International Journal of Information Science and Management (IJISM)

Knowledge and Use of Google Educational Tools by Postgraduate Students in a Ghanaian University

Document Type : Articles

Authors

Edward Borteye 1
Richard Lamptey 2
Esther White 2
Setsoafia Humphrey-Ackumey 3

1 Senior Assistant Librarian, Library and Information Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.

2 Deputy Librarian, Library and Information Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.

3 Junior Assistant Librarian, Library and Information Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.

https://doi.org/10.22034/ijism.2023.1977723.0
Abstract
This study examined postgraduates’ knowledge and usage of Google educational tools. The study was conducted in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with 350 respondents. A purposive sampling technique that allows researchers to use their judgments in selecting participants for research was used to select the participants for this study. A questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument, and it was sent to only the participants who attended a series of information literacy training sessions organized by the authors. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS software. The study revealed that most students use Google as their search engine, and Google Scholar was the most popular Google educational tool. The students gained knowledge of these tools through their colleagues, on their own, through workshops, seminars, and conferences, and their lecturers. The respondents also mentioned some challenges, such as requests to pay to access articles and slow Internet. Some recommendations, such as more education by academic librarians to encourage students to use these free tools and efforts by the students themselves to learn how to use these tools, were made.

Keywords

Google
Google Educational Tools
Google Products
Students
Postgraduates
Ghanaian University
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  • Receive Date 16 February 2022
  • Revise Date 23 December 2023
  • Accept Date 23 December 2023

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