information, which they may ultimately use or transfer to others (Godbold,
2006). According to Godbold (2006), Wilson’s model has a tendency to describe information
behaviour in a sequence of stages, while it is evident that the actual behaviour is not always
sequential. Additionally, Godbold (2006) remarks that the information behaviour model tends
to limit itself to descriptions of information seeking and not describing the actual behaviour.

Niedźwiedzka (2003) criticized Wilson’s 1996 model for not diagrammatically

differentiating the stages between the phase when a need occurs and the point when the
decision to seek for information is taken, although Wilson clearly distinguishes between these
two phases. Additionally, Wilson does not integrate the context of the person and the need
with the intervening variables, which can hugely influence information behaviour. She also
criticised the fact that some of the intervening variables, such as the information sources,
psychological and demographic variables, are categorised separately while they can actually
be collapsed into each other, e.g. personal variables (psychological, demographic, role-related
or interpersonal factors) or environmental variables (including information sources) (Just
2008:43). A major criticism was aimed at where the intervening and activating mechanisms
are portrayed in the diagram, as this gives the impression that these variables and
mechanisms can only play a role at that specific point of the information behaviour process
rather than in all phases of the process. Niedźwiedzka (2003) expressed her concern that the
model only depicts ICT as a situation where a user searches for information in his/her
personal capacity.

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4.4.2 Critique of Niedźwiedzka’s model of information seeking behaviour
A literature review could not trace any existing critique of Niedźwiedzka’s 2003 Model of
Information Seeking Behaviour. In her self-critique Niedźwiedzka (2003) explains that the
model does not represent all aspects of information behaviour, such as problematic situations,
decision-making, information acquisition, and other information needs. The new model was,
however, proposed to stimulate further discussions on theories and experimental studies with
the aim of building a universal model of information behaviour (Niedźwiedzka, 2003).

4.4.3 Critique of Davis et al., (1989) model of technology acceptance

Based on current observations, Chuttur (2009:2) examined the historical evolution of TAM in
the IS literature from 1985 to 2007. Chuttur’s study found out that even though TAM is a
highly cited information system model, scholars shared mixed feelings regarding TAM’s
theoretical assumptions and the practical effectiveness of the model. Chuttur determined that
research in TAM lacks sufficient rigor and relevance that would make it a well-established
theory for the information system (IS) community. The study of Legis et al., (2003) put
forward that even though TAM is a useful model, the model has to be integrated into a
broader one to include variables that relate to human and social change processes and the
adoption of the innovation model. Legis et al. further indicated that the analysis of empirical
research that used TAM showed that results were totally not consistently clear.

In another critique, Averwerg’s (2002) report showed that research findings are not in support
of TAM’s basic beliefs, because it lays emphasis on perceived usefulness above perceived
ease of use, as a possible indication of the differences in the general background influences,
such as, culture, previous experience, environmental location that could have impact on user
interface.
A further critique for TAM concerns the issue of self-reported use of data to measure the
information system used, instead of actual use of data. Data were collected using a user-
reported self-assessment approach for use in intention-based studies (Hu, 1999:99) to cope
with real-world constraints more effectively than could objective measures (Melone,
1990:72).

Yousafzai et al., (2007) state that studies on TAM typically use students as their participants
in controlled environments, and in such situations it is difficult to generalise the results
obtained from the studies on the general population of the students. Yousafzai, Foxall and

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Pallis explain that the self-reported use data is a subjective measure that is not reliable in
measuring the actual use of a system. Hu (1999:108) explains that several information
technology acceptance studies have extended ΤΑΜ to include intervening variables, such as,
self-efficacy (Taylor and Todd, 1995:144; Venkatesh and Davis, 1996:451), prior usage and
experience (Taylor and Todd, 1995:561), objective usability (Venkatesh and Davis,
1996:451) and user characteristics (Igbaria et al., 1997:279). Davis (1993:487) also
recommended that additional factors be included in the original ΤΑΜ.

4.5 Applicability of the models

The applicability of Wilson’s model to this study on law students’ information seeking
behaviour can be found based on the fact that it provides a better understanding of the factors
that play a role in the information search process. The fact that students have to pass tests and
examinations, and complete research assignments in order to become lawyers should serve to
motivate them in their search for information related to their academic tasks. Intervening
variables, as presented in Wilson’s model and implied in Niedźwiedzka’s model, provide a
valuable insight into reasons for the utilisation or non-utilisation of specific information
resources, and therefore provide an insight into the factors that hinder or assist the law
students in gaining access to information for their academic endeavours.

Niedźwiedzka’s model also allows for the investigation of very specific information seeking
strategies that are thought to be common to law students, which involves the personal search
for information by using databases or the Internet, or to search using assistance or services of
other people (intermediaries) (Niedźwiedzka, 2003). This implies that law students can
choose either of the two approaches (intermediary and personal) to search for information.
Intermediaries can be formal or informal, the formal being using librarians and other
information personnel and the informal referring to friends, colleagues or family, while own
knowledge refers to personal preferences to search for information from law library resources
or from their own personal collections.

In addition, researchers have made several efforts to develop, adapt and test models that
could help in predicting technology usage. This study is an example of one of these efforts.
As it relate to this study, it is assumed that technology or ICT utilisation exerted an important
direct effect on information behaviours. Table 4.1 below demonstrates the link between the
three theoretical frameworks chosen for this study with the research questions.

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Table 4.1: Link between theoretical frameworks and research
questions
S/N Research Question(s) Theory Aspects of research
addressed by the theory
1. What is the information seeking Wilson’s model Information behaviour
behaviour of law students in Nigerian
university law libraries?
2. What are the reasons for which Niedźwiedzka’s Reasons for utilisation
Nigerian law students’ use law library model/Davis and non-utilisation
information sources and services? model(TAM)
3. What information resources are Wilson’s model Resource availability
available to law students in Nigerian
university law libraries?
4. What ICT sources are available for Niedźwiedzka’s Electronic information
student utilisation within the law model/Davis sources utilisation
libraries? model (TAM)

5. How are Nigerian university law Niedźwiedzka’s ICT-based resources

students utilising information model/Davis utilisation
resources, specifically, ICT-based model (TAM)
resources in the process of
information retrieval?

6. What skills do law students possess to Davis model ICT application skill
utilise ICT sources, and how was it (TAM)
obtained?

7. What are the challenges faced by law Davis model Challenges (PU and PE)
students utilising ICT-based resources (TAM) faced utilising ICT-based
in the process of information resources
retrieval?

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4.6 Appraisal of the reviewed literature
There is no doubt the fact that, there is a large volume of literature available in the area of
information behaviour. Studies have generally investigated professionals and students from
diverse disciplines in Nigeria, Kenya, Malaysia, Western world and other regions and
countries (e.g. Khan and Bhatti, 2012; Daniel, 2012:35; Savolaine, 2007:109; Tackie and
Adams, 2007:69; Case, 2006:293; Kerins et al, 2004:; Odusanya and Amusa, 2003:50;
Wilson, 1997:551 and Folster, 1995:83). Most of these studies investigated the information
seeking behaviour of their respective respondents, ranging from engineers, lawyers, and
agricultural professionals to students from different subject disciplines. However, few
researches have been carried out on the information seeking behaviour of law students
particularly in Nigerian universities (Ossai, 2011:8).

From the critical review of literature on information behaviour, particularly of law students in
the Nigeria context, it was revealed that very limited studies were available. These included,
Ogba (2013), Akanwa and Aniche (2012), Lawal et al. (2012) and Ossai (2011). Ogba
studied the information seeking behaviour of final year law students from seven university
law faculties in South Western Nigeria. The findings indicated that, law students did make
use of their law libraries and some other law related libraries to seeking for legal information.
While, Akanwa and Aniche (2012) studied the level of law library utilisation by law students,
to determine the level of organisation of resources, service and the problems faced by the law
students of Imo State University. Ossai’s (2011) in his own study investigated the
information seeking patterns of male and female law students at the University of Benin,
Benin City, Nigeria. Specifically, Ossai studied, how these law students acquired their
information, the resources they used, and the purpose for which, they sought information.
However, these studies were limited in scope and context as they (Akanwa and Aniche, 2012;
and Ossai, 2011) only investigated one university each and focusing only on the South
Southern part of Nigeria. In the case of Ogba (2013), out of thirty Nigerian universities that
offer law in Nigeria; the study focused mainly on the information seeking behaviour of final
year law students from seven law faculties’ in the South Western part of Nigeria. The study
by Lawal et al. (2012) concentrated mainly on the information seeking patterns of graduate
law students who were attending law schools in Nigeria.

Looking at all these studies in Nigeria, it is obvious that these authors have worked on the
general information seeking behaviour of law students within and outside university law

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libraries. However, none of the authors have investigated law students’ use of electronic
information resources to search for information within the university law libraries or to
determine the level of their ICT utilisation to seek for required information in the university
law libraries in Nigeria. However, it is important that, the trainee lawyers are able to utilise
all kinds of information resources in their different formats to retrieve information for their
legal studies. Not this alone, extant literature has also revealed that limited studies has
focused on information seeking behaviour of the law students within the purview of the
electronic resources. Again, available literature on law students’ information seeking
behaviour have also revealed that more of these studies were conducted in developed
countries where sophisticated technology has enabled putting in place advance and
voluminous electronic information resources from where the law students were able to search
and retrieve information without stress. In the same way, limited studies both in developed
and developing world have considered using information seeking models (e.g. Wilson,
Kuhlthau, Belkin) or information utilisation models (TAM, ISSM, DOI) to determine the
information seeking of law students. Therefore, this study seeks to bridge the gap by
examining the information behaviour of law students in Nigerian university with specific
reference to their ICT utilisation of the available law resources and using the Technology
Acceptance Model to determine the use of ICT in searching for and retrieving electronic
information from the law libraries.

4.7 Summary
This chapter reviewed ten models of information seeking behaviour. The models by Wilson
(1996), Niedźwiedzka (2003) and Davies et al., (1989) were selected to inform this study.
These models were discussed and their relation to the study shown. The chapter concluded
with a critique of the models and by explaining the link between the theoretical frameworks
and the particular model that answered the research questions. The next chapter provides an
overview of the research design and methodology of the study.

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 CHAPTER FIVE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
5.1 Introduction
In chapter four, the information seeking behaviour models, as well as, the information and
communication technology models were discussed. The literature reviewed on the theories
identified the relevant models applicable to the law students’ information seeking behaviour
and ICT utilisation activities. Based on this, the chapter outlines the research design and
methodology, population, sampling method, validity and reliability, as well as, ethical
considerations of this study. This chapter also gives a detailed description of the research
instruments, procedures and data collection methods used in the study.

5.2 Research

Research is a collection of methods that people systematically use to produce knowledge,

and an exciting process of discovery that requires persistence, personal integrity, tolerance
for uncertainty, interaction with others, and taking pride in doing quality work (Neuman,
2000:2).
Fraenkel and Wallen (2000:9) describe research as the investigation into any field of
knowledge, which is undertaken to establish facts and principles about the research problem.
McMillan and Schumacher (2006:9) likewise describe research as a systematic process of
collecting and logically analysing data in order to achieve some point. Oloyo (2001:2) posits
that research is an enquiry into a problem with the intention of finding solutions through a
systematic approach that involves collection, analysis and interpretation of relevant data.
Creswell, (2009: 233) explained that research method involves the technique of data
collection, analysis and interpretation that researchers propose for their studies. Based on
these definitions, research can be understood to be a systematic way of finding answers to
questions, and the scientific way of attaining the accuracy of a given situation.

For this study, quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to generate data from
multiple points of views in order to improve the accuracy of data collected so as to enable
generalisation of the findings on the law students from the universities surveyed.

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5.3 The research paradigm

The design of a study begins with topic selection and a paradigm (Creswell, 1994). Kuhn
(1970) posits that the paradigm assists the understanding and expectations of human and the
social world, how science can be conducted to identify what constitutes genuine problems,
solutions and measures to proof the problems. A research paradigm is a set of philosophical
assumptions about fundamental aspects of reality that give rise to a particular worldview
(Maree, 2011:47; Creswell, 2009:6). A research paradigm therefore refers to the knowledge
claims of researchers that start a project with certain expectations about how and what will
be learnt from the research in the course of the inquiries (Creswell, 2003:6). Lincoln and
Guba (1985:15) and Creswell (2009:48) explain that a paradigm represents what we think
about the world, and that the actions taken as inquirers cannot occur without a paradigm. A
research paradigm addresses important assumptions about fundamental aspects of reality
that give rise to a particular worldview. Kinash (2006:6) opines that a research paradigm is
the theoretical collection of beliefs that underlie an approach to data collection. Neuman
(2011:91) explains that a research paradigm is a pattern, a model, shared assumptions, or an
entire system of thinking about some aspect of the world. The three major types of research
paradigms are: positivism (quantitative), interpretive social research (qualitative), and
critical social research. Critical social research focuses on the contest, conflict and
contradictions in society, for example, issues of gender relations, inequality or women
emancipation; racism; class; cultural and religious values; political issues; definition of
intelligence (Maree, 2011:62).

The positivism paradigm is mostly applied to quantitative research rather than qualitative
research. It is also referred to as positivist or post-positivist research, empirical research, and
post-positivism because it represents the thinking after positivism which challenges the
“traditional notion of absolute knowledge” (Creswell, 2009:7). This implies that one cannot
claim to be absolutely positive about an acclaimed knowledge when examining human
behaviour. Positivist social researchers study problems in order to identify and assess causes
that influence the outcomes as identified in experiments, which reduce ideas into variables,
such as, hypotheses or research questions. Positivist researchers develop knowledge through
careful observation and the measurement of objective reality (Creswell, 2009:231), which
does not depend on the perception of an individual. Positivist social research merges a
deductive approach with quantitative data to enable the researcher to determine and confirm

90
the laws that permit predictions of human behaviour (Neuman, 2000:516). Positivist
researchers gain quantitative data using scientific experiments, surveys and statistics to view
reality as a concrete structure. In the course of data collection for this study, the researcher
distributed the survey instruments to participants who voluntarily provide their views and
observations about their information behaviour.

According to Chigada (2014:93), to use a positivist paradigm, a researcher could experiment

with careful controls for bias, using prior theoretical frameworks and delineate specific
variables that can be operationally designed based on scholarly literature. This study applied
a theoretical framework to validate this research, while data collected from the sample were
generalised on the total population of the respondents’ surveyed (Creswell and Miller,
1997). In this study, a semi-structured survey instrument was developed to measure
variables for inference from the sampled law students. Therefore, the deductive process of
the positivism paradigm was used to determine the accuracy, reliability and validity, which
lead to the understanding of law students’ information behaviour in the selected Nigerian
universities. This study used interpretive positivists’ paradigm and quantitative approach
combined to collect data from law students using a questionnaire.

The interpretive social approach is largely qualitative in nature, because at its core lies the
belief that a researcher has to be part of that group of individuals (Creswell, 2009:8) to make
meaning out of the situation. Qualitative researchers employ various methods to study how
others see the world and to understand human actions by using a qualitative research
approach (observation, interview and open-ended questions) to investigate human behaviour
(Creswell, 2009:8). For this study, the researcher visited the selected universities to gather
information from interviews with the deans of law and law librarians who can answer the
research questions on the information behaviour of law students in order to make sense of
the participants’ views and remarks. The researcher thus applied an inductive process,
designs and themes to collect data to validate issues that were not addressed in the survey to
achieve a clearer knowledge of the views and experiences of participants (deans and
librarians).

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5.4 Research methodology
Research methodology is described as the overall research design and strategy (Johnson and
Christensen, 2012:593) that a researcher uses to execute research. Research methodology is
a discipline specific approach and process of research (Kinash, 2006:6) that involves a
description of the problem to be solved, the problem statement, research objectives and
research questions combined to determine the research methods and procedures that are to
be adopted in the conduct of research in any discipline (Oloyo, 2001:9). Maree (2011)
explained that research method is one of the elements in the framework that involves data
collection, analysis and interpretation, which researchers propose for their studies. Research
methods are the specific ways in which researchers go about collecting their research data
(Kinash, 2006:6). A valid research method involves a sequence of steps taken in a logical
order to achieve research objectives and answer the research questions (Oloyo 2001:8).
Examples of research methods include positivist quantitative (questionnaire) and interpretist
qualitative (interview and observation) methods. According to Creswell, 2003:4), there are
three main approaches to research i.e. quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. Bazeley
(2002) explains that qualitative and quantitative methods are distinguished by the kind of
data used, logic employed, method of analysis, approach to explanation, and paradigm. For
instance, a quantitative method is mainly used for textual or numeric data collection,
deductive reasoning, exploratory investigation, statistical method of analysis, and positivist,
Interpretivist or critical paradigms to carry out research. Whereas, quantitative research
applies structured or unstructured data employs inductive logical reasoning, uses
confirmatory investigation, interpretive analysis and rationalistic or naturalistic research
paradigms to investigate in research. Stangor (2011:15) explains that quantitative research is
a descriptive survey form of research that uses questionnaires to measure beliefs, attitudes,
intentions, behaviour and systematic observation, which are subjected to statistical analysis.
The mixed method is the combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods, which
provide strength that offsets the weakness in the two methods (Dadzie, 2013:87).

Descriptive survey research focuses on obtaining data from a large group of people in a
standardised and systematic way (Neuman, 2011:40). Neuman explains that in a descriptive
survey, the researcher may use written questionnaires and/or formal interviews to learn
about people’s beliefs, behaviours and opinions. Johnson and Christensen (2012:596) state
that descriptive survey research is a non-experimental research method based on

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questionnaires or interviews. Researchers who use descriptive surveys often focus on
samples or a smaller group of selected people and then generalise the results onto the larger
group from which the smaller group was drawn (Neuman, 2011:48; Abdullahi, 1995:19).
This study employed a descriptive survey to draw a smaller group from the larger group of
respondents (undergraduate law students, deans and librarians) to investigate and observe
the information behaviour of law students in Nigerian universities.

As applicable to this study, the combination of positivist and interpretist approaches were
adopted. This was based on the use of a combination of data collection methods as employed
in this study (questionnaire, interview and observation). A questionnaire was used to collect
numerical data which was statistically analysed, thereby falling in line with a positivist
approach. Qualitative data was collected through interview and observation and was
thematically analysed, and thus falls in line with an interpretist approach. The use of a
combined approach in research has been proved to usually result in the collection of
generalisable data (Neuman, 2011, Creswell, 2009, 2003).

5.5 Research design

Research design is the logical sequence that connects empirical data to the research questions
and research conclusions. Research design is an approach to thinking about doing research,
which is the summary of the procedure for conducting a study that includes when, from
whom, and under what conditions the research data was obtained, as well as, how a study was
conducted. It is the theoretical aspect of the study that specifies how a study was carried out
and the manner in which it answers the research questions (McMillan and Schumacher, 2006;
Ikoja-Odongo, 2000:184). The research design method demonstrates how the major parts of
the research project come together to achieve the aims and objectives of the research; it is the
outline, plan, or strategy that is used to answer research questions (Johnson and Christensen,
2012:593). The purpose of research design is to structure and outline all the major parts of the
research project to provide the necessary answers for the study. This study employed the
mixed methods to provide a more convincing assurance to the research findings, in which
quantitative and qualitative data were combined to investigate and provide a comprehensive
analysis of the research problem. A mixed method allows for exploratory description and
explanation of each method, and across all methods to provide accurate results or findings
(Creswell, 1994). A survey research method represents one of the most common types of
quantitative, social science research. In using survey research, the researcher selects a sample

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of respondents from a population and administers a standardised questionnaire to them. The
questionnaire, or survey, can be a written document that is completed by the person being
surveyed, an online questionnaire, a face-to-face interview, or a telephone interview. Using
surveys, it is possible to collect data from large or small populations (Writing: Colorado State
University, 2014).

This study used survey research design (questionnaires) to obtain data from the law student
recipients who were the main focus of the study; used interviews to elicit data from the law
faculty deans and law librarians, and observation of the law libraries.

5.5.1 Justifying the use of survey research design

The survey research method was used for the study as an innovative tool that presents the
opportunity to combine both quantitative and qualitative data to investigate the research topic
(Murphy, 2006). The use of survey research design requires the use of specific forms of data
collection methods like, case studies, observation or surveys, and it presents several
advantages because it provides a wide-ranging approach for data collection. A survey method
provides statistics about an event and illustrates people’s experience. The survey method is
used to collect information from a large population that could have been impossible to obtain
with other methods. The researcher is able to reach many respondents using research
assistants, other colleagues, to administer the survey and thus is not expensive. The research
design also offers unique methods of data collection. Studies can be based on several sources
such as a literature review or personal explanations that provide insight into respondents’ life
experiences. Observation research technique for data collection can be used to study life
experiences and it often removes the barriers of strict academic approaches because the
researcher is able to see how others experience the event (Murphy, 2006).

The decision to use a survey method to collect data was based on the following:
 Surveys are relatively inexpensive (especially self-administered surveys).
 Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population. No other
method of observation can provide this general capability.
 They can be administered from remote locations using mail, email or telephone.
 Consequently, very large samples are feasible, making the results statistically
significant even when analysing multiple variables.

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  Many questions can be asked about a given topic giving considerable flexibility to the
analysis.
 There is flexibility at the creation phase in deciding how the questions will be
administered: as face-to-face interviews, by telephone, as group administered written
or oral survey, or by electronic means.
 Standardised questions make measurement more precise by enforcing uniform
definitions upon the participants.
 Standardisation ensures that similar data can be collected from groups then interpreted
comparatively (between-group study).
 High reliability is easy to obtain through presentation of all questions with a
standardized stimulus that eliminate observer bias (Colorado State University, 2014).

5.5.2 Criticism of the survey research design

According to Chigada (2014:89) in spite of the benefits of using survey research method, the
method is still faced with some challenges. Murphy (2006) identified confidentiality as the
main weakness of survey research, as respondents are often not truthful, as they tend to tell
researchers what they think the researchers want to hear, especially during interviews.
Participants may also refuse to provide answers to questions that they view to be personal
(Murphy, 2006). Additionally, there is the possibility for error and subjectivity, especially,
when a predetermined and narrow research survey design is employed. Furthermore, the
study may contain errors, as researchers may record what he/she wants to hear and disregard
data that does not conform to the research theory (Murphy, 2006).

Colorado State University (2014) sums up the disadvantages of the survey research method
as:
 A methodology relying on standardization forces the researcher to develop questions
general enough to be minimally appropriate for all respondents, possibly missing what
is most appropriate to many respondents.
 Surveys are inflexible as they require the initial study design (the tool and
administration of the tool) to remain unchanged throughout the data collection.
 The researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will reply.
 It may be hard for participants to recall information or to tell the truth about a
controversial question.

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5.6 Research method
Bosire (2011:83) research methods are tools that are used to answer specific questions in
order to solve various scientific and practical problems. Scholars claim that research methods
are not the same as research methodology, although the two are often confused (Nkomo,
2009:41; Davis, 2005:85; Sarantakos, 1997:34). According to Sarantakos, method is different
from methodology because Methodology is the science of methods that hold the standards
and principles used to guide the choice, structure, process and use of Method based on the
underlying paradigm in order to evaluate new knowledge (Nachmias and Nachmias,
1996:13). Leedy and Omrod (2005:12) explain in Nkomo (2009:43) that research
methodology is the general approach that researchers follow when carrying out a
research study. Nkomo et al. (2011:132) further clarify that methodology relates to the larger
principles and philosophy of research as methodology provides a foundation for research
methods. Properly specified methodology helps to provide logical, consistent, and credible
findings on which the success of any research is dependent. Neuman (2011:2) differentiates
methodology from method, explaining that the terms may seem synonymous, but that
methodology is broader and envelops method. Neuman posits that methodology refers to
understanding the entire research process i.e. social organisational context, philosophical
assumptions, ethics and political impact of new knowledge from research. Neuman also
described method as the collection of specific techniques used to select cases, measure and
observe social life, gather and refine data, analyse data and report on results (2011:2).
Neuman concludes that methods and methodology are closely related and are interdependent.
In Information Studies, research methods that are commonly used are qualitative, quantitative
or mixed method based on the research instrument. This study employed the combination of
qualitative and quantitative (mixed) method to investigate the information behaviour of law
students in Nigerian universities.

5.6.1 Qualitative research method

Neuman (2011:174) explains that qualitative research builds on the assumption that certain
areas of life are fundamentally qualitative, which is the qualitative research method used for
investigating new phenomena and documenting participants’ views about occurrences. This
research method studied human behaviour in their natural settings, providing a
comprehensive study of participants’ views from their personal perspectives, while providing
detailed information about why a phenomenon occurred. Qualitative research is a descriptive
research that is typically based on small, non-random samples and is often used for discovery

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purposes. Findings from a qualitative study cannot be generalised beyond its narrow research
participants (Johnson and Christensen, 2012:429). Green and Browne (2005:46) define the
qualitative method as research that explores meaning and produces non-numerical data.
Mugenda and Mugenda (1999:203) observe that qualitative researchers’ main collection
instruments used to obtain data are observations, interviews and documentary analysis.
According to Stangor (2011:15), the data procedures collection sources in qualitative research
are: audio or video recordings and field notes.

The study used qualitative research instruments to collect data from the research informants
within the universities such as the Deans of law and law librarians who were interviewed in
their offices, and an observation schedule which was used to observe the law students’ use of
law library information resources, the law library and the universities environments.

The quantitative research technique is commonly used in studies that consist of a large
population, where sample respondents are used to represent the total population. Creswell
(2009:55) defines a quantitative study as an enquiry into a social or human problem that is
based on testing a theory, composed of variables, measured with numbers, and analysed with
statistical procedures in order to determine whether the predictive generalisation is true. The
quantitative method deals with data that may either be numerically gathered using a set of
instruments, or text that can be empirically analysed. Quantitative methods include surveys,
questionnaires and laboratory experiments. Neuman (2011:199) states that quantitative
research is more concerned with issues of design, measurement and sampling, because their
deductive approach emphasizes detailed planning before data collection. Quantitative
research is often used to established cause-and-effect relationships and it is very useful in
making statistical generalisations about the population (Johnson and Christensen 2012:429).
For this study, a quantitative research method was also used to investigate the information
behaviour of law students, through the administration of a questionnaire to the law students to
gather information from their natural setting within the universities.

5.6.2 Mixed method

The mixed method approach is a form of data collection that combines both quantitative and
qualitative instruments to collect data, for example by augmenting a questionnaire with
observation and in-depth interviews. The use of qualitative and quantitative approaches is a
more complete way to learn about the human behaviour that a researcher is interested in

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(Johnson and Christensen, 2012:428). According to Morgan (1996:129), research conducted
under only one method may not achieve a comprehensive result. The current study used the
mixed method approach to elicit information about the information seeking behaviour of law
students in Nigerian universities. Specifically, the study used a questionnaire, interviews and
observation instruments, which are discussed in detail in section 5.13 (Method of data
analysis).

5.7 Placing the study in context

This study was carried out in twelve selected universities that offer law education courses in
Nigeria. This study utilised a cross sectional perspective, by considering all four levels of
study (second, third, fourth and fifth years) in the Faculty of Law during the academic years
2011/2012 and 2012/2013. The samples were selected because they had the law libraries’
physical structure requirements, with qualified librarians managing the law libraries. The
study was confined to establishing law students’ information seeking behaviour, available
information sources and the utilisation of electronic information sources of the law students,
awareness of electronic information sources, devices utilised to access electronic sources and
the problems encountered in searching electronic information sources. With an undergraduate
law student population of 7,219 (National Universities Commission, Nigerian law students’
nominal roll 2013), a representative study population of 1,534 undergraduate law students
were drawn from the selected twelve universities used in the study. This sample was derived
using the probability and non-probability sampling technique for the study population of the
undergraduate law student in the 2011–2012 academic years (i.e. 1,534: 7,219). A random
sampling method was used to arrive at the sample size in this study. Twenty percent was used
to derive the sample size of law students according to their year of study.

5.8 Population of the study

Best and Kahn (2006:13) define a population as any group of individuals that has one or
more characteristics in common distinguishing the group from other individuals. The
research population is described as the entire group of people on whom the results of a study
are intended to be applied (Johnson and Christensen, 2012:218; Nkomo, 2009:49; Fraenkel
and Wallen, 2000:104). The breakdown of public universities that offer law, from second to
fifth year undergraduate law students is depicted below:

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Table 5.1: Total populations of the law students sampled
Sampled universities 200L 300L 400L 500L Total
University of Ibadan, Ibadan 122 145 135 38 440
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 300 250 250 250 1050
University of Benin, Benin 220 203 210 200 833
University of Ilorin, Ilorin 120 140 170 260 690
University of Nigeria, Enugu 250 250 250 180 930
University of Calabar 122 120 152 Nil 394
Kogi State University, Anyigba 170 207 280 168 825
Nasarawa State University, Keffi 79 112 96 55 342
Imo State University, Owerri 125 107 115 181 528
Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago- Iwoye 125 89 56 Nil 270
Ambrose Alli University 105 320 130 120 675
Ekiti State University, Ado Nil Nil 120 122 242
Total 1738 1943 1964 1574 7,219
Source: NUC Nominal Roll for undergraduate Law Students (2012).

The above table 5.1 shows the total population of undergraduate law students in the twelve
universities, in terms of university names, year levels, and the number of law students in
each class.

5.9 Sampling techniques and size

Researchers use various sampling techniques to collect data when the population is large
and when studying all its elements is not possible (Bosire, 2011:100; Nyandemo, 2007:100).
Sampling takes a small group from a larger group, investigates it, and draws an accurate
conclusion that can be generalised onto the larger group (Rea and Parker, 2005:115).
Walonick (2010) explained that sampling methods are in two categories: probability or non-
probability sampling methods.

Probability sampling is a procedure used to select participants where every individual has an
equal probability of being selected from the population (Nyandemo, 2007:100). This ensures
that samples are representative to enable generalisation of the population (Johnson and
Christensen, 2012:219; Creswell, 2009:233; Best and Kahn, 2006:16). Probability sampling

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includes: simple random sampling, systematic sampling, and stratified sampling (Walonick,
2010). The study adopted convenience sampling to investigate law students’ information
behaviour in Nigerian universities.

A non-probability sampling method was deliberately used to select respondents for the study.
StatPac (2014) and Patton (2002:169) posit that the logic and power of purposive sampling
lies in selecting information rich cases for study with an intention to select specific cases that
will provide the most information for the research questions under study. A purposive
sampling technique was used for selecting key informants (12 law deans and 12 law
librarians) from the 12 universities. The deans were selected because they were responsible
for the academic developments of the law students. The law librarians were selected because
they are responsible for the development of law libraries and are in position to speak on the
information behaviour of law students. The twelve universities were conveniently selected
because they are well-located and easy to reach within the time required, without incurring
much cost to select a random sample and practical constraints (Johnson and Christensen,
2012:230). The sample size was obtained from twelve universities, 1534 law students, 12 law
deans and 12law librarians.

The overall sampling frame consists of the 30 public universities that offer a law degree,
purposefully selected from all the 124 universities in Nigeria when this study was conducted.
The 30 universities have 30,660 law students, 851 deans of law, and 30 law librarians. For
this study, the sampling frame consisted of 12 universities conveniently selected out of the 30
law degree awarding universities, 7, 219 law students in their second to fifth year of study,
391 law deans and 12 law librarians.

The selection of the twelve university law libraries was informed by Walonick’s (2010)
opinion that when a population is too large for the researcher to attempt to survey all of its
members, a small but carefully chosen sample can be used to represent the population. The
selection was limited to six federal and six state university law libraries, in according to
Nigeria’s socio-political zones. Three universities were selected from the North-Central
Zone, two from the South-East Zone, four from the South-Western Zone and three from the
South-Southern Zone (See Appendix 10). A convenience sampling method (Maree,
2011:177; Best and Kahn, 2006:16) was adopted in the selection process because of the
scattered nature of the 30 universities, shortage of funds, limited time, and the hazards

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involved in making long journeys on Nigerian roads. It was not feasible to sample all the
thirty universities due to the practical constraints experienced, which included various
political crises, such as, religious riots and Boko Haram violence in the Northern region at
the time of the study. For safety reasons, the researcher used a convenient sampling method
to select the universities.

Walonick states that the sample must reflect the characteristics of the population from which
the sample is drawn (Walonick, 2010). The university law faculties share common
characteristics, offering the same law subjects, use pedagogic approaches to teach the
subjects, and have the same demographic characteristics of law students. The law libraries
also perform knowledge management of the legal sources and disseminate information
sources to law students and other members of the law faculties in Nigerian universities.
Based on these reasons, any of the selected university law libraries could be used to
represent to a lager extent any of the other university law libraries in Nigeria, regardless of
their location in Nigeria. However, due to the convenience sampling method adopted for this
study, it can be inferred that findings from the selected law students cannot be used to
generalise the entire population of students studying law as a profession in Nigerian
universities. Table 5.1 indicates the universities selected and the regions they represent.

The researcher gathered information on the total number of law students in each university,
from the law faculty deans and their representatives during the data collection process (See,
table 5.1). Best and Kahn’s (2006:19) view is that, there is no fixed number or percentage of
respondents that determines the size of an adequate sample, and Kumar’s (2012) opinion is
that the significant issue is the actual number or size of the sample, not the percentage of the
population. Based on the opinion of these authors’ (Kumar, 2012) and Best and Kahn,
2006:19), this study sample was not based on percentage calculation but purposely sampled
1, 534 out of the total number (7, 219) of undergraduate law students in the selected twelve
universities. However, twenty percent was used to calculate the sample size for law students
selected from each academic year (second year to the fifth year i.e. “200L-500L”) due to the
small number of students in some of the law faculties.

In order to accurately take a sample from the law student population, the Israel sample size
model (2003) was used to determine the sample size. The model states that, a given total
population of N, if ±5% is taken for precision levels where the confidence level is 95% and

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P=.5, the sample (n) should be = X (Israel, 2003), (See Appendix 1). Based on Israel’s
(2003) sample size model, the total population is 7,219; by taken ±3%, the expected sample
size should be 959. Going by the model, the sample can be more than this number but it
must not be smaller, hence the sample size of 1,534 used in this study.

The study purposively interviewed the Law Faculty deans, because they were expected to
provide insight into how teaching is done within their respective faculties. The law librarians
were purposively interviewed as the only law librarian in each of the law libraries to give
information on how law students seek information within the university law libraries.
Lastly, one State university law library (i.e. Adekunle Ajasin University Library) was
selected for the pilot study based on judgemental sampling before the main study was
carried out in the twelve selected university law libraries. The state university was selected
for the pilot, because there were more state universities (16) offering law than there were
federal universities. The pilot study was done to test, verify and refine the research
instruments in order to identify any problems that the respondents might face in
understanding the questions and to reduce inaccuracies and inconsistencies (Gikenye,
2012:94) in the questionnaire.

The pilot study was done using 60 out of the 364 law students in the Faculty of Law at
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba in Nigeria. The law students were given copies of the
draft questionnaire to complete and were asked to comment on the clarity and suitability of
the questions. According to Gikenye (2012:94), a pre-test helps to improve the reliability of
the instrument; therefore, the pre-test was done to reveal any weakness that the questionnaire
might have had. Before the instrument was collected from the students, the researcher
discussed with them in order to find out areas of the instrument that needed to be improved,
in order to increase the reliability of the questionnaire instrument. The outcomes from the
exercise led to the modification of some items in the instruments. In the process, some items
were eliminated while some others were substituted.

5.10 Data collection instruments

Three data collection instruments were employed, namely a self-administered questionnaire;
semi-structured interviews; and an observation schedule. According to Kiplang’at and
Ocholla (2005:234) data collection instruments are expected to provide accurate and
adequate data in line with the objectives of the study. The choice of the data collection

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instrument should depend on the extent to which it would provide precise and adequate data
on the variables that the researcher wishes to study (Kiplang’at and Ocholla, 2005:234; Keya
et.al., 1989).

5.10.1 Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a form consisting of a set of questions that is distributed to a statistically
large number of respondents as a way of gathering information for a research survey. Maree
(2011:157) describes a questionnaire as a data collection instrument that is often
administered to groups to collect data, where the researcher waits while the group of
respondents complete the questions. Johnson and Christensen (2012) view a questionnaire as
a self-report instrument, a data collection instrument that each research participant fills out
on his or her own as part of a research study. It is used to obtain information about the
thoughts, feelings, attitudes, values, perceptions, personality, beliefs and behavioural
intentions of the research participants.

The questionnaire can be personally administered, sent through the mail, or used as part of
an interview process, and can be a highly effective means of obtaining data for a research
study (Nkomo, 2009:47). A questionnaire is an instrument commonly used to collect data in
information seeking research, and can either be used alone or in conjunction with other
methods of data collection.

The survey questionnaire was the main data collection instrument in this study because it
can collect data from a large sample of respondents within a relatively short period of time
(Taylor-Powell and Hermann, 2000:3). Additionally, Nyagowa (2012:82) explains that the
advantages of questionnaires in research include the fact that the questionnaire costs little in
the execution of research, the respondents can have the freedom to choose when to complete
the questionnaire, and it gives the researcher alternatives in terms of the different ways in
which it can be administered. Anderson (2011:7) and Cuffe (2002) corroborate that
questionnaires are cost-effective and practical to administer, provide hard quantitative data
that is relatively easy to collect and analyse (Anderson, 2011:7), and enable the survey of a
significantly sized and representative sample that improves the reliability of the conclusions
made about the entire population. It also encourages frank answers, largely because it is
easier for the researcher to guarantee anonymity (Anderson, 2011:7; Cuffe, 2002).

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5.10.1.1 Questionnaire layout
The questionnaire consisted of twenty items divided into two parts: Part I, Biographical Data
inquired about the law students’ gender, age, name of university and level of study. Part (II),
tried information seeking behaviour of law students, was concerned with issues such as the
purpose for which legal information resources are required, the ability to search in printed
and electronic information sources in the law libraries, methods used to gain information
seeking skills, frequency of use of sources, ICT availability, efficiency and utilisation in the
law libraries, and challenges in the utilisation of information sources in the law libraries.

The questionnaire schedule consisted of both open-ended (unstructured) and close-ended

(structured) questions. An open-ended question requires the subject to provide an
unstructured, free response to a question. These types of questions are commonly used in an
interview or in focus group discussions. A close-ended question offers a fixed set of
responses that a respondent has to choose from. Close-ended questions are commonly used
in large-scale surveys because they are faster and easier for both the respondents and the
researcher (Neuman, 2011:323). The combination of open-ended and close-ended questions
in this study was done to reduce the disadvantage of question format. According to Neuman
(2011:323) mixing the two offers a change of pace and helps researchers to establish a
rapport with the respondents.

5.10.2 Interview
An interview is a two-way conversation in which an interviewer asks
interviewees/participants questions about their ideas, beliefs, views, opinions, and behaviour
(Maree, 2011:87). Interviews are a common instrument in qualitative research. According to
Walonick (2010), an interview is a way of getting detailed and comprehensive information
from respondents. When it is correctly used, it serves as a valuable source of information
because it shows the world through the eyes of the participant. The aim is to obtain rich
descriptive data that will help the researcher to understand the participants and their social
realities (Maree, 2011:87).

A personal interview is very expensive because of the one-to-one nature of the process.
Usually, the interviewer will ask questions from a written questionnaire and record the
answers verbatim (Walonick, 2010). In qualitative research, interviews play an important
role because they enable the expert analysis of the informant’s subjective perspectives and

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allow the interviewer to probe further whenever something is interesting or clarification is
necessary (Bosire, 2011:103; Mouton, 2009). Bosire (2011:103) posits that one “qualitative
requirement is that an interview enables the interviewer to study the phenomena in their
natural environments and that it also ensures uniformity and consistency in asking a question
as previously outlined”. Interviews fall into three categories, i.e. unstructured (open-ended),
semi-structured and structured (close-ended) interviews.

In an unstructured interview, the interviewer and respondents engage in a formal interview

in which they have a scheduled time to sit and speak with each other. The interviewer has a
clear plan in mind regarding the focus and goal of the interview, which guides the discussion
without a structured interview guide. Instead, the interviewer builds rapport with
respondents, getting respondents to open-up and express themselves in their own way.
Questions tend to be open-ended and it expresses little control over informants' responses
(Cohen and Crabtree, 2006). An unstructured interview is considered to be the opposite of
a structured interview which offers a set of standardised questions. It is a qualitative research
method; it prioritises validity and the depth of the interviewees' answers, whilst losing
reliability and making it more difficult to draw patterns between interviewees' responses
(Mouton, 2009). According to Mouton, through a semi-structured interview, incidents or
topics can be explored until behaviour, thoughts and feelings are adequately reported. Semi-
structured interview schedules were employed in this study to interview the key informants
of the study (law deans and law librarians).

5.10.2.1 Structure of the interview schedule for law librarians

The interview schedule was divided into two sections. Section one sought the views of
librarians on the information seeking behaviour of law students, specifically:
 Types of information sources available in the law libraries that can address law students’
enquiries or which the law students can be referred to.
 The sources that most law students prefer when they require information.
 The manner in which the law students prefer to receive information that they request in
the law library, i.e. oral, print or visual; electronic or print format.
 Whether the law students know how to search for information.

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Section two sought the views of the law librarians on law students’ access to and usage of
ICT, specifically:
 Digital resources available in the law libraries, and its popularity among students.
 Librarians’ views about law students’ use of law library sources.
 Methods employed to encourage or inform students about the library’s digital
information resources.
 The constraints and challenges preventing law students from effectively utilising the
digital information sources in the law libraries.

5.10.2.2 Structure of the interview schedule for law deans

The deans of the law faculties were interviewed about the information seeking behaviour of
law students and the level to which they encourage and help law students to use law
libraries’ information resources and ICT facilities when searching for information.
Questions were asked on:
 The teaching methods used to teach the law students
 Type of class preparation expected from the law students
 The types of sources that law students are expected to use for assignments
 If, and how law students are taught information seeking skills by the law deans
 The types of information sources available in the law department that law students
could use

5.11 Observation
Observation is a systematic way of recording behavioural patterns of participants, objects, or
occurrences without necessarily exchanging words with the research subjects (Chapter 11
Observation Methods, 239). Devlin (2006) explains that observation measurements are used
to gather information about behaviours of interest, with the goal that the researcher’s
presence does not change the behaviours observed. It is a qualitative data gathering
technique that enables researchers to gain a deeper insight into the phenomenon under
observation. According to Maree (2011:83), it is agreed that the researcher learns the most
by participating in the research situation by observing the respondents.

The basic records of observation are the notes that researchers take either during or
immediately after leaving the field. These serve to provide a detailed description of what the

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researcher has heard or seen in concrete and specific terms. The observation method can be
used to complement the data obtained through other methods (Robson, 2003).

In this study, observation method was used to compliment the questionnaire and interview
methods used to elicit information from the law students, law deans and law librarians. The
researcher used both formal and informal observation approaches to observe the
environment of law faculty libraries and the law students’ ability to search for information
using a computer and the Internet. During visits to the surveyed law libraries, the researcher
followed an informal observation schedule that consisted of three sections (see Appendix 6.
In the first section, the researcher observed the physical appearance of the libraries and the
immediate environment of the law libraries (i.e. the outside). The second section shifted
focus to the interior parts of the library. The third stage observed the ICT facilities available
and how law students utilise them in law libraries, as well as other relevant aspects on the
topic under study. For the formal observation, the researcher could not observe law students’
ability to utilise electronic information sources within the university electronic law libraries,
due to the challenges faced by the law libraries in providing ICT resources, which caused
access denial to the electronic law libraries. Therefore, information search and retrieval
observation tests were carried out on some of the law students at the cyber cafes on or
around campuses to physically verify the students’ ability to use ICT resources to search for
information.

5.12 Data collection procedure

The data collection procedure refers to the protocol followed to ensure that data collection
tools and logistical processes are properly applied to ensure correct outcomes (Gikenye,
2012:103). The procedure includes pre-fieldwork, fieldwork and post-fieldwork logistics;
obtaining the necessary research permits; and pre-testing the data collection instruments
(Mugenda, 2008). Data collection took about four months beginning from the end of
December, 2011 to April, 2012. The data collected was analysed with Microsoft Excel
Statistical package (see, Chapter 6).

5.12.1 Pre-fieldwork
Research permission was obtained from the twelve universities in Nigeria before proceeding
with the study. Research permission is a legal requirement for those who intend to conduct
research in Nigeria. Letters requesting for permission to carry out this research were written

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by the author’s supervisor and the author respectively and sent to the Vice Chancellors,
librarians, and the deans of law at the twelve universities in Nigeria. Thereafter,
appointments were made with the Deans and the law librarians of the surveyed universities.
Upon arrival at the universities, the researcher held introductory talks with the Deans to
explain the reason for the study. The researcher enjoyed the goodwill of these informants.
The Deans and their representatives showed keen interest in this research and requested the
Faculty Officers, law librarians and the law student presidents to facilitate easy access to law
students, the law libraries, lecture halls, faculty corridors, hostels, and anywhere else that
law students frequent.

A few of the informants who were initially pre-occupied with their official work collected a
copy of the interview schedule and requested an appointment for another day when they
would be less busy. The librarians gave their full support, and some assisted in distributing
and collecting the questionnaire. The efforts of the key informants enabled the researcher to
administer and retrieve quite a large numbers of copies of the questionnaires. The researcher
employed the services of 12 research assistants, one assistant for each university. They were
given adequate training on the purpose of the study and on how to administer and retrieve
the completed questionnaire. One research assistant helped to administer and retrieve the
questionnaire instrument in one law faculty, while the researcher and one each of the other
research assistants personally distributed the instrument to respondents in the other eleven
law faculties.

5.12.2 Administration of questionnaires

In order to save time and ensure high response rates, the researcher employed twelve trained
research assistants to administer the questionnaire to the respondents. The total numbers of
law students in 200L to 500L (second to fifth year) in the university law faculties was
collected from the respective Faculty Offices to enable even distribution of the questionnaire
to the law students according to the stipulated percentage of the population of law students
earmarked for questionnaire administration. Having known the number of registered 200L -
500L law students at each university at the time of the study, the author moved around with
the help of an assistant in each faculty to administer the questionnaire to the required
samples of law students.

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The questionnaire instruments were personally administered by the author after addressing
the law students on the purpose of the research survey. The author and the research
assistants monitored the completion of the questionnaire and collected the completed
questionnaire instruments from the law students. To ensure that all the targeted student
populations received the questionnaire, it was administered to respondents in the lecture
theatres and law faculty corridors. The researcher was able to identify the year levels (200L-
500L) with the assistance of the “Law Students Association (LAWSA) Presidents” of each
Law Faculties, who assigned the course representative of each level to take the researcher
round the lecture halls, hostels and other places where law students may be found on the
campuses. Law students were also targeted when they visited the law faculty libraries.
Instructions were clearly read to them on how to respond to the listed items and efforts were
made to establish good relationships with the students to enable a high response rate. The
law deans also assisted by allowing the author to briefly address law students in the lecture
theatres on the purpose of the research.

One thousand, five hundred and thirty four (1,534) questionnaires were administered, and
1,260 were retrieved, giving a response rate of 82%.

5.12.3 Administration of interviews

In this study, the researcher, with the assistance of two research assistants, personally visited
all the law deans and law librarians in their private offices to carry out the interviews. Based
on the letter of request for permission to carry out the interview with the key informants, the
researcher received the goodwill of the deans and librarians. The research assistants helped
with recording the oral interviews and the informants consented to the use of a camera to
take pictures during interviews. The interviews were initiated by the researcher by giving the
informants a full explanation concerning the purpose of the study. A total of 20 (83%)
recorded interviews were done out of the 24 planned interviews, as four of the deans were
not able to meet the appointment dates set for the interview because of the industrial action
embarked upon by the academic staff unions. The return rate was deemed sufficient to make
generalisations from the opinions of the informants.

5.12.4 Administration of observations

The informal observations were done during the first visit to the university campuses and the
law libraries. The researcher informally observed issues such as the law faculty buildings,

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the interior of the law libraries and the available facilities. It was observed that in most of the
law libraries, law students could not access the electronic libraries due to challenges
enumerated in Chapter 6, and in Table 6.6.

The author further re-visited the universities to formally observe the law students who
claimed that they could use ICT facilities to source for information. Ten out of the twelve
universities were conveniently selected for the second practical observation of the law
students’ ICT search skills. The author was not able to visit all of the 12 university law
libraries during the second observation visits due to the financial costs of the second visits to
the universities. The costs incurred included travel expenses to and from the universities,
transporting respondents to cyber cafes located outside the university campuses, purchase of
airtime for each respondent to access Internet at the cyber cafes and miscellaneous expenses.

The observation test was computer-based with type written instructions to guide the
participants. At the cyber cafes, participants were addressed on what to do, while the
instruction guides were also distributed to them. Thereafter, ten Internet-connected
computers assigned to each member of the ten participants for the ability test. The researcher
and her research assistants stood over participants’ shoulders to watch and award marks as
the students logged to browse following the typed written instructions. Five response
categories (valued 1-5) were used to grade each item tested and ranged through: “Very Able
(5); Able (4); Unable (3); Not Able (2) and Not Able At all (1).

The participants were observed during the test on their: general ability to operate computers;
ability to use the browser; ability to generate or type applicable keywords; ability to find
applicable sources; ability to download documents from a database; ability to save a
document onto a hard drive or a flash disk, and ability to email it to themselves and to
others.

5.12.5 Problems encountered during the administration of research instruments

As already stated, the universities that offer law degrees are spread across different states in
Nigeria, and the author had to travel extensively to reach them. From the outset, the research
venture encountered some difficulties, firstly because most of the Nigerian universities were
on Christmas holiday, with a few on the verge of closing for vacation as the universities
were not running the same academic calendar or timetable. Managing appointments with the

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key informants proved to be challenging, as some of the deans of law and law librarians
were focusing their attention on the second semester examinations that were in progress at
the time.

Some of the key informants could not comply with the request for immediate interviews;
four deans of law were not able to make their interview appointments upon returning from
holiday. This was mainly due to the immediate and successive industrial strikes embarked
upon by the university workers shortly after the end of their holidays. This, coupled with
long distances, shortage of time, and insufficient funds, made it impossible for the researcher
to interview all of the key informants.

When the fieldwork commenced the following year, many of the universities were resuming
first semester session work after the industrial action and this also created problems because
the students were pre-occupied with registration and were not always responsive to requests
for immediate completion of the questionnaire.

The author had to re-visit the universities after the students had completed registration.
Hence, the author made several return journeys to many of the universities to retrieve copies
of completed questionnaires. The exception were three law faculties whose research
assistants and law librarians kindly posted copies of the completed questionnaires.

Second year law students at a particular state university did not appear to understand the
difference between an academic research study visit and the National Universities
Commission (NUC) accreditation visit. The NUC which is appointed to regulate and
approve the establishment of all universities and curriculum modules normally pays periodic
visits to universities in Nigeria in order to determine the viability of the universities. NUC
representatives usually tour the faculties, libraries, laboratories and lecture theatres to
inspect the available facilities and determine their capability, and approval or Licences can
be withdrawn from any department that is found wanting. The second year law students at
this university thought that the author was in their university on behalf of the NUC to spy on
their faculty programmes, and they refused to accept or complete the questionnaire, in spite
of all the efforts made to explain the purpose of the research study and its significance. The
author later discovered that their class representative was behind the impasse, and while a
verbal report was made to the faculty officer, who tried to mediate the situation, the majority

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of the second year law students from this university still did not complete the questionnaire.
Some students returned the questionnaire blank or uncompleted, while a number of others
went away with the questionnaire without returning them.

Travel also posed a major constraint; the core northern region of the country was not
accessible due to security issues, particularly the Boko Haram insurgency and terror attacks.
Some of the universities were also very far away from the major cities. The roads were not
in good shape; journeys that were supposed to take less than five hours eventually took eight
to ten hours. All of these problems consumed time and a lot of money was expended on
transportation.

5.13 Method of data analysis

Data analysis is referred to as documentary review of the research instruments
(questionnaire, interview and observation), which entails going through existing documents
that are likely to provide useful information for the study (Kiplang’at, 2004:151). The data
collected from the questionnaire responses were collated and analysed with the Microsoft
Excel Statistical version using simple frequency counts and percentages. Data collected
through the face to face interview with the 20 key informants was transcribed and arranged
into themes for content analysis by the author. Data from the research observation of the law
students’ information retrieval skills were also arranged into themes and content analysed.

5.13.1 Validity and reliability of the research instruments

Bosire (2011:105) describes validity as “a measure of how well a test measures what it is
supposed to measure while reliability is a measure of how consistent the results from the test
are”, Walonick (2010) states that validity represents the accuracy or truthfulness of a
measurement, which is generally based on the judgment of the researcher. In other words
when the research instrument is developed, each question is scrutinised and modified until
the researcher is satisfied that it accurately measures the desired construct, and has covered
the area/topic that is being investigated.

Maree (2011:38) posits that the validity of qualitative designs includes the degree to which
the interpretations and concept used have mutual meaning for the participants and the
researcher in order to maintain the least amount of interference while increasing the quality
of the data. Validity refers to the truthfulness and relevance of the data obtained in

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representing the variables of the research study. Maree further states that in order to be taken
seriously by the scientific community, researchers need to make sure that the way in which
phenomena are explained match reality. Hence, validity confirms the authenticity of
research. Researchers can work to ensure validity by having the research instrument
reviewed by experts (internal validity) and through the use of rich descriptions of the
participants and contexts to facilitate external validity. Six different approaches can be used
to ensure internal validity in qualitative research: crystallisation, member checks, long-time
observation, peer examination, collaborative research, and clearing research bias through
describing the researchers’ expectations, views and theories before starting the research
(Maree, 2011:38; Merriam, 1998).

Based on Maree’s (2011:216) internal validity approach, before starting the research, the
study tested the validity of the questionnaire by having experts (supervisors and other
investigators) review the questionnaire to determine whether it actually elicits information
on the information behaviour of law students. Additionally, a pilot study was done to
establish whether the questionnaire elicits valid responses from the law students.

Reliability is synonymous with repeatability. The important matter of any investigation is its
reliability, in other words the degree to which the data acquired is relevant, valuable, reliable
and valid. Reliability refers to the degree of consistency with which an instrument measures
whatever it is supposed to measure. Reliability suggests that when the same thing is repeated
under identical situations, it will produce similar results. Maree (2011:38) explains that
reliability has to do with consistency of a measure or an instrument like questionnaire and
that high reliability is obtained when the measure or instrument gives the same results if the
research is repeated on the same sample (Maree, 2011:147). Walonick (2010) explains that a
test-retest can be used to measure the reliability of a research instrument. Therefore, the
reliability of a research instrument places an upper limit on its validity, because a
measurement that lacks reliability is also likely to lack validity.

Walonick (2010) further explains that a measurement that yields consistent results over time
is said to be reliable and that measurements that are prone to random error lack reliability.
Mugenda and Mugenda (1999:152) likewise agree that reliability is a measure of the degree
to which a research instrument yields consistent results after repeated trials. Gikenye
(2012:94) posits that reliability may be ‘influenced by random error’, that is a deviation

113
from the true measurement due to factors that researchers have not foreseen or effectively
addressed, and that reliability decreases as random error increases.

In order to maximise the validity of the data collected for this study, a pilot survey was
conducted before the actual study to test, verify and refine the research instruments, and to
minimise inaccuracies and inconsistencies (Gikenye, 2012:94). The pre-testing exercise was
carried out to identify any problems that the respondents were likely to face with the
questionnaire. In other words, the outcomes of the survey enable removal of some of the
items in the questionnaire used for the collection of data, while some others were used to
substitute those removed. Overall, the reliability co-efficient yielded an r = 0.85 via Crobach
Alpha.

5.13.2 Pilot survey

A pilot survey reveals the pertinent issues that will be encountered during the full
implementation of the research instrument(s). Part of the purpose of a pilot study is also for
research planning as it provides an indication of how long the study will take to complete
(Nyagowa, 2012:84). The pilot survey targeted sixty out of 356 law students from the
Faculty of Law in Adekunle Ajasin University, Nigeria. Mugenda and Mugenda (1999)
explain that the pre-test exercise increases the reliability of the instrument, and so the pre-
test for this study was done to reveal any weaknesses that the research instruments might
have had, such as the inability of respondents to understand certain questions.

The law students in Adekunle Ajasin University were requested to complete and also
comment on the clarity and suitability of the questionnaire instrument. Discussions were
held with the students to determine the areas of the instrument that required improvement.
The majority of the respondents refused to complete the consent forms attached; they
complained about not wanting to disclose their identity through their names. The researcher
therefore effected changes on the instrument. The pilot study also revealed that first year law
students are only offered one law subject (Legal Method); other subjects are in other subject
disciplines related to law education. Law students in their first year were eventually not
included in the main study because they lacked adequate knowledge about law libraries, and
were not able to give responses to the practical questions in the questionnaire.

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5.13.3 Ethical issues
Ethical issues must be considered in research because researchers are dealing with human
beings (Bosire, 2011:105). Ethical issues in research include: confidentiality, permission to
undertake research, voluntary participation, and honesty, to name a few. The author ensured
that all ethical issues were observed while carrying out this study, beginning with getting
ethical clearance to do the study from the University of Zululand (See Appendix 11), and a
letter requesting for permission to do research written to the Vice Chancellors, Librarians
and Deans of the Law Faculties of Nigerian participating universities (see: Appendix 12).
When it was time to collect data, the author addressed the law students about the objectives
and significance of the study and sought their consent to participate. The author assured all
the respondents that the information that they provided would be treated with utmost
confidentiality and strictly used for the purposes of the research only. They were also
informed that their identities would only be known to the researcher.

The researcher was open and honest with the law student respondents, and informed them
about the use of a camera to take pictures with them during the questionnaire administration
and the information retrieval observation. After telling them about the camera, the law
students happily agreed to snap pictures with the author during and after the questionnaire
administration. Thereafter, the majority of the law students voluntarily responded to the
questionnaires (see Appendixes 13) for the pictures taken with some of the law students and
the study’s key informants).

5.14 Summary
The aim of this chapter was to discuss the research design and methodology used in this
study. It also provided a detailed explanation of the study’s research paradigm, research
design, research methodology and the research methods. The chapter also explained the
procedures used to select the study population, sample frame, the sampling technique and
sample size, and the procedures employed in designing the research instruments, for
checking the validity and reliability of the research instruments, data collection, analysing
data, and addressing ethical issues in the course of this study.

The study employed non-probability sampling techniques, and qualitative and quantitative
mixed method approaches for data collection. The study utilised a questionnaire instrument,
and semi-structured interviews with the key informants (law deans and law librarians) to

115
elicit data on the information seeking approaches and ICT utilisation skills of the law
students. The researcher also followed up with direct observation of the law faculties’
environments, law libraries, and whether the law students actually utilised ICT while
searching for information in law libraries. The researcher also conducted an observation test
of some law students at the cyber cafes to determine the extent to which the law students
were actually able to use ICT and the Internet for information seeking purposes.

The next chapter presents the data collected from the questionnaire, interviews and
observation.

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 CHAPTER SIX
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
6.1 Introduction
This chapter presents and analyses the data obtained from the questionnaires, interviews and
observations that focused on the information seeking behaviour and ICT utilisation skills of
undergraduate law students in Nigerian universities. Researchers give reasonable meaning to
data through analysis, interpretation and discussion (Neuman, 2011:507). Data analysis
involves the systematic process of organising, integrating and examining data to enable the
concrete explanation of patterns and the relationships between findings in relation to the
focus of inquiry. According to Lawal et al., (2012:134), researchers must have a clear
understanding of the nature of the study before choosing the data collection method, which
in turn will determine the method of data analysis. A descriptive survey method was used to
conduct this study. Data analysis was divided into three sections based on the research
instruments used to gather data from the different respondents:

-Section one (6.2) presents data collected from law students through a self-
administered questionnaire (Appendix 2). The section also includes the
findings from an information search retrieval ability test (Appendix 3) that
was used to observe law students’ ICT utilisation skills.

-Section two (6.2.1.4) presents data collected from the interview schedules
(Appendices 4 and 5), face to face and telephone interviews were used to
elicit information from key informants (deans of law and law librarians).

-Section three (6.4.7) presents findings from observations of the law library
facilities, environment and activities, including law students’ use of the law
libraries (Appendix 6).

The data collected from the three instruments provides overlapping and complementary
results that create a corroborated picture of the information seeking behaviour and ICT
utilisation of law students in Nigerian universities. The key informants were interviewed on
the information seeking behaviour of law students because they are experts in legal
educational development and work with law students on a daily basis. The interviews would
therefore provide an outside perspective into the law students’ behaviour, and either

117
corroborate or refute the law students’ perceptions of their own behaviour. The observation
of the law libraries and the law students equally enabled the author to evaluate the entire
research scenario, ranging from law library environment, to sources, services, staff, and
other relevant issues.

6.2 Data analysis: Law student responses

This section presents data obtained through a self-administered questionnaire that was
distributed to law students in twelve university law libraries. The questionnaire addressed
the research questions listed in Chapter one (Section 1.7). The data was organised according
to the following themes: university participation; demographic information; information
seeking behaviour of law students; ICT availability in law libraries; information seeking
challenges; and suggestions to improve law libraries’ sources and services. The total
population of law students in the twelve law faculties selected from the Nigerian universities
was 7,219 law students, with 1,534 law students selected for the sample. One thousand, two
hundred and sixty (1,260, 82%) usable questionnaires were retrieved. The responses at the
university law libraries ranged between 99 - 67%, and the lowest response rate, although still
high, was 67%. Table 6.1 shows the response rates of the law students across the twelve law
libraries in Nigerian universities.

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 TABLE 6.1: University participation
Name of University Abbreviation Student Sample size Retrieved %
Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma AAU 675 135 91 67
Ekiti State University, Ado EKSU 242 48 39 81
Imo State University, Owerri IMSU 528 106 94 89
Kogi State University, Anyigba KSU 825 165 143 87
Nasarawa State University, Keffi NSU 342 90 79 88
Obafemi Awolowo University OAU 1050 210 172 82
Olabisi Onabanjo University OOU 270 54 36 67
University of Benin, Benin-City UNBEN 833 167 113 68
University of Calabar, Calabar UNCAL 394 103 90 89
University of Ibadan, Ibadan UNIB 440 132 101 77
University of Ilorin, Ilorin UNIL 690 138 135 99
University of Nigeria, Enugu UNEC 930 186 167 90
Total 7,219 1,534 1,260 82

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6.2.1 Demographic information
This section provides information on the gender, age, academic year and the level of
education of the law students sampled for this study.
6.2.1.1 Distribution of law students by gender
The aim of this question was to determine the gender distribution of the respondents to
ensure that both genders were represented in the study. The results are illustrated in Figure
6.1.

FIGURE 6.1 GENDER N= 1,260

FIGURE 6.1 GENDER N= 1,260

Figure 6.1 shows that 650 (51%) of the respondents were male, 588 (47%) were female, and
22 (2%) respondents did not indicate their gender. The respondents were almost equally
divided, although there were slightly more male respondents from the sampled universities.

6.2.1.2 Age
The respondents were requested to indicate their ages. Figure 6.2 below shows the age
distribution of the respondents

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FIGURE 6.2 AGE OF RESPONDENTS N=1,260

As expected, the younger age groups were most represented. The majority (1074; 85%) of
the respondents were between the ages of 18- 27 years, followed by law students between
the ages of 28-37 years (109; 9%). The next highest group were aged of 38 - 47 years (32;
3%), and 48-57 years (18; 1%). Only 2 (0.1%) respondents indicated that they were more
than 58 years old, and 24 (1.9%) respondents did not indicate their ages.

6.2.1.3 Distribution of respondents according to university and level of education

The law students were also asked to indicate their academic year/level of education at their
respective universities. Four categories were used to describe the educational levels of the
respondents, i.e. 200L, 300L, 400L and 500L (2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th years). Table 6.2 below
shows the results.

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TABLE 6.2 UNIVERSITIES ATTENDED AND LEVEL OF STUDY (N=1260)

Universities 200L % 300L % 400L % 500L % Total %

AAU 21 23 47 52 5 5 18 20 91 100
EKTS 0 0 0 0 14 36 25 64 39 100
IMSU 10 11 20 21 32 34 32 34 94 100
KSU 40 28 40 28 35 25 28 19 143 100
NSU 21 26 22 28 22 28 14 18 79 100
OAU 50 29 44 26 28 16 50 20 172 100
OOU 20 57 15 43 0 0 0 0 35 100
UBEN 26 23 39 27 30 27 26 23 112 100
UCAL 26 28 39 43 27 29 0 0 92 100
UNIB 27 27 36 35 31 30 7 7 101 100
UNIL 25 19 30 22 34 25 46 34 135 100
UNEC 49 29 41 25 32 19 45 27 167 100
TOTAL 315 25 364 29 290 23 291 23 1260 100

In the law faculties of the listed universities, law courses are only offered from second year
(200 to 500 levels) due to the nature of the law curriculum of the universities. Three hundred
and fifteen (315, 25%) of the respondents were in 200L, 364 (29%) were in 300L, 290
(23%) were in 400L, and 500L had 291 (23%) respondents. This report showed that all the
year levels were well represented, in exception of the year one law students that were
purposely not surveyed due to the law curriculum structure, whereby law students do not
generally offer law courses in their first year at the universities.

6.2.2 Information seeking behaviour of law students

This section sought to determine how students search for and use information. Although the
study’s ultimate goal was to look at the role of ICT in the information seeking behaviour of
law students, it was important to first establish general information seeking behaviour trends
involving both print and electronic sources, and to determine whether the students possessed
the skills to actually search for and retrieve useful information using these sources. The
results of the findings from the law students are presented in the sections that follow.

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6.2.2.1 Attitudes and opinions about the available information resources
A question sought to determine how the respondents felt about the information resources
available to them in law libraries. The respondent had to indicate whether he or she agreed
or disagreed with each statement. Five options were provided, i.e. ‘strongly agree’ (SA),
‘agree’ (A), ‘undecided’ (UN), ‘disagree’ (DA), and ‘strongly disagree’ (SDA). The
summary of the responses is shown in Table 6.3.

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TABLE 6.3 ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS CONCERNING INFORMATION
SERVICES IN THE LAW LIBRARY (N=1260)
Attitude/opinion SA % A % UN % D % SD % NR %

The Internet provides 491 39 318 25 197 16 133 11 68 5 53 4.3

better information than
the law library
The computer 196 15 380 30 336 27 168 13 98 8 82 7
networks are very
fragile
Relevant and current 416 33 679 54 42 3.3 30 2.3 40 3.1 53 4.3
law textbooks/ journals
are available in law
library
I prefer to get 203 16 354 28 164 13 324 26 159 13 56 4.4
information from my
own textbooks
The electronic law 260 20 267 21 179 15 217 17 278 22 59 5
library is fully
equipped and user
friendly
I feel bored searching 86 7 190 15 56 4 370 29 500 40 58 5
for information in the
law library
Library staff are not 161 13 258 20 197 16 374 30 217 17 53 4
helpful
I source useful 132 11 267 21 203 15 300 24 286 23 72 6
materials from our
database in the law
library
The law library is for 120 10 188 15 78 6 371 29 440 35 63 5
reading and writing
assignments only
I do not like to 69 5 147 12 81 6 424 34 500 40 39 3
patronise the law
library

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Table 6.3 indicates the overall responses concerning the attitudes and opinions of the law
students toward the information resources available to them in Nigerian university law
libraries. A high percentage of the respondents 74% disagreed (34% strongly disagreed and
40% disagreed) with the statement “I do not like to patronise law libraries”, 8% did not
respond nor reply, while only 11% agreed (6% strongly agreed and 7% agreed) that they do
not like to patronise law libraries. This shows that the majority (74%) of respondents valued
the law libraries and would like to frequent the law libraries.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of respondents agreed (33% strongly agreed and 54% agreed)
that relevant and current print sources are available in the law libraries, 8% could not decide
and did not respond and (5%) of respondents disagreed (2.3% strongly disagreed and 3.1%
disagreed) with the statement. Forty-four percent (44%) of respondents agreed (16%
strongly agreed and 28% agreed) that they preferred to get information from their own
textbooks, 13% were undecided, 4% did not respond, and 39% disagreed (26% strongly
disagreed and 13% disagreed). Respondents appeared to be about equally divided on this
point. This report points to the fact that print sources are the main information sources
available for undergraduate law students’ use in the law libraries.

Sixty-four (64%) of respondents agreed (39% strongly agreed and 25% agreed) that the
Internet provides better information than the law library, 16% were not able to decide 4%
did not respond, 16% disagreed (11% strongly disagreed, 5% disagreed) with the statement,
while 4% did not respond. This result indicated that the majority (64%) of law students
claimed that the Internet provides access to more information than the law libraries.

The statement, ‘law libraries’ electronic libraries are fully equipped and user friendly’ was
supported by forty-one percent of respondents (20% strongly agreed and 21% who agreed).
15% of respondents could not decide and 5% did not answer this statement, while 39%
disagreed (17% strongly disagreed and 22% disagreed). However 5% of respondents did not
respond to the statement. This finding implied that the electronic law libraries were not fully
equipped and were not user friendly, as the majority (59%) of respondents claimed that that
the electronic libraries were not fully equipped and user friendly, while only 41% of
respondents affirmed the statement.

The statement ‘I source useful law materials from the law libraries databases’, drew the
support of 32% respondents (11% strongly agreed and 21% also agreed). However, 15% of
the law students were undecided and 6% did not reply, whereas 47% disagreed (24%

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strongly disagreed and 23% disagreed) with this statement. Thus, law students’ responses
indicated that only a few (32%) of the respondents search for information using law
libraries’ databases. While the majority, (68%) of respondents, did not search for useful law
materials using law library databases.

Forty-five percent (45%) of the respondents agreed (15% strongly agreed and 30% agreed)
that computer networks are very fragile, 34% could not decide nor respond (27% were
undecided and 7% remained silent, while 21% disagreed (13% strongly disagreed and 8%
disagreed). This finding indicated that 78% of law students consider law library computer
networks to be very fragile, which might be due to the inadequate computer networks and
inaccessibility of the electronic law libraries.

Twenty-five percent (25%) of respondents agreed (10% strongly agreed, while 15% agreed)
that the ‘law library is for reading and writing assignments only’, 11% could neither decide
(6% and 5%) did not respond, but 64% of the law students disagreed (29% strongly
disagreed and 35% disagreed) with the statement. The 11% respondents who could not
decide nor reply were likely to be undergraduate law students who did not patronise law
libraries, and as such could not make any categorical statement in response to the question.
This is likely to be the case with all non-responses to the questions for which some of the
law students could neither decide nor respond to the statements. This report indicated that
the majority, (64%) of the respondents, believed that the law libraries can provide better and
more useful information services than a mere reading and writing place.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of respondents disagreed (29% strongly disagreed and 40%
disagreed) with the statement: ‘I feel bored searching for information in the law library’, and
4% could not decide, while 5% did not provide responses. However, (22%) of the
respondents agreed (7% strongly agreed and 15% agreed) with the statement. This showed
that a large number (69%) of the students did not feel bored searching for information in the
law libraries.

Thirty-three percent (33%) of respondents agreed (13% strongly agreed and 20% agreed)
with the statement that ‘library staff are not helpful’, 20% could not decide or did not reply,
while 47% disagreed, (17% strongly disagreed and 30% disagreed). The result therefore,
indicated that the majority (53%) of law students believed that the law library staff members
were not helpful to them when searching for information in the law libraries.

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6.2.2.2 Purpose for which legal information resources is needed
This question required the respondents to indicate why they required legal information
sources in their studies. The respondents were requested to tick all the options they deemed
fit. The responses are shown in Table 6.4.

TABLE 6.4 PURPOSE FOR WHICH LEGAL INFORMATION SOURCES ARE

REQUIRED (N=1,260)
Purpose No. %
To further my knowledge on legal issues 1093 87
To complete assignments 1038 82
To update myself with the latest developments on the 994 79
legal front
To augment my lecture notes 878 70
To study the outcomes of court cases 844 67
To participate in class discussions 816 65
Other (Specify) 122 10
Note: Total exceeds required sample because respondents were allowed to select more
than one response.

The majority of the respondents indicated that they needed the law library information
resources to further their knowledge on legal issues (1093; 87%), closely followed (1038;
82%) by those respondents that needed law library information resources to complete
assignments. A large number of respondents (994; 79%) also needed law library information
resources to keep up-to-date with the latest developments on the legal front. Other purposes
for which law library information resources were needed include: to augment their lecture
notes (878; 70%), to study the outcome of legal cases (844; 67%), and to enable them to
participate in class discussions (816; 65%). Those who indicated that they used the law
library for “other” purposes mentioned that they read in the law libraries to be able to write
examinations; that they used it to enable them to excel in the examinations; to gain a better
understanding of what was taught in class; to broaden their knowledge; to keep abreast of
what is happening in other places; to read extensively; to have a discerning mind; to be
versatile on every issue and to be able to do research.

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6.2.2.3 Ability to search for print and electronic information sources in law libraries
Respondents were also asked to indicate whether they had the necessary skills to search for
information using the print and electronic sources in their law libraries. The aim was to
ascertain whether law students in Nigerian universities are able to use both traditional and
electronic information sources in their search for information. Figure 6.3 illustrates their
responses.

FIGURE 6.3 INFORMATION SEEKING SKILLS (N=1,260)

Figure 6.3 shows that 619 (49%) of the respondents felt that they had enough skills to search
for information using both print and electronic sources, while 596 (47%) indicated that they
were not sufficiently skilled. Forty five (4%) of respondents did not respond to this question.

6.2.2.4 Methods used to gain information seeking skills

The 619 (49%) law students in the previous question who indicated that they could search
for information using both print and electronic sources were asked to elaborate on how they
had obtained their information seeking skills. The aim of the question was to gain an
understanding of where and how law students obtained the skills to use both traditional print
sources and electronic sources. Because the respondents were required to indicate their
answers in their own words, the responses were categorized into themes. Four themes were
identified from the responses, as listed in Table 6.5 below:

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TABLE 6.5 METHODS USED TO GAIN INFORMATION SEEKING SKILLS
(N=619)

Method N %
Attended computer schools 276 45
Learnt to use the computer/library through self-effort 250 40
Attended a compulsory university course called ‘Use of the 48 8
Library’
Through assistance from friends and family members on campus 45 7

Based on the above responses, the majority (276; 45%) of the respondents had learnt their
skills in computer training schools. Most had attended a formal course either prior to
attending university or as part of their university programmes. These formal training courses
appear to have been aimed at teaching computer skills, although some of the respondents
indicated that Internet skills were also part of the course.

The next largest group (250; 40%) was self-taught. The efforts to teach themselves mostly
took place at home where they had access to a computer. A few stated that they had attained
their skills by spending time in the library and teaching themselves how to source
information from library shelves. Forty-eight (8%) said that they had learnt their skills by
attending a library skills course offered at their university. Some of these respondents
indicated that the library skills course was compulsory during their first year at the
university. The law deans explained that the library search skills course “Use of Library” is a
compulsory course, available in their universities, which the librarians are responsible for
imparting the search skill knowledge onto the students. The eight deans also mentioned a
Computer Appreciation course as a compulsory course integrated into the law curriculum,
normally taught by the librarians. The interview with the law librarians also revealed that the
use of library course is being taught by the academic librarians to the generality of students
of the universities, of which law students are among.

Forty-five (7%) of respondents indicated that they were taught by friends or family. In the
case of family, it was normally older siblings who were already on campus that showed
them how to search for information. Some of the remarks of the respondents on how and
where they had acquired their information seeking skills were as follows:

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  “I went to a computer training school where I learnt computer appreciations like
typing, designing, spiral binding and photocopying.”
 “I learnt it from a computer institute in my home town.”
 “From using a personal computer, through friends and regular visits to the cyber
café.”
 “From using the Internet and the library.”
 “From elementary and secondary educational institutions, also through own PC use.”
 “I learnt using computers before coming to the Faculty of Law and the library skills I
learnt during my first year in the “Legal Method” class.”
 “In secondary school through computer classes.”
 “Personally during the strike period and my breaks, I was into computer
networking.”
The report implies that law students have prior knowledge of computer application through
different means (computer training schools, friends, Internet in the libraries, secondary or
elementary schools, and in the legal Method classes) before or after entering the universities
in Nigeria.

6.2.2.5 Challenges experienced when searching for information

Those law students who indicated that they experienced challenges when searching for
information in the law libraries were asked to state the challenges they experienced while
seeking for information in the law libraries. Table 6.6 enumerates the problems encountered
by these respondents.

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TABLE 6.6 CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED WHEN SEARCHING FOR
INFORMATION (N=596)
Challenges N %
There are no ICT available 280 47
Inadequate skills to search for information 131 22
Slow speed of the Internet 124 21
Lack of adequate library materials 74 12
Materials are not in the right places or not well arranged 70 12
Erratic power supply 51 9
Poor network connectivity 46 8
Electronic library is not accessible 32 5
Insufficient computer systems 30 5
Most students are in the library to cause discomfort to others 28 5
The majority of the books are older versions and belong to old authors 25 4
Library staff are not friendly resulting in poor service delivery 25 4
Where to start and how to locate information in the textbooks 24 4
I usually feel very dejected when I don’t find information in the law library 22 4
Librarians are not helpful 20 3
There are no current textbooks or information in the library 17 3
Inadequate funds to procure Internet facilities 15 3
It is time consuming to look for information 12 2
The library environment is not conducive for information searching and use 10 2
Most often the required textbooks are not found in the library 10 2
I have to depend on assistance from fellow students or librarians 9 2
Restrictions on relevant books, access only granted on request and under 9 2
full supervision
No competent staff to assist 6 1
‘Use of library’ programmes not helpful as it gives very limited attention to 4 0.67
the computer
Where ICT exists, there is a dearth of database services 4 0.67
Inadequate space 4 0.67
Time constraints - our library only opens between 8am and 4pm 3 0.5
Phobia (fear and shyness) 3 0.5
Rules and regulations using these sources frightens me 1 0.2
No friend to help me 1 0.2
Note: Total exceeds required sample because respondents were allowed to select more
than one response.

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A large number of the respondents (280; 47%) indicated that ICT hardware was not
available, and where it was available it was not accessible, i.e. the respondents were not
permitted to use the available ICT. One hundred and thirty-one (22%) respondents indicated
that they had inadequate skills or lacked the knowledge to search for information. One
hundred and twenty four (21%) of the respondents cited the slow speed of the Internet as a
challenge, while 74 (12%) indicated the lack of adequate library material (especially
insufficient computer systems) as a problem. Seventy respondents (12%) specified that the
library material was not well arranged on the shelves; fifty-one (9%) pointed to the erratic
power supply as a hindrance; 46 (8%) said that poor network connectivity was a challenge;
32 (5%) indicated that the electronic libraries were not accessible; and 28 (5%) respondents
stated that most students were in the libraries to cause discomfort to others. Minor problems
also included no useful library education programmes, time constraints, and unhelpful staff.
This report showed the three highest challenges faced by the respondents when searching for
information in the law libraries, i.e. unavailable ICT sources, inadequate skills to search for
information and the slow speed of the Internet. Findings thus revealed inadequate skills to
search is not the main cause for which law students dot patronise the law libraries, but
showed other external factors (unavailable ICT sources and slow speed of the Internet)
caused by the law library systems as the most important challenges aggravating the
difficulties faced by law students in the use of the law libraries.

6.2.2.6 Suggested solutions to challenges

The respondents were asked to suggest solutions to the challenges faced. Table 6.7 shows
the responses of the law students. Only (364) responses were received.

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TABLE 6.7 SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES (N=364)
Suggested solutions N %
Better/faster Internet connection 61 17
Providing easily accessible digital sources 41 11
Increased funding by the government to provide ICT hardware and connectivity 39 11
Constant training of the library staff on ICT skills 36 10
Recruit a librarian to man the ICT units 21 6
Create awareness through mass media of the existence of the digital sources 20 5
Provide sufficient electronic devices, specifically computers 19 5
Provide a standby generator for the e-library 18 5
Provide free access to ICT 18 5
Maintain ICT equipment 15 4
Build a more spacious room where ICT facilities can be kept 14 4
Connect ICT unit 12 3
Proper management of the ICT 10 3
Digital resources should be maintained 8 2
Go in partnerships with Global Communication System Mobile Operators 8 2
(Global Communication Plc.) for cheaper bandwidth
Students should endeavour to be ICT knowledgeable so that they can easily 6 2
access the Net
The authorities should improve the power supply 5 1
Reduce the rules/regulations on the use of the electronic library 6 2
Procure recent law reports, textbooks and law journals 7 2

This table showed that only 364 (52%) out of the 596 respondents (section 6.2.2.5), who
claimed to be having challenges searching for information in the law libraries proffer
solutions to the problems, when 228 (48%) did not respond to this question. However, the
main proposed solutions by (52%) respondents were generally issues surrounding the access
and utilisation of ICT, and only one solution concerning the print media was mentioned by
(2%) respondents. The 2% solution suggested to print media indicated that print materials
were not an issue, meaning that print information resources were available to the students in
the law libraries.

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Other suggestions included: improving the Internet connection (61; 17%); providing easily
accessible digital sources (41; 11%); increased funding by the government (39; 11%);
constant training of the library staff on ICT skills (36;10%); recruit librarians to man the ICT
unit (21; 6%); creating awareness of the existence of these sources through mass media (20;
5%); provision of sufficient electronic devices (e.g. computers) (19; 5%); free access to ICT
(18; 5%); and the provision of a standby generator for the e-library (18; 5%). Findings
showed that respondents were majorly concerned with getting solutions to challenges faced
using electronic information resources as more than half (52%) of the respondents suggested
solutions to the problems that they experienced in law libraries, while (48%) did not respond
to the question.

The 48% no response could be interpreted to mean those respondents who might have felt
that as students their suggestions might not be adhered to, by the concerned authorities.
Additionally, the 48% respondents can also be assumed to be the category of respondents
that were mostly undecided and did not respond to some issues, which they might have
considered sensitive.

6.2.2.7 Information resources and services available to law students and the frequency
of use
Law students on campus have access to a myriad of information sources. Based on the
researcher’s earlier observation that law students do not optimally utilise available
information sources and services, this question aimed to determine whether this was indeed
the case. The question also wanted to establish the frequency of utilisation. Respondents
were asked to indicate the information resources that they used when searching for
information and to also state how frequently they used these resources for their studies.
Three options - “Often”, “Seldom” and “Never” - were provided for the respondents to
select from. Table 6.8 presents their responses.

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TABLE 6.8 AVAILABLE INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES AND
FREQUENCY OF USE
Sources Often % Seldom % Never % NR %
Textbooks 1039 82 34 3 13 1 174 14
Law books 965 77 122 10 23 2 150 12
Internet via mobile phone 886 70 173 14 62 5 139 11
Internet 814 65 246 20 67 5 133 11
Law reports 665 53 407 32 56 4 132 10
Law library 659 52 431 34 85 7 85 7
News papers 639 51 428 34 59 5 134 11
Acts 610 48 320 25 95 8 185 15
Law journals 458 36 530 42 107 8 165 13
Government publications 236 19 522 41 260 21 242 19
Law databases 171 14 399 32 388 31 302 24
Digital library 150 11.9 402 32 434 37 274 22
Court libraries 69 5.4 299 24 594 47 270 21
Other (Specify) 30 2.3 10 0.7 5 0.3 1215 97

The majority of the respondents (1039; 82%) indicated textbooks as their most frequently
used information source. Law books (965; 77%), Internet via mobile phones (886; 70%),
and the Internet (814; 65%) were the next most frequently used information sources. Digital
libraries and court libraries were seldom used; as only 150 (11.9%) and 69 (5.4%)
respondents respectively indicated that they used these sources on a regular basis. The no-
response rates recorded for each option probably also indicate non-use, which if combined
with the ‘never’ option, amounts to significantly high non-use rates. For example, law
databases were not used by 690 (55%) of the respondents, while 708 (59%) did not use
digital libraries, or government publications (502; 40%) to access relevant information for
their academic work. ‘Other’ sources of information that were used on a frequent basis were
deans of law, hand outs from deans of law, taking part in group or class discussions or
asking questions in class, asking practicing lawyers or friends, accessing information
through cyber cafes, and using old notes.
Therefore, this finding revealed that print information sources were the most available
information sources and services provided in Nigerian university law libraries, which the

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law students frequently used to sources for information in their studies. It also indicated that
electronic information sources were not frequently used in the law libraries by a large
number of the respondents, for example, 55% of the respondents did not utilise law
databases, and 57% did not use digital libraries, while 69% of respondents did not use court
libraries.

6.2.2.7.1 Most preferred medium

The respondents were asked to state the medium that they mostly preferred for information
utilisation. The question provided two options: ‘printed’ or ‘electronic’. They could also
choose both options if they preferred. The aim of this question was to determine whether
there was a preference for a specific medium. Figure 6.4 summarises the preferences
according to the responses.

Figure 6.4: Medium preference

A very slight majority of 586 (47%) mostly preferred to use print information sources, while
583 (46%) mainly preferred to use electronic information sources. 56 (4%) respondents did
not respond, while 35 (3%) respondents preferred both print and electronic information
sources. Findings here showed that respondents were divided nearly equal on medium
preference for both electronic (46%) and print (47%) information sources as medium
through which information sources are provided in the law libraries.

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6.2.2.7.2 Format and information sources’ preference when retrieving information
The report of 6.2.2.7.2 was to determine how, and from which information sources/services
respondents mostly preferred to receive information. The objective of this was to probe the
respondents on how they liked to receive the information that they required for academic
purposes. Table 6.9 presents respondents’ views and responses.

TABLE 6.9 FORMATS PREFERRED TO RECEIVE INFORMATION FOR

ACADEMIC PURPOSES (N=1260)
Formats N %
Print and electronic formats in the law library 581 46
Printed format from my personal textbooks 230 18
Printed format outside the law library 208 17
Electronic format Internet/database outside the law library 132 11
Electronic format in the law library 104 8
Other sources 5 0.3

The majority (581; 46%) of the respondents preferred to receive information through print
and electronic media in the law library, followed by 230 (18%) who preferred to receive it in
print form through their personal textbooks. 208 (17%) preferred to receive their information
from outside the library through either the Internet or by way of a database; 132 (11%)
preferred traditional printed information sources from the law library; 104 (8.2%) liked to
receive information only in electronic format in the law library; and an insignificant number
of the respondents (5; 0.3%) preferred other sources such as mobile phones, CDs or
newspapers. The results showed that respondents desired both print and electronic
information sources format in the law libraries.

6.2.2.8 ICT availability in law libraries

While ICT may be available in law libraries, they may not necessarily be available for
students to use. This question therefore examined whether the respondents were aware of
available ICT resources, such as networked computers in the law libraries for students’
utilisation. The responses are indicated in Figure 6.5 below.

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FIGURE 6.5: ICT AVAILABILITY FOR STUDENT UTILISATION IN THE
LAW LIBRARIES (N=1260)

According to the majority (643; 51%) of the respondents, ICT were not available in their law
libraries for law student utilisation, while 508 (40%) affirmed that they were available for
utilisation. One hundred and nine (109; 9%) did not respond to this question. This is an
indication that that those law students who did not respond to this question did so because
they were not aware of any ICT for student utilisation in their libraries. This indicated that
60% of the respondents were not aware of the ICT that were available in their libraries for
students’ utilisation.

6.2.2.8.1 Kinds of ICT and electronic resources available and their utilisation (n=1,260)
Respondents were asked to indicate which ICT and/or digital resources were available in
their law libraries and whether they actually used them. They were asked to tick as many
options as applicable from a list of digital resources. The aim of this question was to find out
whether respondents utilised the available ICT and digital resources. The responses are
shown in Table 6.10 below.

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TABLE 6.10: KINDS OF ICT AND DIGITAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE AND
THEIR UTILISATION
ICT available Available % Utilise %
Internet facilities 508 40 250 20
Electronic law library 327 26 110 9
Law databases (Westlaw, LexisNexis) 272 22 107 8
Email 224 18 148 12
CD ROM Database 152 12 68 5
Fax 102 8 54 4
Other (Specify) 25 2 8 1

The most available electronic resource, according to 40% of respondents, was the Internet
and only used within the law libraries by 20% of respondents. Twenty-six percent of the
respondents affirmed that digital law libraries were available, however, only 9% actually
utilised these sources. Faxing facilities were poorly acknowledged, with 8% responses, and
were also not a-well utilised resource at 4%. “Other” sources that were available according
to (2%) respondents were: mobile phone, photocopy machines, and students’ own laptops in
the law libraries. From the above, it was clear that availability does not translate to
utilisation. The implication of fax facilities that were recognised by very few (8%) and
respondents, indicate that the facility is generally not one of the services provide in the
libraries for students’ use. This is because it is exclusively used in the office of the
university librarians for administrative purposes. However, research observation revealed
that only 319 (See: Table 6.16) was the actual number of computers available for law
students’ use in all the twelve law libraries surveyed.

6.2.2.8.2 Efficiency of available ICT facilities

This question aimed to determine whether the respondents deemed the available ICT in the
law libraries to be efficient by asking them to rate different options. It was felt that this
would provide a good indication as to whether the respondents thought that ICT contributed
towards their quest for information. Their responses are shown in Table 6.11.

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 TABLE 6.11: GRADING OF ICT IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY (N =1260)
Efficiency VG % Good % Bad % NE % NR %
Accessibility 202 16 315 25 244 19 301 24 198 16
Availability 161 13 349 28 247 20 284 23 219 17
Connection 105 8 232 18 288 23 280 22 355 28
speed
Downloading 103 8 299 24 304 24 277 22 277 22
speed
Quality of 131 10 351 28 193 15 296 23 289 23
hardware
VG= Very good; NE= Non-existent NR= No response

From Table 6.11, it can be seen that the number of respondents that rated ICT facilities in the
law libraries as ‘very good’ and ‘good’ in terms of all the options fell below 50%, with
accessibility (517, 41%) and availability (510, 40%) scoring the highest. All the other options
were rated well below the 40% mark, with quality of hardware, downloading speed, and
connection speed, receiving ‘very good’ and ‘good’ scores of (482, 38%), (403, 32%) and
(337, 26%) respectively. The respondents who indicated that the ICT facilities were ‘bad’
rated the facilities as follows: downloading speed (304; 24%); connection speed (288; 23%);
availability (247; 20%); accessibility (244; 19%); and quality of hardware (193; 15%).
However, a significant number of respondents did not respond to this question: connection
speed (355; 28%), quality of hardware (289; 23%), downloading speed (277; 22%),
availability (219; 17.3%), and accessibility (198; 16%). This finding implied that the
respondents rated the ICT available facilities in law libraries as inaccessible and inefficient.

6.2.2.8.3 Internet utilisation

Law students were requested to state how often they use the Internet to find academic
related information in the law library. The law students could choose between
“daily,” ”Weekly”, “Only when necessary”, or “I do not use the Internet”. Table 6.12
summarises the responses of the law students’ according to their frequency of
Internet use.

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TABLE 6.12 FREQUENCY OF INTERNET UTILISATION (N=1,260)

Frequency N %
Only when necessary 419 33
I do not use the Internet 352 28
Weekly 181 15
Daily 154 12
No response 154 12
Total 1,260 100

Four hundred and nineteen (33%) of the respondents reported that they only used the
Internet when necessary to find academic related information 352 (28%) reported that they
did not use the Internet, 181 (15%) used the Internet weekly, 154 (12%) used the Internet on
a daily basis, and 154 (12%) respondents did not respond to this question. The results
showed that respondents did not frequently utilise the Internet as they only use it to access
information when there is a need for them to access information from the net.

6.2.2.8.4 Devices used for internet access within the law libraries
Generally speaking, different devices (computer/laptop, modem or mobile phone), may be
used to access information from the Internet, these devices vary according to the users, the
purposes and the places where information is sought. In libraries, the computer is commonly
the device used to connect to the Internet, while 3G card modems and mobile phones are
commonly used by individual users in their homes and other places outside the libraries.
However, in the Nigerian university library context, computer systems are commonly used
to connect to the Internet, although many of the libraries are now introducing the use of
laptops as other means of connecting to the Internet. In this case, students are allowed to
come into the libraries with their personal laptops, which they may connect to the Internet
ports provided for that purpose or the wireless facilities in the libraries. In another scenario,
the library provided laptops for students’ use in the libraries, depending on the policy of the
particular library, students can borrow these laptops for use in the library for a period not
more than two hours. The study sought to identify the devices used by law students to access
the Internet within the law libraries. The law students who indicated that they did not use the

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Internet (352; 28%) were instructed not to complete the rest of the questionnaire. Those who
did not respond to the question (154; 12%) also did not complete the rest of the
questionnaire, reducing the response rate to the four questions that followed to 754 law
students.

The question asked whether law students accessed the Internet in law libraries via their own
personal computers/laptops, computers in the law libraries, or through their mobile phones.
The question was asked to determine whether law students in Nigerian universities actually
use the available facilities or whether they have to rely on their own devices to enable them
to access the Internet when visiting the law libraries to look for digital information. They
could choose more than one option as it applied to their circumstances. Their responses are
enumerated below in Table 6.13.

TABLE 6.13 DEVICE/S USED TO ACCESS THE INTERNET IN LAW

LIBRARIES (N=754)
Devices used N %
Mobile phone 711 94
Your own computer/laptops 310 41
Computer in law libraries 58 8
Note: The respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.

From the responses received, the majority (711; 94%) reported that they had to rely on their
own mobile phones to access the Internet while visiting the law libraries. Three hundred and
ten (310; 41%) indicated that they could access the Internet using their personal computers,
while only an insignificant number of respondents (58; 8%) indicated that they accessed the
Internet using the available computers in the library. This signifies the fact that a substantial
number of law students are either not able to utilise law library electronic facilities to source
information for their studies, or that these sources are not available in the majority of the law
libraries, and therefore the students have to rely on their own devices to enable them to
retrieve information from the Internet while visiting the library. From the findings, it is also
clear that some law students were using more than one device to access the Internet while
visiting the law libraries.

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6.2.2.8.5 Skills to effectively search for information on the internet in law libraries
Respondents were asked to offer their views on their ability to effectively search the Internet
for information. The question therefore asked whether the respondents had the necessary
ICT skills to effectively search for information sources on the Internet. The respondents
were provided with two options, i.e. ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. The responses are provided in Figure
6.6.

FIGURE 6.6: SKILLS TO EFFECTIVELY SEARCH FOR INFORMATION ON

THE INTERNET

An overwhelming majority (681; 90%) claimed to have the necessary ICT skills to search
for information on the Internet, while only 73 (10%) indicated that they lacked the required
skills to search for information on the Internet. To verify the students’ claims, one hundred
(100) law students were observed under controlled conditions to assess their information
seeking abilities using computers. Respondents were taken to functioning cyber cafés and
business centres outside the university campuses, where they were asked to search and
retrieve information using the Internet. Variables observed during the test included: the
general operation of the computer; the ability to operate the browser; ability to generate/type
applicable (general or specific) keywords; the ability to find applicable sources/databases;
ability to download documents from a database; ability to use subscribed databases; and the
ability to save a document onto a hard drive or a flash disk, and email it to themselves and to
others.

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The highest ranking scores were: ‘operation of computer’ (80%), ‘ability to operate browser’
(67%), and the ‘ability to generate and type applicable keywords’ (59%). Fifty-five percent
(55%) were able to download documents in text or articles from the Internet and were able
to use databases. However, 45% of the respondents could not find appropriate
sources/databases on the Internet. The results suggested that some of the law students’
perceptions of their abilities to effectively search the Internet were not reflected in real life
search situations to find sources on the Internet and in the electronic sources.

6.2.2.8.6 How information is sought on the internet in academic law libraries

Respondents were asked to indicate how they search the Internet for information. They were
provided with a list of five options to choose from. The aim of this question was to
determine their information search processes. Sixty four respondents did not respond to this
question. Table 6.14 presents the responses.

TABLE 6.14 HOW INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET IS SOUGHT IN LAW

LIBRARIES (N745)
Search method N %
I search independently 684 92
I search with the assistance of friends 171 23
I ask assistance from librarians 65 9
I ask librarians to search for me 35 5
Other (Specify) 0 0
No response 64 9

Virtually all of the respondents indicated that they sought information on the Internet
independently (684; 92%). One hundred and seventy one (171; 23%) indicated that they
would sometimes search with the help of friends, 65 (9%) sometimes asked librarians for
assistance, a few (35; 5%) asked librarians to search for information for them, and 64 (9%)
did not respond to this question. The result also indicated that 90% of the law students
believed that they could independently search for information from the Internet without
help.

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6.2.2.8.7 Changes in information seeking behaviour due to ICT utilisation
The law students were asked to express their opinions on whether there were changes in
their approaches to accessing, retrieving and using law library information sources as a
result of ICT. Only 283 respondents opted to respond to this question. The coded themes
from their responses are tabulated in Table 6.15.

TABLE 6.15 CHANGES IN INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR DUE TO

ICT UTILISATION (N=283)
Changes experienced Total %
No change 151 53
Using the Internet makes searching and retrieval easier, faster and less 72 25
stressful
No more difficulty in searching for information 17 6
Undecided 14 5
Acquired new knowledge online 12 4
It has become an efficient way of searching for information 7 2
Accessibility to information is improved 5 2
Ability to save information onto computer desktop and flash drive 4 1
I can now copy and paste from the Internet to Microsoft 1 03

A significant number of the respondents (151; 53%) indicated that ICT in the law libraries
had not brought any changes to their approaches to accessing, retrieving and utilising library
information. A number of respondents (72; 25%) indicated that using the Internet to search
for information has made it easier, faster and less stressful to find information and that it has
changed the way that they accessed, retrieved and utilised information sources. A very small
number of the respondents (14; 5%) were undecided as to whether the ICT facilities in the
law library had contributed to changes in how they accessed, retrieved and utilised law
library information sources. The above responses indicated that ICT in the law libraries did
not influence nor change the participating law students’ method of accessing information
using the ICT and that majority of the students did not use the electronic information
resources in law libraries.

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6.3 Interviews with librarians and deans of law
This section presents the responses from interviews with the key informants. Interviews
were used to elicit information from the key informants to get detailed data on the gaps in
responses from the law students’ to the questionnaire instrument that might require further
explanations. The key informants in this study consisted of experts who were responsible for
the teaching and learning activities of the law students i.e. deans of law and the law
librarians. The interview started with the author’s explanation of the research objectives of
the study to the informants in their individual offices in the twelve selected universities.
Assurance of confidentiality of the informants’ responses was done and they were informed
about the video camera that was used to capture the interviews ensuring that their facial
images were captured to which they verbally consented. The researcher employed trained
assistants from among the law students in each of the universities to help record the
verbatim answers and also video film the oral interviews. English was the medium of the
interview communication, translation was not necessary for the occasion.

Twelve law librarians and twelve law deans were targeted for the interviews. However, the
researcher was only able to initially interview eighteen informants (eleven law librarians,
and eight deans of law). Due to industrial action and academic staff union strikes which
were beyond the author’s control, interview appointments with four law deans and one law
librarian could not take place. However, a law librarian later agreed to be interviewed on
telephone by the researcher. Therefore the author eventually succeeded in interviewing
twelve law librarians using the interview schedule.

The interview questions for the law librarians and the deans of law covered different aspects
of their professions and the role that they played in Nigerian law students’ educational
development. For instance, the law librarians’ questions focused more on the information
seeking behaviour of law students in law libraries, provision of sources, and the utilisation
of sources by law students in the law libraries. In contrast, the eight out of the planned
twelve law deans were interviewed in their capacity as experts who are responsible for the
teaching and learning activities of law students. Therefore, they were asked how the law
students were taught, the kinds of sources they used in teaching, the types of sources that
they expected law students to use when they were given assignments, and what sources were
available at the law faculties for law students to use.

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6.3.1 Interview with deans of law
The law deans were interviewed to determine the degree to which law students are required
and expected to engage in information seeking and utilisation in the course of their academic
activities.

The law deans were first asked about the methods of instruction that they used with law
students. Most of the law deans mentioned a variety of teaching methods, most prominently
teaching from legal textbooks, providing lecture notes, giving students reading assignments
for class discussions, and using group discussions in class. Two of the law deans indicated
that they did not use legal textbooks to teach, but used all the other teaching methods as
indicated by the other Deans of law.

The deans were then asked whether law students were expected to read up on a topic before
lectures. All eight of the law deans answered in the affirmative, adding that they expected
the law students to actively engage in class discussions and to be able to answer specific
questions on the assigned topics. The topics to be reviewed in each of the law courses were
provided to the law students at the beginning of the semesters. The law students were also
expected to do research projects, read related law textbooks, search the Internet, work as a
group on specific assignments before the next class, read ahead, and prepare for and answer
the study questions contained in the coursework.

All of the eight deans also indicated that they encouraged their law students to visit the law
libraries to read up on court cases in the law reports and in the electronic libraries. The law
students were also involved in interactive class tutorials and seminars, note taking or the
timed memory based method of assessment teaching.

The law deans were asked whether they expected the law students to use a variety of
information sources to search retrieve and present the legal information sources for the tasks
required from them. All of the law deans interviewed made it evident that the law students
were expected to use a wide variety of information sources in their academic work. The
sources mentioned include: law textbooks, personal notes, electronic information sources
such as the Internet and electronic law libraries, journal articles, newspapers, periodicals,
interviews, and primary and secondary sources that include legislation, law reports, statutes
and the constitution.

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The deans were asked to indicate whether their law faculties were actively involved in
imparting information seeking skills on their law students. Their response was that there
were a few specific courses in their programmes designed to teach the first year law students
information seeking and retrieval skills, for example they mentioned that they teach Legal
Method to the first year law students, while Seminars and Legal Research Skills were also
organised for the final year law students before the commencement of their research
projects. Legal research skills is a topic under the legal method, where law students are
taught how to access legal facts or information from any available sources, such as, the
lawyers’ private law libraries, traditional law libraries and or electronic libraries and other
sources for their legal practice.

Two of the law deans talked about information search skills as a way of imparting legal
research skills on the law students before they eventually go to law school. Another two law
deans felt that law librarians and library staff are responsible for imparting the basic legal
research skills onto the law students. The eight law deans said courses such as ‘Computer
Appreciation and Application’ are integrated into the law curriculum. Five law deans also
mentioned that law students learnt information search skills by searching for legal sources in
the law libraries, by using the card catalogue in the law libraries, by consulting the book
shelves in the law library and by sourcing information from the Internet, newspapers articles
and law reports.

In addition to the information resources that are available in law libraries, the eight deans of
law indicated that relevant print and electronic resources were available in their faculty
offices. However, 6 law deans commented that: “The information sources in the faculty
offices are not open to law students. They are reserved for law faculty academic staff.”
Therefore these information sources and resources were neither available nor accessible to
law students.

6.3.2 Law librarians

The twelve law librarians who were interviewed to determine the information seeking
behaviour and ICT utilisation skills of law students provided useful information on the
requested issues. From the interviews, the researcher was also able to determine the roles
played by the law libraries in support of law students’ use of law library information

148
resources. The interview schedule was divided into two sections: (i) that secured the general
information seeking behaviour of the law students, and (ii) law librarians’ views about the
students’ ability to utilise ICT to search for and retrieve information.

6.3.2.1 General information seeking behaviour in law libraries

The librarians were first asked about the types of information sources that were available in
their law libraries. Eleven of the twelve law librarians indicated that their law libraries
possessed both traditional and electronic information sources, citing reference materials such
as encyclopaedias, law dictionaries, law reports (both local and foreign), judgments, appeal
cases, national dailies, magazines, laws of the federation of Nigeria, a card catalogue
(author/title), and a subject catalogue. The libraries also contained textbooks, government
publications, statutes, periodicals, journals and databases. To help the students find these
materials, a guide manual and shelf index were also available. One of the law librarians
indicated that although her law library had traditional primary and secondary information
sources, it did not have online ICT facilities and therefore did not provide access to online
databases or the Internet. However, she did mention that they were providing offline access
to the LexisNexis database.

According to six of the law librarians, the law students mostly preferred to use print sources
such as legal reference material, law reports, journals, law textbooks, statutes, and acts.
Three of the law librarians said that electronic information resources are mostly preferred,
while one law librarian indicated that law students preferred both “off and online
information resources”. Another librarian commented that: “Law students rarely use
electronic resources on their own except when they are referred to use them. Although, the
final year law students prefer using Legalpedia because of its content, other students will use
the OPAC only when they are referred to use it by their deans of law. However, that is rare -
they hardly come for assistance.”

Asked how the law students preferred to receive the information that they requested from the
law librarian, the law librarians’ responses differed from law library to law library. At three
law libraries, the preferred medium was oral, while at two law libraries, the written/print
medium was most preferred. Two law librarians indicated that the electronic medium was
preferred, while a combination of oral and print was the preference at a further two law

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libraries. At one law library, oral and audio-visual were the preferred formats. Only one law
library indicated that all the different media were preferred by the law students.
When asked about whether law students had the ability to search for information, the
following responses were received:
 “Most of the students, being computer literate, know how to source for information
in the library.”
 “Yes, they do. They also sometimes do this independently.”
 “Yes, but just a handful. In fact some don’t even care to know about the collections
in the library, not to mention accessing the information sources. Recently, some final
year students requested identification letters to enable them to access materials for
their projects in other libraries. When I inquired about the information they wanted to
access, we found that most of those materials were available in our law library.”
 “Students from second year and above know how to search for information for their
work.”
 “Yes, they do and they will seek clarification when information is obscure.”
 “Fairly well, for law reports they usually come with their colleagues and so will
make precise requests. Most of them can use the catalogue and are able to locate the
required books from the shelves.”
 “I would say no. This is because generally they use only one search engine - Google.
They do not know any other search engines that they can use and do not know
databases necessary for their research, except of course the institutional database.
Thus one wonders how final year law students write their undergraduate law essays.”
 “No because they have not been taught how to use information”

6.3.2.2 Law student’s ICT utilisation in law libraries

With the exception of one librarian who mentioned that they had no ICT or databases, all the
librarians indicated that they had ICT. In a few cases, computers were mentioned as an ICT
source, but specific products could not be named.
The mentioned information sources were as follows:
Respondent 1: Computers
Respondent 2: Legalpedia, Ebscohost, JSTOR and Hein Online
Respondent 3: Computers
Respondent 4: Computers

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Respondent 5: Lexis-Nexis and Compulaw. CD-ROMs, Internet Service
Respondents 6 and 7: Computers and Lexis-Nexis
Respondent 8: Internet facility, Lexis-Nexis and West Law
Respondent 9: Lexis-Nexis and Law Pavilion
Respondent 10: None in the law libraries, but students can use the computers in the main
university library
Respondent 11: Legalpedia, and Open Access resources such as OARE and JSTOR
Respondent 12: Computers

The next question related to the awareness and use of digital sources by law students. The
question sought to establish how popular the digital sources were among the law students
based on their availability as enumerated by the law librarians above. Four of the law
librarians said that law students were aware of the digital sources, and that the sources were
very popular among them. Some of their comments illustrated their views:
 “The digital resources are popular among our law students.”
 “It is well known to the law students through our awareness programmes on
information literacy.”
Three librarians indicated that digital sources were relatively popular, but they mentioned
this in conjunction with some of the problems experienced by the law students:
 “ICT are fairly popular among law students, however not many of the law students
have in-depth knowledge of their usage.”
 It used to be relatively popular, but because the computer systems are grossly
inadequate, and most students do not want to wait for others, some now describe it as
a waste of time. Thus lack of sufficient computers is seriously affecting the use of the
e-resources in our electronic law library.”
Three law librarians stated that digital sources were not at all popular among the law
students:
 “Not popular, although announcements were made as a way of advertising the
service. However they do not use it, probably out of fear as they still do not believe
OPAC is for student use. When law students were told that they could really be using
the sources on their own, there was bewilderment on their faces. However, final year
law students use Legalpedia more and more”;

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 “They are not so popular among law students, due to certain technical factors such as
poor electricity power supply;
 “Not popular because the digital library is not available”;
 “They are not popular because the ICT services are rather unstable. There is no
alternative source of power, thus in the event of a power outage the services are
negatively affected. Moreover, right now the Internet connectivity service is
unavailable, so it is not popular. Except for the open access resources, subscriptions
to law databases have not been renewed.”
The law librarians’ responses confirmed that the law library digital sources were not
commonly used by the law students.

On the issue of whether the digital information sources could meet law students’ information
needs, eight of the law librarians were of the opinion that the digital sources in their law
libraries were grossly inadequate. One of the law librarians surmises the general opinion
with the following comment:
 “The digital sources are not adequate because they are limited in quantity and we
also lack professional staff to handle the few available sources. Our faculty has a
total number of over 500 students but we have less than 10 computer systems in the
electronic law library.”

Another law librarian lamented that: “The electronic sources are supposed to be provided for
law students in the law library, but they are not. Even the available print sources (textbooks
and journals) are not acceptable.”

Three of the law librarians felt that the digital sources in their law libraries adequately
addressed law students’ needs. One said, “The digital sources are adequate but not
exhaustive,” while another librarian indicated that, “It is adequate provided there is
uninterrupted access to Internet connectivity.” Another law librarian declared that the digital
sources were adequate because the majority of the law students could conveniently make use
of the available computers.

When asked about law students’ utilisation of the available ICT resources in their law
libraries, seven of the law librarians said that the resources were not effectively utilised,

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while five indicated that the ICT resources were effectively utilised. Those who felt that the
ICT were not effectively used had this to say:
 “No, they are not effectively utilised. Some law students come less to use
them because they have no skills or knowledge of computers. The majority of
the students prefer to access email, Facebook and non-academic related sites
when allocated time to use the digital sources.”
 “Before now it was effectively used, but currently it is not functioning due to
the renovations at the computer e-learning centres at the Faculty of Law. In
the meantime, law students are utilising the MTN electronic learning unit
within the university main library.”
The findings here revealed that digital sources were inadequately provided; not popular
among the law students; and computers were insufficiently provided, as such, the students
could not effectively utilise the electronic law libraries.

When asked how the law libraries attract or encourage the law students to utilise the digital
libraries, the following responses were received from the twelve law librarians:
 “Through training or during interviews with the students.”
 “It is announced in the reading hall and posted on the notice board.”
 “The law deans give them assignments which require them to use the
Internet. The libraries organise orientation for new students on the use of
library and its resources.”
 “They [students] are being encouraged by their deans of law to source
materials on the Internet; therefore they have no option but to make use of the
e-library.”
 “Seminars and training are organised for students, and students with no email
addresses are given the opportunity to create them free of charge. Law deans
also insist that law students must write their assignments with the latest
information from the web, and the addresses must be referenced.”
 “It is free and open to all students.”
 “There is always a board where the available resources are displayed.”
 “The students are encouraged to use the digital information resources free of
charge.”

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  “Library instructions are given in both the classroom and law libraries.
Notices are pasted in strategic places to attract law students.”
This report showed that the law libraries encouraged the law students to utilise the law
library sources through various methods that include: Library orientations, library
instructions, seminars, lecture room announcement and placement of Bill Boards) that the
law libraries used to encourage the law students to take advantage of sources provided for
their utilisation and the law faculties

The next question wanted to determine the constraints/challenges affecting law students’
utilisation of digital information sources in law libraries. All the law librarians identified
several problems that faced the law students when accessing and using the electronic
information sources in their law libraries. Their responses are provided below:
 “Some law students are not computer literate.”
 “Irregular power supply, limited number of information sources, lack of skills
or knowledge to make use of the sources.”
 “Power failure, and also we have no independent network because the law
library is connected to the main library.”
 “Some students are not computer literate; there are no technical staffs to
assist law students in the electronic law library; lack of a power supply
(electricity); inadequate quantity of systems and inadequate funds to
subsidise Internet connectivity.”
 “Power outages and lack of funds to procure digital resources.”
 “Inadequate or unavailable facilities, non-subscription to electronic
resources.”
 “Lack of revenue, [lack of] will power by the students to search for
information, and inadequate power supply.”
 “Lack of ICT resources.”
 “The unreliability of the power supply and the constant interruption or
stoppage of Internet connectivity/service provision.”
The findings revealed the problems experienced in the law libraries as identified by the law
librarians, indicated that the librarians were equally aware of the challenges faced by the
students when they source for information in the law libraries.

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When asked how they thought these constraints/challenges could be overcome, the law
librarians had a number of suggestions, listed below:
 “By training the law students on how to use the e-library.”
 “The law students should be constantly given research based assignments.
Information studies should be introduced as part of the curriculum. Not more
than 3 lectures a week should be allowed in order to give them time to study
and do research.”
 “Provision of alternative sources of power,”
 “Provide more digital information resources and employ ICT staff to help
users effectively make use of the sources. Provide adequate funds.”
 “These constraints can be curbed if the law library can have a separate
network and also a separate generator.”
 “Increase the level of ICT awareness to law students.”
 “Training and retraining of available staff and recruitment of professional
staff”
 “Improve on the quality of electricity in the country.”
 “Adequate funding to procure electronic resources, frequent renewal of
Internet subscriptions and electronic database resources, and uninterrupted
power supply.”
 “There should be an alternative power supply and adequate funding.”
 “Increased funding to take care of staff training, and the provision of steady
power.”
 “The challenges can be improved if there is an improved electricity supply.
More computer systems should be made available.”
 “The university must provide ICT facilities for the law library.”
 “The university should subscribe to law databases such as Lexis-Nexis and
Legalpedia. The ICT section should be provided with alternative sources of
power.”
The report specified the solutions proffered by the law librarians on how to overcome the
problems encountered by both law students and the law library system in providing
information sources in the law libraries.

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6.4 Observation of the library facilities, environment and other amenities
The aim of the observation was to observe the environment of the university law libraries
and law students in law libraries to corroborate the data collected from the law students, law
librarians and Law deans on law students’ information seeking behaviour and ICT utilisation
in law libraries.

The researcher physically moved around the university law libraries to observe, assess and
ascertain the status and condition of the libraries. The observations centred on the physical
structures and facilities of the law libraries, such as the general outlook of the libraries,
location, size, shelf arrangements, guides, posters, electronic libraries, and computers. The
researcher personally conducted observations in eleven law libraries while a research
assistant observed the twelfth law library at the University of Calabar.

The law library buildings generally looked well maintained, although there were a few
exceptions. The observed law library buildings consisted of fairly big halls that contained
reading tables and chairs with well-arranged double sided iron shelves on which legal
sources were mostly systematically, but sometimes indiscriminately arranged. The
collections of all the law libraries consisted of mostly law reports (both foreign and local),
law journals (foreign and local), newspapers, law magazines and legal textbooks. While the
sources were well organised in some sections of the libraries, in some areas they were not
organised, especially the shelves closest to the reading areas. In all, one particular law
library was completely disorganised; books were piled up, and some were in cartons. Upon
inquiry, the law librarian said that a new law library building was under construction.

Directional sign posts leading to the Faculty of Law upon entering the universities’ gates
were visible in most cases. Visiting the Law Faculties in turn directed a person to the law
libraries. Posters directing users to the different library units and services were well labelled
and displayed in strategic places within all the law libraries. Visible library guides to help
locate facilities within the law libraries were also available in most of the law libraries.
Reference guides were tagged or pasted to the shelves, while the books were labelled with
index identifiers on the shelves. With the exception of the law library, all the libraries had
display areas for recently acquired information material.
All of the libraries had adequate furniture, such as tables, chairs and shelves, made of quality
materials. However it was observed that the available reading spaces were inadequate to

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house both the existing collections and the readers. Lighting was also very poor due to
erratic power supplies, and none of the libraries had a separate power generator to generate
power when required.

The law library services were mainly self-service, although library staff members were
available to render assistance to users. Users were free to search for and use any materials on
the shelves, with the exception of the reserved areas of the libraries, and the library staff
could be approached to assist whenever necessary. There were photocopying services either
within or outside most of the law libraries. However two of the law libraries, one of which
was disorganised, did not provide bindery and photocopy services, and the law students had
to use photocopying services outside these law libraries. One of the universities was getting
a new library building, while the other was getting a new digital library.

It was observed that the law libraries were mostly used for reading, writing assignments,
preparing for the next lecture, and law examinations. It was the examination period when
some of the law faculties were visited, and the law libraries were filled with law students
either reading for the next paper or preparing for the next day’s examinations. However, in
cases where law students were not writing examinations, the libraries were virtually empty,
with only a few students’ observed writing assignments or reading from their notebooks.

The majority of the law libraries were centrally located within the law faculty buildings
while a few had a separate building outside the law faculties, as was the case of a state
university, which has its law library located within the law faculty; another has its law
library located within the university main library; some others’ law libraries, were located
within a separate building that was very close to the law faculties. The central location of the
law libraries within and around the law faculties makes the law libraries more accessible to
the users. The electronic law libraries were, in most of the cases, located in a separate room
within the law library, while in some cases they were located outside the law library, but
within the law faculty building e.g. the electronic law library in one university was located
inside a room within the law faculty building, whereas, the law library itself was cited on a
separate building next to the law faculty. In some cases, law students have to use either the
university ICT laboratory, or the main university library ICT laboratory to access digital
legal resources, as there was no access to the ICT laboratories attached to their law libraries
or law faculties.

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Most of the visited university law libraries did not have a functioning digital library. The
available computers in the law libraries ranged from two to fifty systems. Most of the rooms
dedicated to the electronic libraries were spacious, with computers, tables and chairs, while a
few were still in the process of development. For instance, at the time of writing, one law
library was in the process of overhauling their digital law library. The university had one
hundred and twenty brand new computers that were neatly packed waiting for the electronic
law library to be fully renovated. Despite the availability of computers within the electronic
law libraries, it was observed that they were not enough to cater to the needs of the
considerable population of law students in all the universities. Even the university that had
one hundred and twenty computers, if the computers were to be connected to the Internet,
the computers might not be sufficient for the students’ use, when compared to the number of
law students in the law faculty.

However, it was also observed that the law libraries with computer systems had little
equipment that was in good working order. For instance, one state university law library had
only six computers, another law library had just two computer systems; a federal university
law library had no computer. The law library that had no electronic library was located
within the university main library and the law students shared the electronic library in the
university main library with other faculties within the university library. The available
computer systems and law databases in the law libraries at the time of writing are indicated
in Table 6.16 below:

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TABLE 6.16 AVAILABLE ICT FACILITIES IN THE LAW LIBRARIES (N=12)
Computers Internet Databases Photocopier Accessible
connection electronic law
library
L1 15 Yes Legalpedia Yes Yes
L2 17 Yes Legalpedia, Yes No
Ebscohost, JSTOR
L3 17 Yes No Yes No
L4 15 Yes Lexis-Nexis Yes No
L5 6 Yes Compulaw Nil Yes
L6 No No No Nil No
L7 30 No Legalpedia Yes No
L8 120 No No Yes No
L9 30 Yes Lexis-Nexis Yes No
L10 17 No No Yes No
L11 2 Yes No Yes No
L12 50 No No Yes No
L = Library

Five (5) of the law libraries were not connected to the Internet. Some of the law libraries had
connections to the Internet but had no subscribed law database. Six had law databases and
the Internet, two had the Internet without law databases, and four law libraries had databases
of which the subscriptions are not renewed, while only two of the law libraries had a digital
library, subscribed to law databases and Internet connectivity. It was also observed that the
university law libraries with databases (Legalpedia, Compulaw, Law Pavilion, and
LexisNexis) belonged to both federal and state universities. The observation results showed
that there were only two law libraries providing access to both Internet and databases
(Legalpedia, and Compulaw). Internet connectivity seemed to be the main problem affecting
free access to the digital libraries. Few of the law students were observed using the computer
systems to browse the Internet at some universities, and connectivity to the Internet in these
libraries appeared to be relatively good.
However, findings revealed that through interactions with the law students, the researcher
observed that the law students were eager to use ICT resources because they declared their

159
wish to patronise the law libraries whenever ICT sources and services are made available
and accessible to them.

6.5 Summary
This chapter presented and interpreted the data collected using the research instruments.
Data was divided into three main sections based on the research instruments: law students’
questionnaire, interviews with the key informants (law librarians and dean of law), and the
observation of university law libraries. The questionnaire looked at the age, gender, study
levels, participating universities, information seeking behaviour and ICT utilisation of
undergraduate law students in Nigerian universities. The findings show that the majority of
(74%) law students like to patronise the law library sources and resources in order to further
their knowledge on legal issues (87%). The majority of the law student respondents (47%)
showed a preference for print information sources in the law libraries, while 46% mainly
preferred electronic information sources, while only 3% preferred to use both print and
electronic information sources.
The findings revealed that the Internet was the most available electronic resource (40%) and
was used within the law libraries by 12% of the respondents. ‘Other’ sources identified as
available by a very few respondents (2%) include mobile phones, photocopy machines, and
their laptops in the libraries. The majority (90%) of the law students were skilled enough to
independently search for information using electronic resources and the Internet. However,
while observation of the law students in a controlled environment confirmed that most of the
law students had some ICT skills, the respondents evidently underestimated the degree of
search skills that they are expected to possess. Ninety-four percent (94%) of the law students
used their personal mobile phones and laptops to access the Internet while very few numbers
of respondents (8%) accessed the Internet using the computers in the law libraries. Findings
from the research study showed that ICT in the law libraries had no impact on law students’
approach to accessing, retrieving and utilising information because less than half (45.3%) of
the law students agreed that law library ICT had improved their search skills. The analyses
revealed that university law libraries in Nigeria are experiencing several challenges with
respect to the provision of ICT resources, such as inadequate funds, erratic power supplies,
ICT services that are not stable, and the lack of an alternative power supply during power
outages. The next chapter provides a detailed discussion of the findings.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
7.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses the results emerging from the analyses of the research findings
presented in Chapter six. The discussion is organised based on the research questions that
guided this study (see Chapter one, section: 1.8). Okon et al. (2010:535) explains that
discussing the research findings enables researchers to determine whether the findings
answer the research objectives drawn for the research study.

7.2 Characteristics of the respondents

This section provides a summary of the research findings based on the demographic
characteristics of the respondents of this study presented in section 6.2.1. The characteristics
of the respondents consisted of age, gender and the level of study of the law student
respondents selected from the twelve universities that participated in this study

7.3 Types of library information resources and services, available to law students in
Nigerian University Law Libraries (UNLL)
There are distinctive information sources in law education, which is particular to the legal
profession. The literature review revealed that primary and secondary legal information
sources are generally available in the legal discipline. These sources are significant to the
effective adjudication of legal jurisdiction. Examples of primary legal sources were
discussed by Dina et al. (2013). The literature reviewed established that university libraries
in Nigeria are currently shifting from traditional forms of manual service delivery to
electronic formats, using ICT networks (Nkanu and Okon et al., 2010). According to Nkanu
and Okon many Nigerian libraries are currently converting the contents of their print
resources into electronic databases thus, increasing their dependence on information
technology. This finding was confirmed during the interviews with the law librarians, as
they all indicated that legal information sources are now available both in print and
electronic formats. The law librarians further confirmed that law databases such as Westlaw;
Lexis-Nexis International; Compulaw, Ebscohost and Legalpedia are subscribed to in some
of the law libraries. Lawal et al. (2012) and Ossai’s (2011) confirmed this trend. Other
electronic resources mentioned by the law librarians included law databases on CD-ROMs
and OPAC. Thanuskodi (2009) agreed that the above electronic sources should be available
in a law library, but also mentioned that Audio Visual and multimedia collections should be

161
included as information sources. However, information obtained through observations, law
librarian interviews and the law students’ responses, it became clear that audio visual and
multimedia collections were not available in the law libraries. Ossai’s (2011) study in the
University of Benin, Nigeria established the availability of e-books, Internet, computer
systems and law databases in the university’s law library. This indicates that the availability
of e-resources varies from law library to law library. The necessity to introduce electronic
information resources within the law libraries was found to have been mandated by the
National University Commission (NUC) as a pre-condition before a Nigerian university
would be allowed to offer a law programme. Recognising the financial difficulties that
academic libraries experience to subscribe to specific databases the National University
Commission established a virtual library through which academic institutions, and by
implication the law libraries can access information on various subject disciplines offered in
the universities. The virtual library portal provides access to various subject databases,
including law databases. A user ID and a password obtainable from each university library
are required to access the website (Mostert and Olorunfemi, 2013).

7.4 Attitudes and opinions about the available information sources and resources in
Nigerian University Law Libraries
The study observed that law students’ attitude and opinion concerning the available
information resources in the law libraries determine their utilisation of the legal information
sources in the law libraries surveyed for this study. Having little or no access to the available
information sources and resources in the law libraries could cause users to be negatively
inclined to use the library. Therefore, to get users to have a positive attitude and opinion
about the information resources, librarians have to ensure the provision of adequate
information sources and resources, create awareness and make the sources accessible to
users.

The findings noted that a high number of the law students (74%) had a positive attitude
towards law library patronage. Only twenty-three percent (23%) of the law students indicated
that they do not like to patronise the law libraries. The study also found that a large number
(87%) of the law students have high expectations that the law libraries would provide access
to ‘relevant and current’ law information sources and resources that they could use to support
their academic pursuits. A further seventy four percent (74%) of the law students, who were
predisposed to use the law libraries, indicated that they appreciate and value the role played

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by the law libraries in their educational pursuits. Concurring with Wilson’s social learning
theory, these law students clearly realise the value of legal information for their law studies,
and its significance for their future profession.

However, only 32% of the law students indicated that they actually sourced for useful law
materials from the databases in the law libraries, indicating probable challenges in either
service delivery from the library or challenges faced by the students in utilising the e-
resources available in the law libraries. This finding is in line with the Technology
Acceptance Model by Davis et al. (1989) which advocates that the utilisation of technology
is directly related to source availability and its perceived ease. More than half of the
respondents (52%) indicated that they feel bored searching for information in the law
library. This might be due to the fact that most of the law libraries in Nigerian universities
were not well stocked with modern electronic information sources. A large number of the
available print sources are also seemingly foreign-based legal materials not related to the
Nigerian legal culture. Kamanda (1999) and Wilkinson’s (2001) studies revealed that both
lawyers and students in general have problems identifying information,

More than half of the law students (57%) disagreed that the electronic libraries were fully
equipped and user friendly. It was determined that this was primarily because the electronic
law libraries were not accessible to law students. This was corroborated by the interviews
with the law librarians when asked whether the digital information sources met law students’
information needs. Eight of the law librarians were of the opinion that the digital sources in
their law libraries were grossly inadequate. The finding was also corroborated during the
observation where it was observed that the total number of computers in all the law libraries
ranged between 2 and 120 systems in the electronic law libraries, while the majority had no
subscribed law databases or Internet connection (see: Table 6.16). In accordance with
Wilson’s theory of social learning (1999), the law students’ experiences with the law
libraries brought about a change in their attitude towards law library usage, albeit negative.
From the findings it became clear that some of the law students shifted their information
gathering approach from utilising the law library sources, to using their personal laptops and
mobile phones to connect to the Internet in order to search for information. In accordance
with the Technology Acceptance Model, the shift towards the utilisation of personal laptops
and mobile phones could be because users perceive those items as easier to use and more
useful to them in enabling them to find the information they require.

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Library staff’s efforts and attitudes generally determine how libraries and the accompanying
information sources and resources are used. Findings about the library personnel’s attitudes
revealed that less than half (47%) of the respondents were of the opinion that the law library
employees were helpful, while 53% stated that the law library staff were not helpful. The
ability to access relevant and current law library information sources can have an influence
on law students’ information behaviour. With easy access to law sources in the law libraries,
law students are more likely to utilise the sources. Unhelpful staff can form a barrier
between the student and the information sources, resulting in discouraged users whom
eventually choose to utilise a more accessible information source. This is supported by the
studies done by Ifidon and Okoli (2002) who established that library staff attitudes inhibit
the effective use of library sources and services, and Unomah (1987) who found that junior
staff attitudes towards library users were not encouraging. Despite the perception of
unhelpful staff, the current study determined that it did not detract a large number of the law
students (87%) from being willing to patronise the law libraries. The overall implication is
that the majority of law students in Nigerian universities perceived the law library as playing
a significant role in their educational development.

7.5 Purpose for which Nigerian law students retrieve legal information
Law students retrieve information for various purposes in the course of their study in the
universities as it is paramount for them to continually acquire knowledge in order to succeed
in their academic studies and to be competitive in their future profession. However, they
might also want to use the law library to find information of a more general nature to assist
them with issues and challenges that they experience in their daily student life.

Wilson and Niedźwiedzka’s information behaviour models advocate that activating

mechanisms prompt an individual to start searching for information. The findings revealed
that the majority (87%) of the respondents sought legal information to ‘further their
knowledge on legal issues’, while the second reason was to complete assignments (82%).
This indicates that academic matters relating to their studies are the most important
activating mechanism behind law students’ information seeking behaviour. This was
confirmed by deans of law, that at the beginning of each semester, topics from each of the
law courses and reading assignments are assigned to law students to review in preparation
for class discussions, which results in their seeking for information related to the topics and

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assignments. According to the deans of law, the law students were also expected to do
research projects, read law textbooks, search the Internet, work as a group on specific
assignments before the next class, read ahead, and prepare for and answer the study
questions contained in the coursework. This finding was corroborated by Oke-Samuel
(2008:135).

The findings further identified the other purposes for which law students’ retrieve legal
information, which were to keep up-to-date with the latest developments on the legal front
(844, 79%), and to acquire more knowledge that could keep them abreast of current events
in society, places of work, legal practice, or in academic pursuits. This finding shows that
law students recognise information seeking as a continuous process that guides their future
careers. In addition, it was established that law students sought information for the purpose
of studying the outcome of court cases (844, 67%), or to participate in classroom discussions
(816, 65%). These findings were corroborated by the deans of law, who indicated that they
requested the law students to study court cases as presented in law reports.

The law students also used the law libraries purposely to read newspapers and access current
law books to be informed and more versatile in all areas of legal education. The law students
who indicated that they used law library sources for other purposes stated that they used the
law library information sources to assist them to prepare for examinations, to assist them to
read widely on their topic, and to become more knowledgeable and conversant in their study
field. These findings correlated with an earlier study by Bigdeli (2007), who found that users
retrieve information for varied purposes depending on their interests, specialisations, and
motivating factors. It was interesting to note that none of the students mentioned that they
used the libraries to find information to assist them in their daily student life or to extend
their general knowledge of global events. In the modern law libraries, information can be
sought in printed and electronic formats; therefore, users are expected and or need to be able
to search for information both in printed and electronic sources. Though user education was
found offered in all the law libraries that participated in the study, certain skills such as the
ability to operate a computer and the Internet do not always form part of the user education.
Students therefore need to obtain the skills somewhere else. In the current study, findings
showed that the majority of the law students (45%) had learnt their electronic information
seeking skills in formal computer training schools before gaining admission into the
university. This formal training mainly focused on computer skills, although Internet skills

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were also sometimes part of the course. This was followed by self-training (40%) where the
students claimed to have learnt their skills on their own. This finding is supported by the
African Youths Development Foundation as cited by Chukwunyere (2013) who found out
that young people are curious to study computer technology and its applications, thus many
school leavers who are seeking university admission and job applicants make efforts to learn
computer skills on their own to prepare for admission and to be more marketable when job
opportunities arise.
Students, especially those that taught themselves often regard their abilities to operate the
computer and seek for information to be very high, but in practice they are sometimes found
wanting. The ability test that was performed on the students confirmed this, as, though 80%
could operate the computer effectively, only 59% could generate and type applicable
keywords, 55% could download document from databases, while 47% could not find
applicable sources on the Internet. From this test, it was evident that students over-valued
their ability to operate ICT to find applicable information and that these skills probably need
to be boosted with more formal training and practice in the universities.

An insignificant number (8%) of law students learnt their search skills by attending the ‘Use
of the Library’ compulsory course during their first year at the universities. The issue
concerning respondents’ low attendance of the library search skill course at (8%) of the
respondents corroborated the author’s observation that the majority of the law students do
not participate in nor attend lectures on the ‘Use of Library’ module. This indicated that the
majority of the law students do not value the Use of Library course. However, the issue of
under valuing the library course is a general phenomenon among undergraduate students in
Nigerian universities. The reason could be attributed to the insignificant unit points attached
to this course (even though it is a compulsory course). It is not highly rated compared to
other courses offered in the universities. Most of the universities rated the library course as a
one unit course, or zero unit courses, which tended to add no significant value to the
students’ Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). The implication of this is that many of
the law students do not consider the lessons on how to use the library as important compared
with their major and minor law courses where higher units are earned.

However, a few out of the (40%) self-taught respondents, claimed to have attained the skills
through their own efforts when looking through the shelves in the law libraries. This

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category probably represented those students that believed that the computer is fragile and
would rather use relevant and current print sources that are available in the law libraries.

Seven percent (7%) of the law students indicated that they were taught by friends or family
at cyber cafés when searching for information on the Internet or sought help from the café
assistants. This might have contributed to the students’ poor performance during the ability
test when they were asked to look for specific legal information on the Internet, as many of
these friends or family members also might not have proper training in the effective
information seeking process, using ICT tools.

7.6 Methods used to gain information seeking skills

In the modern law libraries, information can be sought in printed and electronic formats;
therefore, users are expected and or need to be able to search for information both in printed
and electronic sources. Though user education was found offered in all the law libraries that
participated in the study, certain skills such as the ability to operate a computer and the
Internet do not always form part of the user education. Students therefore need to obtain the
skills somewhere else. In the current study, findings showed that the majority of the law
students (45%) had learnt their electronic information seeking skills in formal computer
training schools before gaining admission into the university. This formal training mainly
focused on computer skills, although Internet skills were also sometimes part of the course.
This was followed by self-training (40%) where the students claimed to have learnt their
skills on their own. This finding is supported by the African Youths Development
Foundation as cited by Chukwunyere (2013) who found out that young people are curious to
study computer technology and its applications, thus many school leavers who are seeking
university admission and job applicants make efforts to learn computer skills on their own to
prepare for admission and to be more marketable when job opportunities arise.
Students, especially those that taught themselves often regard their abilities to operate the
computer and seek for information to be very high, but in practice they are sometimes found
wanting. The ability test that was performed on the students confirmed this, as, though 80%
could operate the computer effectively, only 59% could generate and type applicable
keywords, 55% could download document from databases, while 47% could not find
applicable sources on the Internet. From this test, it was evident that students over-valued
their ability to operate ICT to find applicable information and that these skills probably need
to be boosted with more formal training and practice in the universities.

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An insignificant number (8%) of law students learnt their search skills by attending the ‘Use
of the Library’ compulsory course during their first year at the universities. The issue
concerning respondents’ low attendance of the library search skill course at (8%) of the
respondents corroborated the author’s observation that the majority of the law students do
not participate in nor attend lectures on the ‘Use of Library’ module. This indicated that the
majority of the law students do not value the Use of Library course. However, the issue of
under valuing the library course is a general phenomenon among undergraduate students in
Nigerian universities. The reason could be attributed to the insignificant unit points attached
to this course (even though it is a compulsory course). It is not highly rated compared to
other courses offered in the universities. Most of the universities rated the library course as a
one unit course, or zero unit course, which tended to add no significant value to the students’
Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). The implication of this is that many of the law
students do not consider the lessons on how to use the library as important compared with
their major and minor law courses where higher units are earned.

However, a few out of the (40%) self-taught respondents, claimed to have attained the skills
through their own efforts when looking through the shelves in the law libraries. This
category probably represented those students that believed that the computer is fragile and
would rather use relevant and current print sources that are available in the law libraries.

Seven percent (7%) of the law students indicated that they were taught by friends or family
at cyber cafés when searching for information on the Internet or sought help from the café
assistants. This might have contributed to the students’ poor performance during the ability
test when they were asked to look for specific legal information on the Internet, as many of
these friends or family members also might not have proper training in the effective
information seeking process, using ICT tools.

7.7 Types of information sources and services used and frequency of use by law students
The effective utilisation of the library sources and its resources depends on the types of
information sources and services offered. The print information sources are common to the
traditional law library services available to law students and other users of the law library,
while access to e-resources are a relatively new service type, especially in developing
countries.

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In the current study different kinds of information sources, which the law students could use
to access legal information, in the law libraries were identified (in section 6.2.2.7; Table
6.8). These include both print and electronic resources. Findings revealed that the majority
of the law students frequently used print sources (text books, 82% and law books, 77%);
Internet access via personal computers, laptops and mobile phones (70%); Internet (65%);
and law reports (53%). Law databases (14%) and digital libraries (12%) which were much
less popular than expected, while court libraries were rarely used (5%). The preference to
utilise printed materials was confirmed by a study by Ugah (2007), as well as by six of the
law librarians. The low utilisation of databases and digital libraries could be ascribed to the
virtual non-existent Internet connectivity at some of the universities, which prohibits access
to the Internet, databases and e-resources. However, three law librarians mentioned a
preference for the use of electronic information resources in their libraries, while one
indicated that law students used both offline and online information resources.

The law librarians that reported that the electronic legal sources in their law libraries were
not effectively utilised, commented on the issues as follows:
 “Law students rarely use law library electronic information resources on their own
except when they are referred to use the resources by their deans of law.”
 “Law students are not educated in research and do not appreciate how useful the
information sources are. They rely mostly on their lecture notes and only compliment
it with research.”
 “No, they are not effectively utilised. Some law students come less to use them
because they have no skills or knowledge of computers. The majority of the law
students prefer to access email, Facebook and non-academic related sites when
allocated time to use the digital sources.”

7.7.1 Format preference when retrieving information

The format and the type of information sources retrieved can have a bearing on how law
students’ access information in the law libraries to write their assignments, write tests and
prepare for law examinations. The medium of information source preference could also
affect their future information search in lawyering practices.

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The study revealed that a slight majority of law students (47%) preferred the printed medium
when retrieving information, while 46% preferred the electronic medium when retrieving
information. This finding negates the previous studies by Otike (1999:19); Kuhlthau and
Tama (2001), Wilkinson (2001) and Majid and Kassim (2000) which showed that lawyers
and [law students] prefer, and rely heavily on printed information sources. However, the
results contradict Tenopir et al. (2003), who found that faculties and students preferred
electronic resources as they perceived that electronic sources were more convenient,
relevant, and time saving.
The observations confirmed that law students have a strong preference to use the available
electronic information sources in the digital libraries. The law librarians commented on the
trend among law students to obtain printed copies of electronic information, as according to
the students they found it easier to work with a printed document. Ray and Day (1998)
support this observation by indicating that even while many students prefer electronic
resources, a few still print hardcopies to complement the digital information. The high
preference for electronic information sources in law libraries, even when findings showed
that access to ICT is problematic inside the law libraries could be attributed to a fact that the
law students were allowed to use their personal laptops with 3G Internet connections in the
law libraries or use their mobile phones to access the Internet.

7.7.2 Information sources format and location preference when receiving academic
information
Law students on the university campuses potentially have access to a myriad of information
sources in both print and electronic format through which the students could harness, select
and receive academic information for their study. These sources are not always in the law
library and might be found anywhere on or off the university campus. Based on the law
students’ responses, the majority (46%) preferred to receive information in both print and
electronic formats found in the law libraries; while 18% preferred to receive information in
print format from their personal textbooks; 17% preferred to receive their information from
outside the law libraries through the Internet or databases; 11% preferred the traditional print
format in the law libraries; 8% preferred to receive information only in electronic format in
the law libraries; while an insignificant number of the respondents (0.3%) preferred other
sources. These other sources referred mainly to mobile phones, CD’s or newspapers. These
findings are in contrast with Sharma et al.’s (2006) study on the trend of Internet use among
students in Jammu, India who found that 75% of undergraduates preferred textbooks to

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source required information, and Ajiboye and Tella (2007:40), who found that the Internet
was the most preferred sources for receiving information among undergraduate students.
The responses from 46% of the law students that preferred to receive information in both
print and electronic formats in the law libraries gave reasons such as having enough skills to
search for information, using both print and electronic sources, that could assist them to
further their knowledge on legal issues, complete assignments and be updated with the latest
developments on the legal front. However, this finding negates the study done by Ajiboye
and Tella on university undergraduate students’ information seeking behaviour.
As for the 18% of respondents who preferred to receive academic information in printed
format in their personal textbooks, the reasons included: There are no restrictions to read
from my relevant textbook; do not need to request permission nor supervision from library
staff; do not need to queue in law libraries to use the Internet, or to borrow textbooks in law
libraries as a result of inadequate space; insufficient number of available textbooks and
computers/Internet ports in the law libraries. The 17% that preferred to receive their
information through the Internet or databases from cybercafés outside the law libraries do so
because of the faster and easy accessibility to current and relevant information that the law
libraries could not provide access to. They were of the opinion that they could obtain
information from the Internet at their own convenience without thinking of time constraints
at the cybercafés, unlike the law libraries that have a stipulated time for closing the libraries
or time limit for utilisation of e-resources. Only few do it because of the cost factor, as
cybercafés can be very expensive. The reasons given by the 11% of respondents that
preferred the traditional print format in the law libraries included the fact that there are no
ICT facilities available in the law libraries, as well as, their inadequate ICT skills to search
for information from the Internet.

7.8 Availability and utilisation of ICT in the law libraries

It is a function of the law libraries to create an enabling environment for the law library
users to utilise the available ICT facilities in the libraries, especially as it is a requirement of
the NUC that libraries should form part of the services offered to students. As advocated in
Davis et al.’s (1989) technology acceptance model, students’ effective use of electronic
resources in a library is subject to availability and accessibility of the electronic sources in
the library, students’ awareness of these facilities and the easy access of the ICT sources and
resources.

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In the context of the current study, findings showed that there were some ICT facilities
available in the electronic law libraries and the law faculty offices. Seven of the law
librarians confirmed that they have both computers and electronic information sources such
as the Internet and law databases available, while four mentioned only computers as the
available ICT in their law libraries. Availability however does not necessarily mean access,
as was the case where the majority of the law students indicated that there were no ICT
facilities available for their use in the law libraries. One law librarian declared that there
were no ICT available in the law library by saying: “None in the law library, but law
students can use the computers in the main university library.” The observations confirmed
that eleven out of the 12 law libraries had computer facilities; seven had Internet
connectivity, but with insufficient bandwidth, while only three subscribed to law databases.
However, due to financial cost, the subscriptions had not been recently renewed.

According to the law librarians, various methods are used to create awareness of the
existence of the e-resources and in the case of four of the libraries this resulted in the e-
resources being well utilised in those libraries. This is in line with findings by Ekwelem et
al. (2009), who found that the electronic information resources in law libraries helped to
develop students’ awareness and use of electronic sources. The majority (60%) of the law
students were not aware that ICT resources were available in their law libraries for law
students’ use, while 40% affirmed that ICT facilities were available in their libraries.
However, while this indicates availability, only 12% of the law students indicated that they
used these e-sources. The interviews with the eight law deans confirmed the availability of
ICT facilities in the law faculty offices but made it clear that the ICT sources were not
accessible to the law students. Whereas, law librarians interviews revealed insufficient ICT
sources in the law libraries and thus access to the electronic libraries were prohibited.

The findings from this study revealed that the available ICT resources in law libraries were
under-utilised by the respondents, partly because respondents seemed to be unaware of most
of the ICT sources. The implication of this finding may be that the law library electronic
information resources appear to play no important role in the academic development of the
law students in Nigerian universities. This is confirmed by Popoola’s (2001) study on the
Faculty awareness about library information products and services in Nigerian universities
who found that availability of information sources do not necessarily translate into use.

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The results on how the respondents rated the efficiency of the ICT within the law libraries
revealed that less than half of the law students rated the accessibility and availability as
optimal. A limited percentage of the law students thought that the downloading speed (24%)
and connection speed (23%) was good, while the hardware was seen as inadequately
efficient by 15% of the law students. This lack of efficiency directly translated into very low
utilisation of the available ICT’s. The fact that students are allowed to bring their own
laptops and mobile phones into the law libraries to utilise the Internet provided a means for
the students to access the available e-resources in the libraries. However, the cost factor
attached to buying airtime is a big inhibiting factor as could be seen from the responses from
the students who indicated that they accessed the Internet only when required to do so. The
implication of the low availability, accessibility and efficiency of the ICT is that the majority
of the law students do not get exposed to a huge volume of available legal materials that
could enhance their studies and which they could possibly utilise once in practice. It also
hampers the advancement of their information seeking skill which, as shown in Lawal et
al.’s (2012) study, hampered the performances of aspirant barristers attending Law School.

7.9 Internet utilisation

To provide access to the Internet within a library the required ICT infrastructure needs to be
in place. As shown in chapter one, the basic infrastructure is in place in Nigeria to provide
students’ access to the Internet. However, at the university level the provision of
infrastructure such as Internet connection and adequate hardware is not always in place. The
findings of this study generally revealed that electronic information sources were not
adequately supplied in the law libraries and that the majority of the law students were not
utilising the library electronic resources in the law faculties. This finding is corroborated in
law librarians’ interviews regarding the adequacy of electronic information sources. Five
law librarians stated that electronic sources in the law libraries were grossly inadequate, and
one of the law librarians commented that:

“The electronic sources are not adequate because they are limited in quantity
and we also lack professional staff to handle the few available e-sources. Our
faculty has a total number of over 500 students, but we have less than 10
computer systems in the electronic law library.”

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Three of the law librarians felt that there were adequate electronic sources in their law
libraries for law students to use in their academic activities. One said that: “The electronic
sources are adequate but not exhaustive”, while another librarian indicated that they were
“adequate provided there is uninterrupted access to Internet connectivity.” One librarian
emphasised that the sources were adequate: “Law students can conveniently make use of the
available computers in the different times allotted to them, since all law students do not use
the sources at the same time.”

While many of the law libraries had computer systems ranging between 2 to 120, they were
either not connected to the Internet or the low bandwidth hampered their optimal utilisation.

At the law faculties, the law deans indicated that lecturers expected the law students to utilise
both print and electronic sources to write assignments and in class preparations. However,
there was no provision for law students to access Internet in the law faculties, because the e-
sources in law faculties were only meant for law academic staff member of the faculties.

The inadequacy of the ICT infrastructures and the fact that law students had to resort to their
own means to access the Internet is supported by the study of Bankole and Babalola (2012),
who found that the greatest number of students (66.1%) accessed the Internet at cybercafés
located outside the university campuses.

7.9.1 Devices used to access the internet

The study further identified the devices that the law students used to access information on
the Internet (see, Chapter 6, Table 6.13). From the analysis, the majority of respondents
(94%) accessed the Internet via mobile phones, 41% accessed the Internet using their own
3G card, while just 8% indicated that they accessed the Internet using the law library
computers. These findings suggest that a large number of law students do not utilise law
library electronic information resources, but use their personal resources and cyber cafes to
access information from the Internet. This findings corroborates Otunla’s (2013) finding
that 52.7% of undergraduate respondents accessed and used the Internet through their
mobile phones, 33.9% accessed from their laptops using modems, 8.1% from home, while
6.4% accessed the Internet through the university electronic library, while none of them
accessed the Internet from the library.

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7.9.2 Methods used to seek information on the internet
Students who accessed the Internet in the law libraries were asked how they seek for
information. The results revealed that 92% of law students that accessed the Internet in law
libraries can independently use the Internet to search for information. A few of the law
students (23%) searched with assistance from a third party such as friends, and (9%)
searched with librarians, while an insignificant number (5%) of the law students relied
completely on the assistance of the law librarian to do the search for them. This is in line
with the Niedźwiedzka (2003) model that suggests that once the decision is taken to search
for information the user can either do it or ask intermediaries to do it. The findings indicate
that the majority of law students in Nigerian universities are ICT literate (see: Chapter 6,
Table 6.14). This implies that if law students are provided with an enabling environment
where relevant library information sources and services exist, the law students would largely
use the law library ICT facilities. This corresponds with Chipeta et al.’s (2009) observation
that students become information literate when provided with enabling environments that
allow them to utilise information sources and resources in both print and electronic formats.

7.9.3 Information seeking behavioural changes observed due to ICT utilisation

Respondents were asked to express their opinions on whether ICT had changed their
approach to accessing and using library information sources and resources. It is vital to
understand that nothing remains constant except change itself. Therefore, it was expected
that by the end of their first year law students would be able to note some changes in how
they accessed information if using ICT facilities.

Though a very small percentage of the overall respondents answered this question, a
significant percentage (53%) of those who answered indicated that the available ICT
facilities in the law libraries had not changed their approach to accessing, retrieving and
utilising information sources. This is a possible reflection of the fact that the challenges
experienced in utilising ICT in the libraries were of such a nature that the students reaped
no, or very little, benefit from using it and had to still rely on the more traditional print-
based sources more than on e-resources to find and use information.

The law students’ responses indicate that law library ICT in the selected Nigerian
universities have little to do with how law students search for information with ICT
resources, because the majority do not use the electronic resources in law libraries. This

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indicates a lack of awareness of the resources and that the resources are mostly unavailable
to them. The respondents may have been making a salient point, that even though they had
the ability to effectively use and manipulate computer systems; their knowledge was not
improved by means of electronic law library resources.

Alternatively, the findings may indicate that the law students might not have had sufficient
information literacy required to use ICT resources. However, some of the law students
agreed that they had acquired new search skills from ICT in law libraries (See 6.2.2.8.5,
Figure 6.6). This group might be the group of law students that attended the university
taught course on the ‘Use of the Library’ to build on their prior knowledge.

Meanwhile, an insignificant number (5%) of law students could not decide on whether law
library ICT facilities have contributed to changes in how they accessed, retrieved and
utilised library information sources (See 6.2.2.8.7, Table 15). The overall findings revealed
that law libraries have not significantly contributed to changes in how the majority of law
students access, retrieve and utilise information sources.

7.10 Skills to search for information using print and electronic sources in the law
libraries
Library search skills acquisition is an essential component in any field of knowledge. The
propellant behind the skills required for any job execution is the basic knowledge regarding
the specified job description. Law students who struggle to use print and electronic
information resources in the law libraries could be lacking basic technical know-how, such
as how to access the Internet or use catalogue cards that direct users to where books and
other information resources can be located on the shelves. When a library user is not
conversant or skilled enough to access and locate information materials in the library,
problems follow, which, if not properly handled, may discourage the students or other users
from searching for information in the libraries. To prevent this from occurring, librarians are
assigned the duties to teach the library users, the library information seeking skills.

Though almost all of the law students (90%) indicated that their ability to search for
information on the Internet on their own was good, some also mentioned that they
experience several challenges. However, upon scrutinising these challenges, many of the
problems seem to be ICT related and not directly related to inability to search and find

176
information on the Internet. For instance they mentioned slow downloading speed,
unavailability of ICT in law libraries and lack of adequate power supply. Only 10% of
respondents indicated a lack of skills to search for information. The few law students (10%)
that lacked ICT search skills might be those students that had no value for attending the Use
of Library course where other students were taught on how to use library resources to access
information. Makri et al. (2006) also found that law students were not willing to attend
training classes on how to use databases despite training classes being made available to
them, because they apparently preferred to be satisfied with the incomplete knowledge that
they possessed.

None of the librarians mentioned formal user education in the law libraries, other than
occasional training given to some groups of students. The formal teaching of information
seeking skills was also found to be seen by the law deans as being the dominion of the law
librarians. Other than organising seminars and impacting same information seeking skills
aimed at preparing final year students to conduct Legal Research and Legal Method for the
first year law students, the law deans were not involved in teaching information seeking
skills to their students. These findings are corroborated by Akpoghome and Idiegbeyan-Ose
(2010) who established that law teachers did not encourage law students to develop a sense
of independent ICT search skills; Mock (2001:554), who blamed law faculties that failed to
make law students aware of the importance of using electronic information resources to find
solutions to their academic problems; and Cuffe (2002) who argued that law faculties did not
effectively educate law students for the demands of ICT in law practice.

However, the 12 law librarians stated that they taught the law students about the skills to
effectively use the law libraries and that they generally stimulated law students’ awareness
of the existing ICT and law databases (West law, Lexis-Nexis, Legalpedia and Compulaw)
available in the electronic law libraries. However, one of the law librarians pointed out that:
“Law students rarely use electronic resources on their own except when they were referred
to use it by the deans of law. Although, the final year law students prefer using Legalpedia
because of its content (law reported cases), other law students use the OPAC only when they
are referred to use it by their deans of law. However, that is rare - they hardly come for
assistance.”

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7.11 Challenges experienced in seeking information in the law libraries
The study revealed that law students were not utilising the law library information resources
due to a number of challenges. As observed, information sources without access render the
sources useless. However, without the basic knowledge of ICT and library search skills to
retrieve legal information, it is much more difficult to access the law library information
sources, even when access is granted. Invariably, access and use of law libraries and their
resources largely depend on the users’ (law students) perceptions and knowledge of the law
library holdings and electronic information resources, and specific skills or abilities to
search for legal information within law databases, the Internet, and other electronic
resources that are available in the law libraries. Some of these skills are taught to law
students in their first year at the universities to inform them on how to effectively search for
and use library information resources in their studies. All the librarians were of the opinion
that the more the students practice searches and frequent libraries, the more they become
confident users of the library facilities and understand how to source information for
research and other work assigned by the deans of law.

All the law librarians identified some of the problems that the law students face when
accessing and using the digital information sources in their law libraries. Issues that were
raised included the fact that some of the law students were not computer literate, irregular
power supply, the lack of an independent network for the law library, lack of ICT skills
among the library staff, limited ICT available for utilisation, lack of funds, non-subscription
to electronic sources, problematic Internet connectivity, and the lack of will power by
students to search for information.

Concern for the lack of access to electronic resources by the majority of law students in
Nigerian university law libraries, as also expressed by Lawal et al. (2012), implies that the
law students may not be able to efficiently search for information in their future practice as
lawyers, which may lead to a wrong judgement or incorrect court decisions as judges.

Among the prominent problems mentioned by the law students were the unavailability of
(ICT) electronic resources (47%); inadequate skills to search for information (22%); and
slow speed of the Internet (21%) (See: Chapter 6.2.2.5, Table 6.6). Similar findings were
also made by Bankole and Babalola (2012), Akpoghome and Idiegbeyan-Ose (2010);
Adegbore (2010); Goldman (2008); Kakai et al. (2004) and Shibanda (2000).

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The study further revealed that law students (26%) with little or no ICT and library search
skills experienced more constraints when searching for information in the law libraries. The
results also indicated that these law students (26%) blamed their inability to utilise the law
libraries information sources on the inefficient performance of the law library systems, and
unfriendly law library staff.

The observation finding revealed that just two of the law libraries have Legalpedia law
databases, which were not accessible to the law students because of the irregular power
supply and low broad bandwidth in the law libraries. While ten of the electronic law libraries
had no subscription to the law databases that the law librarians mentioned as being available
in their libraries.

However, the findings also showed that law students identified the unavailability of current
printed information materials (textbooks, journals and law reports) as a challenge, which is
an indication that the university law libraries in Nigeria are generally not providing adequate
legal resources. These results support earlier studies conducted by Adio and Arinola,
(2012:13), Bankole and Babalola (2012), Onuoha (2011), Adegbore (2010), Ekwelem et al.
(2009:89), and Adekunmisi et al. (2011) and Luambo and Nawe (2004:13). Adio and
Arinola (2012:13) identified poor Internet connectivity in the library, unwillingness of
library staff to assist in information seeking, and the inadequacy of computers to search for
information from the Internet as major constraints to law students’ utilisation of the libraries.
Luambo and Nawe (2004) attributed the slowness of Internet connections experienced in the
libraries to lack of bandwidth that tend to hinder Internet access and use. Asemi and
Riyahiniya (2007:n.p) asserted that the numerous difficulties facing the libraries require the
urgent attention of the library management and proprietors of the universities.

Other challenges identified were: inadequate funds to purchase ICT hardware, software and
standby generators for the use of the law libraries; unstable power supply; and lack of
technical know-how. It can therefore be inferred that the problems faced in law libraries
have significantly contributed to the reasons behind why the majority of the law students do
not utilise the law library information sources and prefer to study from their own textbooks
in the law libraries. The findings have also shown that law students with ICT skills
experience challenges that prevent them from accessing the law library’s electronic

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resources. These challenges were identified as: slow speed of the Internet, lack of adequate
library materials, erratic power supply, poor network connectivity, and an inaccessible
electronic library, insufficient computer systems and inadequate funds to procure Internet
facilities. These challenges have being identified in several earlier studies. For instance,
Echezona and Ugwuanyi (2010) found the high cost of Internet connection, low bandwidth
and slow speed of Internet connectivity, while Omotayo (2006:215) identified slow servers
and payment for access time. These challenges, according to Bankole and Babalola
(2012:14), cause fear for African universities to join the information world.

7.12 Suggestions for the improvement of ICT facilities in law libraries

Law students recommended a number of solutions to overcome the problems facing law
libraries in Nigerian universities (as itemized in Table 6.7), beginning with better Internet
connectivity to improve access to electronic information resources. This could be achieved
through an increase in government fund allocation to the university libraries. It was further
suggested that the library personnel need to be trained, and if possible re-trained in the use
of ICT skills to enable the staff to adequately help the students. The students also called for
the employment of librarians to operate the ICT units of the law libraries, and suggested that
librarians need to create more awareness of the existing library resources through university
newsletters, bulletins, billboards and the university website. This suggestion on awareness
creation by law students contradicted the law librarians’ assertion that they were using these
methods to alert the students to available services. Digitization of other information sources
in the central libraries’ was also mentioned, as was the provision of sufficient electronic
devices (such as computers), free access to ICT units, and standby generators for electronic
libraries. If carried out, the students’ suggestions would not only benefit the students, but
also benefit Nigerian society as a whole because these students are the future leaders of
tomorrow (lawyers, judges, administrators, political leaders, etc.).

7.13 Summary
This chapter discussed the findings of the study. Despite a general positive attitude towards
the law library as a service provider, it seemed like the students do not optimally utilise
these libraries. The reasons for this seem to indicate that outdated printed materials and
inaccessible ICT could mainly be responsible for the lack of utilisation of available services.
Availability and access to the various ICT within the law libraries was identified as a major
hurdle to the utilisation of ICT sources. The lack of Internet access and low bandwidth

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contributed to access to the Internet via the computer systems available in the libraries. It
was found that the law students generally could not use the Internet to search for information
but that they had to use their own devices in most cases. This however held financial
implications for the students, which many could ill afford. Challenges to the utilisation of
ICT services in the libraries that were identified, included issues such as lack of funding,
suitably qualified staff, erratic power supply and a lack of skills to search efficiently. Some
solutions to improve the situation within the law libraries were discussed. The next chapter
presents a summary of the findings, the final conclusions and recommendations of the study.

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 CHAPTER EIGHT
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 Introduction
This chapter provides a summary and conclusions drawn from the findings of the study. The
chapter also provides recommendations for improving the law library systems in Nigerian
universities. The aim of the study was to investigate the information seeking behaviour and
ICT utilisation skills of law students in Nigerian universities. The study was based on the
following objectives:

 To investigate the information seeking behaviour of law students in Nigerian

university law libraries
 To determine the purposes for which law students retrieve information in Nigerian
university law libraries
 To investigate the library information resources available to law students in Nigerian
university law libraries
 To examine how law students in Nigerian universities access and utilise information
resources, specifically ICT sources and resources for legal information in the
university law libraries

 To determine the challenges faced by law students in the use of ICT and other law
sources in the process of information retrieval in Nigerian university law libraries
 To provide recommendations and create a new model that would suit the information
seeking behaviour of law students in Nigerian university law libraries.

This chapter provides a summary of the results, concluding comments, and

recommendations for policy, practice, and future studies.

8.2 Summary of the findings

This section presents the summary of the findings under each of the research objectives of
the study. The summary is subsequently used to develop conclusions and offer
recommendations. Research objectives one to five form the units that paint a picture of
Nigerian university law students’ information seeking behaviour and ICT utilisation skills
within the context of university law libraries in Nigeria.

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8.2.1 To investigate the information seeking behaviour of law students in Nigerian
University Law Libraries
• What is the information seeking behaviour of law students in Nigerian university law
libraries?

Based on the reviewed literature, law students’ information seeking behaviour is the
conscious effort made by the law students to acquire legal information in response to their
need to bridge a gap in their knowledge. In order to bridge the gap, law students search for
legal information from primary and secondary information sources distinct from the legal
profession. Testing the attitude of law students towards the university law library as an
information provider revealed that a large number (74%) of undergraduate law students in
Nigerian university law libraries valued the law libraries and were positively inclined to
patronise the law libraries to source relevant legal information for their studies. However, it
was also established that the unavailability of current legal sources and the inaccessibility of
electronic information resources in university law libraries prevent law students from
optimally utilising the law libraries to search for legal information.

When asked which information sources or systems they would utilise when searching for
information and how frequently they used these sources, the law library was only cited as a
preferred option by 52% of the law students (Table 6.8). The digital libraries within the law
libraries received even less support, with only 12% indicating that they used this source on a
regular basis. As expected, textbooks, law books, and Internet access via mobile phones or
via networked computers (both on and off campus) were found to be the most prominent
information sources/systems used by the law students. However, Internet access via
networked computers was deemed a problem, especially on campus, for various reasons that
will be discussed in section 8.2.5.

Establishing whether the law students perceived themselves to have the required information
search skills, it was established that less than half (49%) of the law students felt that they
had enough skills to search for information using both print and electronic sources, while
(47%) felt that they were not skilled enough to search for information using both print and
electronic resources in the law libraries. As a myriad of legal information resources are
available in print, and as more and more resources become available online, it has become
imperative for law students to be computer and information literate. The majority (45%) of

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the law students learnt their computer search skills in computer training schools outside the
universities, 40% taught themselves ICT and library skills, while only 8% learnt the skills
from the library search skills course offered at their university. Seven percent were taught by
their friends or family.

The question on the preferred medium of information utilisation revealed no significant

difference between print and electronic information sources, with 47% of the law students
preferring print information sources, while 46% mainly preferred electronic information
sources. As for the source and format preference for receiving legal information for
academic purposes, 46% of the law students preferred to receive information through print
and electronic formats in the law libraries, 18% preferred to receive information only in
print format from their personal textbooks, while 17% preferred to receive their information
from outside the law libraries through cyber cafés.

8.2.2 To determine the purposes for which law students retrieve information in
Nigerian University Law Libraries
 What are the purposes for which Nigerian law students seek law library information
sources and services?
Law students are on campus to further their studies. The findings revealed that law students
retrieved information to: further their knowledge on legal issues (87%), complete
assignments and projects (82%), be updated on the latest developments on the legal front
(79%), supplement their lecture notes (70%), study the outcome of legal cases (67%), and
participate in class discussions (65%). This finding shows that the law students are fully
aware that the information retrieval strategies form an integral part of their future careers.

8.2.3 To investigate the library information resources available to law students in

Nigerian University Law Libraries
 What library information resources are available to law students in Nigerian
university law libraries?
The literature review established that legal information sources consist of both primary and
secondary information sources through which legal professionals and law students can
access legal information for their law practice and legal studies. Two different types of
primary sources were identified: legislation (statutes and regulations) and case law (the

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decisions of courts and administrative tribunals). Secondary legal information sources
include law textbooks, law journals, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, and electronic/digital law
libraries and electronic information resources like the Internet, digital law libraries, law
databases, and CD ROMs. Observation of the law libraries found that the law libraries
contained law reports (both foreign and local), law journals (foreign and local), newspapers,
law magazines Acts, case law, legal textbooks constitutional laws, and other primary law
sources, which were abundantly available in the law libraries.

Findings from the majority of the law librarians revealed that primary and secondary
information sources in print format (law textbooks and law books) were mostly available in
the law libraries, which most of the law students (47%) preferred to use as their sources of
information within the university law libraries (Figure 6.4). With the exception of one law
librarian that claimed to have no ICT and law database sources, eleven of the law librarians
mentioned computers as their electronic information source, five law librarians affirmed that
they did not subscribe to law databases, while six law librarians stated that they subscribe to
one or more of the following law databases: Legalpedia, Ebscohost, JSTOR and Hein
Online, Lexis-Nexis, West Law, Law Pavilion and Compulaw.

The findings of observation about the available electronic information resources in the law
libraries revealed a contrary report against law librarians’ claim about available ICT in their
law libraries. Observation of the electronic libraries showed that ten of the law libraries did
not have any viable databases, which as mentioned by the law librarians were not subscribed
to due to inadequate funds. It was in exception of two state university law libraries, where
offline Legalpedia databases were observed, even in these university law libraries students
were not allowed access to the offline database due to the challenges faced by the law
libraries in providing constant electricity power supply.

The law deans, however, indicated that they encouraged the law students to visit the law
libraries to study court cases available in law reports and databases in the electronic
libraries. The law deans also mentioned other law sources that they recommended to law
libraries to acquire for students to utilise, such as: law textbooks; Internet; journal articles;
newspapers; periodicals; interviews; primary and secondary sources of legislation; law
reports; statutes and the constitutional law. However, the Law deans confirmed that the law
libraries were not adequately equipped with the law sources recommended by the National

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Universities Commission and the Council of Legal Education, especially ICT resources, in
terms of the digital libraries (Internet facilities, computers and law databases) for law
students’ usage.

Observation of the law libraries also confirmed that the libraries mostly lacked the National
Universities Commission’s (NUC) compulsory electronic information sources requirements,
especially law databases. Only three of the law libraries were physically seen to have
functioning Internet and law databases (Legalpedia), which were grossly inadequate to
service a large number of law students in the law faculties at a time. For instance, while the
NUC clearly specifies that Lexis-Nexis, West Law, Law Pavilion and Compulaw must be
available in the digital law libraries, it was observed that the majority of the law libraries did
not have current subscriptions to any of the law databases due to lack of funds to subscribe
to the databases and lack of Internet connections and low broadband, although, one of the
law libraries had access to the local databases in an offline format (Legalpedia database).

Observation findings revealed a varying number of computers (between 2 and 120) systems
as available in the law libraries, whereas the law databases were not functioning in most of
the law libraries due to low broad bandwidth, lack of Internet subscriptions, and problems
with the power supply. Observation also revealed that law students were denied access to
use some of the electronic libraries because of the poor condition of the electronic law
libraries.

All the law librarians admitted that access to the electronic information sources was limited
as there were none or only a few subscriptions to databases and the Internet due to the
inadequate funding of the law libraries. Four of the law librarians agreed that the electronic
sources were very popular among the law students and also claimed that the e-resources
were well known to the law students through the information literacy awareness
programmes that they teach the law students. Three librarians indicated that electronic
sources were relatively popular, but also complained that the available computer systems
were inadequate, and that the insufficient computers affects the use of the e-resources in the
electronic law libraries.

The study established that the majority (51%) of the law students were not aware that ICT
were available in their law libraries for law student utilisation; although (40%) believed that

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they were available (Section 6.2.2.8.4, Figure 6.5). The findings also revealed that Internet
as the only electronic resource, which the students considered to be mostly available in the
law libraries was used within the law libraries by only 20% of the law students (Section
6.2.2.8.1, Table 6.10). Despite the fact that electronic law libraries are a compulsory
requirement for the continued existence of the law faculties in Nigerian universities, only
26% of the law students confirmed that these were available, and only 9% utilised them. The
unavailability of computers, the non-subscription to legal databases, funding constraints, and
a lack of technological expertise by librarians, were found to be some of the reasons for this
non-compliance with the NUC requirements. Fax machines were determined to be the least
available electronic information resource in the law libraries, and also the least utilised ICT
tool in law libraries by the law students. This might be due to the fact that the fax machine is
no longer considered or regarded as an important ICT tools in the libraries. Other ICT
sources utilised in the law libraries were identified as photocopy machines and law students’
personal laptops.

In the opinion of most of the law students (40%), the available ICT facilities in the law
libraries were inefficient as they do not contribute towards their legal information searches
in the law libraries. The law students also indicated that in terms of frequency, 33% of the
law students searched for legal information using the Internet in the law library “only when
necessary”, with a minority of the students using it on a more regular basis. Four of the law
librarians stated that law students were aware of the electronic sources and that the sources
were very popular, three said electronic sources were relatively popular because of the
problems experienced by law students, while others confirmed that electronic sources were
not popular among the law students because the electronic sources were not adequately
supplied, limited in quantity, and also due to a lack of technical staff to handle the few
available sources. Thus, findings from law librarians confirmed that electronic information
sources were not commonly used by law students in the law libraries.

It was thus established that a significant number of law students do not use the law library
electronic facilities due to availability and accessibility problems concerning ICT sources
and services in the law libraries, which made the majority of law students use their personal
information devices to access legal information from the Net.

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8.2.4 To examine how law students utilise the university law library information
resources, specifically ICT resources
 How do law students in Nigerian university law libraries access information
resources, specifically ICT sources and resources for legal information sources and
resources in the university law libraries?
The legal information sources and resources provided by the university law libraries are
meant to be utilised by the law students and other legal professionals in the law faculties. As
such, the law students who did access the Internet from within their law libraries were found
to depend mostly on their own electronic devices to do so. The findings further showed that
most (90%) of these respondents indicated that they had the necessary ICT skills to search
for information on the Internet. Testing the ability to operate a computer and seek for
information using the Internet on 100 students, 80% of the students were able to operate
computers, 67% could operate a browser, 59% could generate and type applicable
keywords, while 55% were able to download text documents or articles from databases.
However, 47% of the respondents could not find applicable sources/databases on the
Internet.

8.2.5 To determine the challenges faced by law students in the use of ICT and other law
sources in the process of information retrieval in Nigerian University Law Libraries
 Why are the law students in Nigerian university law libraries not utilising law library
ICT and other sources in the process of information retrieval?
A number of challenges were identified that inhibit the information seeking behaviour of
law students in universities. Within law libraries, it was found that the lack of ICT,
especially networked computers, was a major barrier to the access of legal information that
is available in electronic format. With the exception of one library, computers were observed
to be available in all of the law libraries. However access to the ICT appeared to be
restricted as 51% of the respondents indicated that ICT hardware was not available in their
law libraries. Although the Internet was very popular in some of the law libraries, in five law
libraries, this was not the case, and printed materials were still the preferred format for
information retrieval. Other problems identified by the respondents include slow
downloading speed when using the Internet in the law library, lack of bandwidth, unstable
power supplies, insufficient computer systems, and lack of access to the electronic libraries.

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Findings from the law librarians corroborated the problems that law students experienced
when accessing information sources in law libraries. The librarians claimed that a few of the
law students were not computer literate. They also mentioned an irregular power supply,
lack of funds to subscribe to electronic resources, and no independent network to connect to
the Internet because most of the law libraries were connected to their universities’ main
libraries. The research observation findings revealed that the majority of law students were
ICT skilled, supporting the law librarians’ views that a small number of law students were
not computer literate. The students and librarians offered several suggestions on how to
overcome the challenges faced in the law libraries. The proffered solutions suggested that
the Nigerian government and the university authorities should intervene to improve the
quality of the law library information sources, especially ICT; that electronic libraries should
be made available and accessible to law students; networks need to be improved by the
Internet Service Provider; the governments should increase the electricity power supply;
generators should be provided to supply power in case of an electricity power failure; funds
should be raised by the law faculties to purchase more computers and Internet resources; and
Internet access needs to be subsidized.

8.2.6 To suggest a theoretical model or adaptation that would suit the information
seeking behaviour of law students in Nigerian University Law Libraries.
 What theoretical models or adaptations would suit law students’ information seeking
behaviour in Nigerian university law libraries?
The three models that formed the theoretical basis of this study, i.e. Wilson’s 1996 global
Information Seeking model, Niedźwiedzka’s 2003 Model of Information Seeking
Behaviour, and Davis et al. 1989’s Technology Acceptance model described how a user
searches for information, both in print and by using ICT’s. Niedźwiedzka’s 2003 model
attempted to address some of the critiques of Wilson’s model by incorporating the use of an
intermediary in the search for information. It also specifically named the sources or systems
that can be used to source the required information. What it did not address is the fact that
once the decision to search for information is made, another decision has to be made on
whether or not the information seeker has the skills and ability to independently search for
information or not. This decision concerns both print and electronic information. For
instance, even if the user opts to work alone, with no intermediary, the type of source/s they
use will also depend on their skill levels. A decision to use ICT to independently search for
information might depend on how useful and easy to use the technology might be, and

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whether it is perceived to add value to their information search or job performance. It is
therefore based on the user’s perceived ability or skills that a decision is taken to search for
information independently or by way of an intermediary. Based on this, the author proposes
an adjustment to the Niedźwiedzka’s model to incorporate a users’ decision to utilise
sources based on the belief that he/she has the required skills and competencies to
effectively access and utilise the information needed. The proposed adapted model is
illustrated in Figure 8.1.

FIGURE 8.1: Proposed New Model of Information Seeking Process

As illustrated, the proposed model preserves all Niedźwiedzka’s elements but builds on the
model to explain when the decision to personally use law library sources, or whether to use
an intermediary, or not, is taken. Law students may decide to personally search for
information using their own ICT skills or through an intermediary; however, the decision to
search for information either way is dependent on the law students’ perceived ability to
access useful information. The lack of access to information sources, such as computers, the
Internet or law databases, impedes the ability of the user to search independently for
information that might be stored in such information sources/systems. In such a case, the

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decision can be taken to use an intermediary who might have access to these sources.
Alternatively, when a user has access but none or very little skills, knowledge or ability to
use the available sources, systems and ICT resources, such a user may opt to ask for
assistance from formal intermediaries (law librarians, library staff or information managers
in cyber cafes), and/or informal intermediaries (colleagues, friends or family, etc.). In the
context of the surveyed university law libraries, law students may have to seek assistance
from intermediaries either because ICT are available or accessible to them, or they feel they
have no ability to utilise the ICT facilities. For example, ICT might only be available to the
law librarians in their offices, or the law students may not have the level of skills required to
use certain resources (e.g. legal databases).

8.3 Conclusions
This study fulfilled the research objectives and answered the research questions, and
revealed that law students’ search for relevant legal information from primary and secondary
sources to fulfil their legal information needs in order to meet the gaps in their knowledge.
The study showed that 74% of undergraduate law students in Nigerian universities, value the
law libraries and were positively inclined to patronise the libraries.

However, the study also established the unavailability of current legal sources and the
inaccessibility of electronic information resources as the major factors that prevent law
students from using the law libraries in Nigerian universities. The study expressed law
students’ electronic information source needs and highlighted the challenges experienced by
the law students, especially with respect to electronic information in the university law
libraries.

Nigerian law students use information sources and services in order to further their
knowledge on legal issues, complete assignments/projects, get updates on the latest
developments in the legal front, and to supplement their lecture notes. The findings also
revealed that electronic information sources and resources were neither available nor
accessible to law students in many of the university law libraries in Nigeria. The study thus
concluded that law library electronic information resources play no significant role in
providing legal information sources through which law students can achieve the purposes for
which they study law education. In an effort to overcome the law libraries’ deficiencies in
providing electronic information resources, law students opt to use their personal electronic

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information sources (mobile phones and computers) to search for legal information on the
Internet. Lack of funds to procure sufficient computers, low broad bandwidth, lack of
Internet connectivity, unstable electricity power supply, and lack of subscription to law
databases were identified as the problems affecting access to the electronic information
resources in the university law libraries. However, it was ascertained that in five university
law libraries where Internet, computer and law databases were available, such electronic law
libraries still remain underutilised. Two electronic law libraries were observed to be used by
very few law students. Even where law librarians’ responses showed that ICT sources were
quite popular among the law students, the study observations identified that access to the
electronic law libraries were denied due to the problems of low bandwidth, lack of Internet
subscription and lack of constant power supply. Despite the fact that 40% of the respondents
identified the Internet as an electronic resource that was mostly available in law libraries,
only 20% of the respondents utilised the Internet in the law libraries, probably because of the
inadequate number of computer facilities available within the law libraries and lack of
Internet connection.

The findings of the study also revealed that the majority of undergraduate law students in
Nigerian universities were confident users of the basic electronic information resources to
search for information. However, their ability to efficiently find information using more
complicated search functions was found to be questionable. The findings of the study further
showed that 47% of the respondents were not able to find applicable sources in databases on
the Internet, which suggests that law students’ perceptions of their abilities to search the
Internet could not be proven.

Inadequate electronic sources were identified as another obstacle that prevents the law
libraries from providing the required legal information sources and ICT facilities. This
finding was confirmed by law librarians’ responses that electronic sources were not
adequately provided in the law libraries. The research observation also established and
confirmed the inadequate electronic sources in the law libraries.

The study concluded that ICT use in Nigerian university libraries is very recent and has not
been fully implemented in most of the law libraries because of the challenges that
characterise Nigerian university law libraries. However, the law libraries are making efforts
in developing their electronic law libraries and if these efforts are undertaken with

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substantial support from the university authorities, significant improvements could be
achieved. Active advocacy to get full implementation of electronic libraries will be required
from the law library staff. This will also require addressing issues such as the inefficient
electricity power, insufficient Internet broadband, the provision of sufficient ICT
infrastructure, the purchasing of essential software and skills training to use the available
ICT effectively. Additionally, the study concluded that the law libraries need general
overhauling, funds to purchase modern electronic information sources, and ICT facilities.
This is because law students require these sources and resources to achieve their set goals at
the university level. In all, university libraries need to concentrate on providing adequate law
sources and services that can be integrated into the teaching, learning and research activities
of the law student.

The study further concluded that electronic information resources do not play a significant
role in the law libraries’ operations or in the academic achievements of the law students.

8.4 Recommendations
Based on the above conclusion, recommendations were made to improve the traditional and
ICT-based library sources and services that law students in Nigerian universities need to
perform academically and to prepare them for a future profession that requires them to be
information literate in order to function optimally. The recommendations are directed at four
categories of people: law students, law librarians, law faculty staff, and university
management and government (federal and state).

8.4.1 Law Students

Law students, as the active users of legal information sources and services within the
university law library system, are facing many challenges in relation to information access in
Nigerian universities. While many of these challenges are beyond their control, information
literacy is not one of them. A significant number of the tested law students lacked the search
skills to utilise law libraries and the ICT skills to effectively access electronic information
resources in law libraries in Nigerian universities. To rectify this, the following
recommendations are made:

That computer application training and Internet information seeking training is made a
compulsory yearly module for the law students in their first to fifth year of studies. This will

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enable them to understand how to effectively search for academic information and to
distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information. It would also teach them
how to access and retrieve information using legal databases.

Law librarians need to pay special attention to how training on information seeking is
provided to law students, and ensure that law students fully participate and master the search
skills through practical sessions to instil information literacy skills among the law students.
The librarians should also promote the electronic sources and services available in order to
successfully provide library support. Law students and other users must know what services
are available and how to access them within the law libraries. This will enable them to
effectively use the library information resources in both print and electronic formats in
academic law libraries. It will strengthen the practice of lifelong learning and spark their
interest in using ICT to search for information in their future practice. Formal training on
how to source for information resources will considerably increase the pattern of both
information use and search.

8.4.2 The law libraries

Law libraries should actively lobby for sufficient funding to enable the law librarians to
develop collections with current legal information sources in both print and electronic
format. Additionally, it is recommended that a specific budget for the acquisition and
maintenance of ICT resources in Nigerian law libraries be instituted in each university. This
will provide the law librarians with the ability to plan for future acquisitions and expansions
based on the identified needs of the users. It is further recommended that an adequate
number of computer systems should be installed in the electronic law libraries. These should
provide accessible legal databases, Internet access, and other necessary e-information
sources to serve the law students. Law libraries should also be allowed to utilise their own
“internally generated funds” to purchase and maintain ICT infrastructure and to improve
access to and the use of information e-resources in the law libraries in Nigeria. Internet use
can positively influence law students’ academic performances; therefore law libraries should
be provided with adequate facilities to enable law students to access the Internet.

As most law students do not have the financial means to afford Internet access, it is
recommended that access to the Internet be turned into a ‘free’ service for the law students.
An Internet access fee can be built into the students’ fees that are payable on an annual basis.

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The law students who are not significantly utilising law library information sources and
services should be identified for special attention and support by the law library managers,
and provided with targeted training and encouragement on how to use these resources.

8.4.3 Availability and utilisation of information resources

In most studies, it has been established that availability of information resources usually goes
a long way to influence use by the users. In relation to this, the results in this study have
demonstrated that most of the law libraries sampled in this study do not have enough
information resources available for the use of the law students. Hence many resort to using
their personal information resources to access the Internet. In the light of this, law faculties
are called upon to make sure that relevant information resources are sufficiently provided in
their respective law libraries. They should also ensure that other relevant information
materials and equipment to facilitate their retrieval are also put in place.

In addition, the university authority in each of the participating universities should, as a

matter of urgency, provide adequate funds to stock the law libraries with relevant
information sources and ICT infrastructure for effective functioning of the law libraries. The
funds will enable the librarians to acquire current and high quality law library resources,
such as law databases; automate library functions; improve Internet connections; procure
better broadband; and provide cooling systems and alternative power generating machines.

It is recommended that the law deans should encourage law students to use the law library
information resources by giving them reading and writing assignments that require the
students to use the law databases and electronic information resources in the law libraries.
This would enable them to make maximum use of the law library information sources and
services, which in turn will enhance their library and ICT search skills. Additionally, the
Faculty of Law should include in their curriculum, modules on ICT applications and the role
of information technology in the legal profession.

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8.4.4 Challenges
Challenges include the lack of ICT, especially networked computers, Internet facilities,
access to legal information that is available in electronic format among others. In the light of
this, it is recommended that university authorities should make sure they provide Internet
facilities and more ICT equipment that will facilitate better information search by the law
students. Moreover, various electronic databases on law information resources should be
provided in large quantities to serve the needs of the law students.

8.5 What was confirmed and revealed in this study

The law students’ information seeking behaviour shows that they like to patronise the law
libraries, but that information resources are not adequately available in the law libraries. The
students depend on the information they get from their personal information resources,
colleagues and friends more than they do law libraries. The survey revealed that they prefer
to search for information using their textbooks, mobile phones and friends.

Most of the surveyed law students were not aware of the electronic resources in the law
library. Many law students were not satisfied with the law library services, and some of the
respondents claimed that library staffs were not helpful when they used the library to search
for information. When asked how they rated their ICT skills to retrieve information sources
from the Internet, 754 respondents answered the question. Out of which, the majority (681;
90%) overwhelmingly responded that they had very good ICT skills and could effectively
search for information via the Internet. This claim proved to be questionable as 47% out of
the (100) law students who participated in the ability tests could not effectively search for
sources and database information on the Internet.

Most of the law students stated that they did not ask for assistance when searching for law
library information resources, either in the physical or the electronic libraries. The seven
percent of the 596 respondents facing challenges in the law libraries indicated that the law
library staffs were not friendly and unhelpful; they used the law library less and opted to use
the Internet on their mobile phone or visit cyber cafes to search for information. Out of the
754 respondents that use the Internet, 94% indicated that they accessed information through
mobile phones, 41% accessed through their own computers, while only 8% of the law
students accessed the Internet using electronic law libraries. The data in this study revealed
that the electronic sources in the law libraries do not play a very significant role in the

196
educational exploits of the law students, and that those electronic information resources and
services were not well provided in the law faculty libraries in Nigerian universities.

8.6 Originality of this study

Few studies have been conducted on the use of law libraries’ resources in Nigerian
university law libraries. Therefore, this research shed light on what is already known about
the information seeking behaviour of law students in Nigerian universities. To date, only a
few studies have been done on the information seeking behaviour of law students in Nigeria,
most notably by Ossai (2011), Akanwa and Aniche (2012), Lawal et al. (2012) and Ogba
(2013). However, as discussed in chapter one (section, 1.2.2), these studies were limited in
scope.

The previous studies were conducted to investigate the information behaviour, concentrating
mainly on print sources in selected universities in Nigeria. None of these studies focussed on
how available ICT, and electronic information sources and services, are utilised by
undergraduate law students in a wide spectrum of Nigerian universities. The current study
therefore endeavoured to fill the gap, investigating information behaviour of law students’
with a specific focus on electronic information resources utilisation in the university law
libraries. Previous studies have also not practically investigated that actual e-information
seeking skills of the law students, while the current study tested the students’ ICT search
skills to determine their ability to access information from electronic resources. The test
showed that law students perceived themselves as being able to effectively search
information using electronic resources, but when they were tested, it was established that
most lack effective skills to retrieve the required information from the Internet.

Keeping in mind the pivotal role that ICT is currently playing in the information service
delivery in libraries, it is expected that the law libraries would be geared up to fulfil this role.
However this study revealed contrary results, showing that the majority of the law students
leave the universities not well prepared to utilise ICT sources, which is a major source for
accessing current and relevant legal information.

The study thus provided insight into the knowledge about law students’ information
behaviour that is not commonly known and has not been explored by earlier researchers, for
example, the study investigated the ICT sources available in Nigerian university law

197
libraries, ICT sources and resources utilised by law student within the university law
libraries, and law students’ ICT skills to access electronic information sources in Nigerian
university law libraries.

8.7 Suggestions for future research

The current study examined the information behaviour and ICT utilisation skills of law
students in Nigerian universities. This study was limited to twelve university law libraries in
Nigeria and to the law students in the universities surveyed. Although information was
derived from this research study, it is clear that the services and facilities in law libraries
significantly vary from university to university. It is thus recommended that a study be
undertaken to investigate the university law libraries situated in the core Northern part of
Nigeria, which the current study could not conveniently survey. The study should be done to
determine how the university law libraries deliver services and challenges they experience in
service delivery to law students and the law faculty members.

This research can also be extended by conducting studies on private universities to determine
the trends and patterns of information behaviour and ICT utilisation among undergraduate
law students in Nigerian universities.

Further research should also be done on the ability and skills of the law library staff,
especially in terms of their ability to operate and maintain electronic sources, as it was
established in this study that it was perceived as a problem by a number of the law students.

198
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Sample size model adopted for the study

Sample size for ±3%, ±5%, ±7% and ±10% Precision Levels Where Confidence Level is
95% and P=.5.
Size of Sample Size (n) for Precision (e) of:
Population ±3% ±5% ±7% ±10%
500 a 222 145 83
600 a 240 152 86
700 a 255 158 88
800 a 267 163 89
900 a 277 166 90
1,000 a 286 169 91
2,000 714 333 185 95
3,000 811 353 191 97
4,000 870 364 194 98
5,000 909 370 196 98
6,000 938 375 197 98
7,000 959 378 198 99
8,000 976 381 199 99
9,000 989 383 200 99
10,000 1,000 385 200 99
15,000 1,034 390 201 99
20,000 1,053 392 204 100
25,000 1,064 394 204 100
50,000 1,087 397 204 100
100,000 1,099 398 204 100
>100,000 1,111 400 204 100
a = Assumption of normal population is poor (Yamane, 1967). The entire population should
be sampled (Israel, 2003).

226
Appendix 2: Questionnaire for law students
Dear Respondent

The aim of this questionnaire is to investigate the information seeking behaviour and ICT
skill usage of law students in Nigerian law libraries.
Your response serves as an important contribution to this research work, which is essential to
the completion of my doctorate degree. It is also hoped that the result will enhance your
information search and ICT skills that will assist you in retrieving useful information from
various law databases available in law libraries.

The information will be treated confidentially and used solely for the purposes of this study.
Thank you for being willing to complete this questionnaire.

Olorunfemi, D.Y. (Me.)

Department of Library and Information Science,
University of Zululand,
Private mail Bag X1001,
South Africa.
Mobile: +277810604666
Email: [email protected]

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 LAW STUDENTS’ INFORMATION BEHAVIOUR QUESTIONNAIRE
Instruction: Please complete all the items, unless advised differently
Part A. Biographical Data

1. Gender:

Male Female

2. Age:

17 – 26 27 – 36 37 – 46 47 - 56 57 and above

3. Name of University ………………………………………………………………………

4. Level of study

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year4 Year 5

Part B: Information seeking behaviour

5. Use the following guideline to respond to each statement concerning the law library as it
appeals to you. SA- Strongly Agree, A- Agree, UN- Undecided, D- Disagree, and SD-
Strongly disagree.
SA A UN D SD
The Internet provides better information than the law library
The computer networks are very fragile
Relevant and current law textbooks/ journals
are available in law library
I prefer to get information from my own textbooks
The electronic law library is fully equipped and user friendly
I feel bored searching for information in the law library
Library staff are not helpful
I source useful materials from our database in the law library
The law library is for reading and writing assignments only
I do not like to patronize the law library
The Internet provides better information than the law library
The computer networks are very fragile

228
6. For what purpose(s) do you need information? (Tick all the applicable options)

To complete assignments
To be able to participate in class discussions
To augment my lecture notes
To further my knowledge about legal issues
To update myself with the latest developments on the legal front
To study the outcomes of court cases
Other (specify)……………………………………………………

7. In your opinion, do you have enough skills to find, retrieve and use printed
information sources in the law library

Yes No

7(a) if your answer was “yes” where and how did you learns the skill?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

7(b) If your answer was “no” what challenges do you experience when seeking for
information. …………………………………………………………………………

8. Which information resources do you use to find information, and also indicate how
often you use these resources?

Information resources Often Seldom Never

Law library
Court libraries
Law Journals
Textbooks
Law books
Law reports
Government publications
Acts

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Newspapers
Internet
Digital library
Law databases
Internet via mobile phone
Other (specify …………...

9. Which sources would you most prefer to use?

Printed Electronic

10. How do you prefer to receive the information required for your academic
information needs?

Printed format in the library

Electronic format in the library
In both print & electronic formats in the library
Printed format from my personal textbooks
Electronic format from the Internet/database outside the library
Other (Specify) ……………………………

11. What are the challenges that you face when seeking information using both print
and electronic information sources in the law library?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

12. Suggestions on how to address these challenges?

…………………………..............................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................

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13. Are there ICT, such as networked computers available for student utilisation, in the
law library?

Yes No

14. Which of the following ICT and digital resources are available in the law library for
student utilisation? Also indicate whether you utilise these sources (Tick as many as is
applicable).

ICT and digital resources Available Used by me

Digital law library
Internet facilities
Law database such as Westlaw, LexisNexis
etc.
Email
Fax
CD ROM Database
Other (specify)………………………………..

15. How would you rate the efficiency of the ICT resources such as computers and fax
machines in terms of:

Very good Good Bad Non existent

Accessibility
Availability
Connecting speed
Downloading speed
Quality of hardware

16. How often do you use the Internet in the law library to find academic related
information?

Daily

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Weekly
Only when necessary
I don’t use the Internet as an information source

If you do not use the Internet in the law library as an information source you do not
need to complete the rest of the questions

17. Do you access the Internet via?

Your own computer Computer in library Mobile

phone

18. Do you have the necessary skills to effectively search for information in the
Internet?

Yes No

19. How do you search for information on the Internet?

I search independently
I search with the assistance of friends
I ask assistance from librarians
I ask librarians to search for me
Other (Specify) …………

20. In your opinion is there any change in the way you access, retrieve and use
information as a result of the ICT? How?
......................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION

232
Appendix 3: Law Students’ Information Searching Retrieval Ability Test Schedule

Observation Variables VA A S UA NAA

Operation of computer, e.g. switch on, get to
Internet or database
Ability to operate browser, e.g. which browser,
know how to get to search engine/database
Ability to find applicable sources/databases on
Internet to solve problem
Ability to generate/type applicable keywords e.g.
general or specific keywords
Ability to download document in text article from a
database
Ability to save the document into the hard drive,
USB (etc.) and email it to self and to others
Using subscribed database?

Note: VA= Very Able, A= Able, S= Struggled, UA= Unable, NAA=Not at all Able

233
Appendix 4: Interview Question For Deans Of Law
Name of University………………………………………………………………………
Date of interview…………………………………………………………………………
Dear Sir/Madam,
Good morning. I am a postgraduate student at the University of Zululand in South Africa. I
am carrying out a study on the “Information behaviour of law students in Nigerian
universities”.
I have some questions to ask you based on the information behaviour of undergraduate law
students in Nigeria. Your sincere answers to these questions will be greatly appreciated.
Any information given will be strictly used for the purpose of this study only and it will be
confidentially kept.
It is hoped that the results generated from this study will assist in completing a doctoral
degree studies and will later be utilise in teaching and research section of the University.
It is also hoped that this study will also prompt the government and the university authorities
to provide required ICT resources that will be of great benefit to law students, deans of law,
scholars, researchers and staff member of this university.
Furthermore, it is hoped that it will enhance law students’ information search skill as well as
assist them in retrieving useful information from various law databases available in law
libraries.
Thank you. Date:

Investigator’s Signature
Olorunfemi, D.Y (Me.)
Department of Information Studies,
University of Zululand,
Private mail Bag X1001,
South Africa.

234
Semi-structure interview question for law deans
1. What are the teaching methods used to teach the law students?
a) Teach from the legal text book
b) Use of lecture notes
c) Students are given reading assignment for class discussion
d) Group discussion method
e) All of the above teaching methods are used
2. What type of class preparation is expected from the law students?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. When law students are given assignment, what kind of sources do you expect them to
use?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Do you teach students the skills to search for information? If yes How?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Are there information sources available in the department that law students can use?
If yes what kind of sources?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………
6. Do you expect the law students to read up on a topic before lectures?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………....

235
Appendix 5: Interview Schedule For The Law Librarians
Name of University……………………………………………………………………………
Date of interview………………………………………………………………………………
Good morning Sir/Madam,
I am a postgraduate student at the University of Zululand in South Africa. I am carrying out
a study on the “Information seeking behaviour and ICT utilisation skills of law students in
Nigerian universities”.
I have some questions to ask you based on the above topic of my study. Your sincere
answers to these questions will be greatly appreciated. Any information given will be
strictly used for the purpose of this study only and it will be confidentially kept.
It is hoped that the results generated from this study will assist in completing a doctoral
degree studies and will later be utilise in teaching and research section of the University.
It is also hoped that this study will also prompt the government and the university authority
to provide required ICT resources that will be of great benefit to students, Deans of law,
scholars, researchers and staff of this university.
Furthermore, it is hoped that it will enhance law students’ information search skill as well as
assist them in retrieving useful information from various law databases available in law
libraries.
Thank you.

Investigator’s Signature Date:

Olorunfemi, D. Y (Me.)
Department of Information Studies
University of Zululand
Private mail Bag X1001
South Africa.

236
Section I: Information seeking behaviour of law students

1. What types of information sources do you have available in your library to answer
enquiries from law students? Or refer the students to? ………………
2. Which of these sources are most preferred by students when they require information
……………………………………………………………………………………………
3. In which format do students prefer to receive information that they request from you
A. Oral
b. Written/printed
c. Visual
d. Electronic form
e. Other (specify)
4. In your opinion do law students know how to search for information? Please
motivate your answer………………………………………………………

Section II: Views on Law Students’ ICT Usage

5. Please name the available digital resources in your library
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. How popular are these digital sources among law students?
7. In your opinion are these sources adequate for the teaching and learning experience
needed in law education? ………………………………………………………………
8. From your own point of view, are the available digital sources in the law libraries
effectively utilised by law students? ………………………………………………………
9. How are law students, encouraged to patronise or informed about the Library’s digital
information resources?
10. What do you think are the constraint/ challenges affecting students in the effective
utilisation of digital information sources in the law libraries?
11. How do you think these constraints/challenges can be improved? …………………

237
Appendix 6: Observation Schedule (Law Students and the Law Libraries)
The aim of the observation is to observe the environment of the universities law library and
law students in the library to understudy their seeking attitude and ICT utilisation.
Section 1: Outside the Library
1. Location of the library within the institution. Visibility
2. Description of the library building:
3. Maintenance?
4. Direction posters?
5. Landscaping/upkeep of the exterior inviting?

Section 2: Inside the Library

6. First impressions
7. Posters/directions informing/directing users about/to services
8. Guidelines available as to utilisation of services:
9. Adequate furniture/lighting for effective utilisation of the services?
10. Adequate space for housing the collection and for storage?
11. Are services mainly self-service or are staff readily available to render assistance to
users?
12. Status of the collection
13. Organization of information sources?
14. General observations about staff appearance, attitude and morale:
Source: Adapted from Mostert, (2004:308)

Section 3: ICT facilities and utilisation

15. Available ICT facilities:
16. Is the ICT equipment in good working condition?
17. Are the law students utilising the available information resources? 18. How excellent is
the connectivity to the Internet?
19. Are there adequate computer facilities available for law students’ usage?
20. Are there any legal databases available in the law libraries, such as: Westlaw, Lexis-
Nexis, etc.?

238
Appendix 7: Nigeria and States

239
Appendix 8: Geo-political zones, Federal and States Universities selected in each zone
Zones Federal University State University
North-East None None
North-West None None
North-Central University of Ilorin, Ilorin Kogi State University, Anyigba.
Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
South-East University of Nigeria, Nsukka Imo State University. Owerri.
South-West University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Ekiti State University, Ekiti.
Obafemi Awolowo University, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.
Ile-Ife
South-South University of Benin, Benin-City Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.
University of Calabar, Calabar

240
Appendix 9: University of Zululand Research Ethical Clearance Certificate

241
242
Appendix 10: Permission to conduct research in the University Law Libraries

243
 University of Zululand,
Department of Information Science,
Private Bag X1001,
KwaDlangezwa 3886,
South Africa.
15th November, 2012
The Dean,
Faculty of Law
Nasarawa State University
Keffi, Nasarawa State
Nigeria.
Dear Sir/Madam,

Request for permission to conduct a follow-up research in Nigerian

University Law Libraries

I am Me. D.Y. Olorunfemi a registered PhD student in the Department of Information

Science, University of Zululand in South Africa. I am researching on the information seeking
behaviour and ICT utilisation skills of law students in Nigerian university law libraries.

I would like to carry out an “Information Search and Retrieval Test” among the
undergraduate law students who are able to independently access Internet and electronic
sources. Also to conduct a number of face to face interviews with you on the “e-readiness of
Nigerian universities” and also to interact with the person in charge of the law library on law
students’ utilisation skills of ICT sources and resources of the law library.

The research will respect the confidentiality of information gathered from the beneficent law
students and the librarians during the research study.

We, kindly request for permission and any other assistance that may be require during the
conduct of the research study.

Yours sincerely

Me. D.Y. Olorunfemi

Researcher

244
245
246
247
248
249
Appendix 11: Research pictures with law deans, law students, librarians and the
electronic law libraries

With a research assistant in front of a Law Faculty

250
The researcher and some of the participated law students

251
252
Some of the law students after ICT information retrieval test in front of a cyber cafe

With a law librarian

253
With another Law Librarian and her electronic library staff

With one other law librarian

254
Electronic law library of a State University

Observation of the offline Legapedia database in an electronic law library

255
Participating undergraduate law students at the ICT ability test period

256
Researcher with University Librarians

257
With another University Librarian

Researcher with a University Librarian and her system librarian

258
The researcher, Law Dean and a Law Student President

In another electronic library with a law student President and their Law Librarian

259
With another Dean of Law

260