Relationship between Utilization of Online Electronic Resources and Academic Performance of Undergraduate Information Technology Students of Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology

Abstract

The ability to search for and get e-resources information by a student does not only improve their academic performance, but it also fosters life-long learning. For a university student to achieve academic success, they have to be equipped with technical know-how, especially on utilization of e-resources. Despite this mechanism and preparation done by university libraries, there is dismal performance in semester examinations among students. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between utilization of online electronic resources and academic performance of undergraduate Information Technology students of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology- Eldoret Campus. The purpose of the study was to measure the influence of e-books, e-resources, online past examination papers and institutional repository on academic performance. Expectation Confirmation Theory was adopted to guide our investigation. Descriptive survey research design was used in the study. Respondents were the undergraduate students in the department of Information Technology, and librarians in Jomo Kenyata University of Agriculture and Technology-Eldoret Campus. A sample of 105 students and 2 librarians were considered. Data was collected using closed-ended questionnaires from students while interview guide was used on librarians. Students were sampled using stratified sampling while, Head of library and library staff in charge of e-resources in Eldoret campus were purposively included in the study. To ensure validity and reliability, pre-testing of research instruments was done on 20 undergraduate Information Technology students of Mount Kenya university-Eldoret campus. SPSS was used in analysing data using descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage, frequencies and standard deviation. Univariate and multiple regression analysis were used to test the hypothesis and overall model respectively. After undergraduate students were trained on e-resources the variance within groups was smaller than the variance between groups, hence, there was a higher likelihood that the difference observed in academic performance was higher in second semester as compared to the first semester. Further, the study established that there is a positive and significant relationship between e-books, e-journals, online past examination papers and academic performance. The study also indicated a negative relationship between online institutional repository and academic performance. It was concluded that there was a relationship between utilization of online electronic resources and academic performance of undergraduate Information Technology students of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology- Eldoret Campus. The overall model in multiple regression analysis indicated that when electronic resources were combined, online past examinations papers significantly affected academic performance. The study recommended that more policies should be developed to able students to access diverse online past examinations papers, not only from JKUAT library, but also government examination bodies such as Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC). Further, the study recommended that JKUAT provides more e-journal articles and e-books for the students to access since they significantly determine their academic performance. Additionally, JKUAT should ensure that students are able to easily access the e-resources through the library website whenever they wish.