The Effect of Personal Characteristics on the Use of Information Sources by Social Science Researchers at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

A study of the effect of some personal characteristics on the use of information sources by social science researchers was conducted at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Forty lecturers were surveyed using a questionnaire. Three hypotheses were evaluated through the analysis of variance and F-statistic. Multiple comparison of item means as well as group means was conducted using Scheffé\u27s test. The results show that position and education are good predictors of information use while professional experience has little power in explaining variations in information source use. The findings of the study support the notion that information source use is a result of complex set of interactions among variables. The examination of the interaction of some of the variables such as education, position, and experience provides insight in understanding the factors that influence the use of information sources