THE UTILIZATION OF INTERNET RESOURCES FOR LEARNING AND RESEARCH AMONG STUDENTS OF TARABA STATE UNIVERSITY, JALINGO, NIGERIA

The primary purpose of this work is to examine the utilization of internet resources for learning and research among students of Taraba state university. This study, which is anchored on the uses and gratification adopted a survey among 350 students. The students perceived that the lack of digital readiness among their staff and institution, the absence of electronic library for easy accessibility to journals from the scientific database, and inefficient cybercafe and internet facility within their university settings were the main issues discouraging the utilization of the internet within their institutions. Yet, they still strive to find ways through self-organization, resilience and resourcefulness to make use of the internet to facilitate their studies. Most of them stated that they use their smartphone/handsets to access the internet through subscription from other internet providers. Google and Google Scholar was found to be the most preferred search engine. The students affirmed that the use of internet enabled them to perform research ahead of time, tackle multiple homework, widens the scope of reading and learning, promotes self-learning, encourages and enhances peer learning as well as ameliorates student’s examination preparation. It was proposed that tertiary institutions in Nigeria most especially TSU should provide an electronic library where the students can easily access scientific journals from databases such as Elsevier, Springer, Taylor and Francis, Wiley, and Emerald. This will lessen the reliance on Google and Google Scholar as well as provide the means to explore other related scientific papers which will improve their academic research and learning