ABSTRACT
This study
investigated the information seeking behavior of medical doctors in Irrua
Specialist Teaching Hospital. The descriptive survey method was adopted, with
the questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. Of the 212 medical
doctors in the hospital, 164 of them where available for the distribution of
the questionnaire, and a total of 121 copies of the questionnaire were retrieved.
Responses collected were analyzed using cross tabulation. The research revealed
that medical doctors seek information in order to treat their patients, for
self-development, and for recreation. The major information channels or access
tools they use are their colleagues, universal search engines and their
personal collections. They rarely use the library or scholarly oriented search
engines. Medical doctors use all the sources of information, namely; primary
sources, secondary sources, tertiary sources and automated sources. But they
prefer to use the Internet, research works and reference materials. The search
strategies they use include the Internet access, discussing with colleagues and
consultation of manual library catalogues. However, they prefer to use online
search strategy (Internet access). The research also revealed that the medical
doctors scarcely use the Boolean operators because most of them do not know how
to use the Boolean operators. The research recommended that medical doctors
should be taught how to use the OPAC terminal and the Boolean operators for
information retrieval. And that the special libraries attached to hospitals
should be well equipped.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Information is seen in the 21st century as an economic
resource. It is a foundation for competitive advantage. No wonder Thanuskodi
(2012) in quoting Wasserman (1991), noted that information is the main
ingredient possessed by the developed nations that the developing nations lack.
Information is a critical resource in the operation and management of
organizations. Timely availability of relevant information is vital for
effective performance of managerial functions such as planning, organizing,
leading, staffing and controlling (Singh and Satija, 2007). Information is very
important to every aspect of today’s information society or human being. It is
particularly important to medical doctors, as they need right and up-to-date
information for their research and medical operations, since they deal directly
with lives of human beings.
As important as information is to all in general and medical doctors in
particular, information literacy will be a pre-exquisite to effectively utilize
the available information. Little wonder Farokhzadian, Khajouei and Ahmadian
(2015) opined that “nurses need to develop their information seeking and
retrieval skills to be able to attain relevant and accurate information
required in their practice”. This too can be said to be true for medical
doctors. Paul Zurkowski (a German and the then President of Information
Industry Association) in 1974 first used the concept ‘Information literacy”. To
him, information literacy was described as the ability to use library research
tools and materials (Kirinic, 2012; Kelly, 2013). However, with many
modifications as to the definition of the concept, the American library Association (ALA, 1989) came up to state that an
information literate person is one who must be able to recognize when
information is needed, and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use
effectively, the information that is needed .
Information literacy would largely influence the information seeking
behaviour of any individual. To Pareek and Rana (2013), information seeking
behaviour entails the process of information acquiring, using and implementing
information. Information seeking behaviour is also seen as the activities,
whether actively or passively undertaken, to identify and satisfy a perceived
or felt need (Olalekan, Igbinovia and Solanke, 2015). With advancement in
information and communications technologies (ICTs), and with the knowledge of
the fact that these ICTs are no longer dispensable, it will be expected that in
seeking information, medical doctors should be able to manipulate these ICTs to
give the desired information to meet an information need. However, as
identified by Farokhzadian, et al. (2015), information overload, which is a
concept that deals with having too much information than an individual can
handle, is enhanced by ICTs. In such scenario, one not only needs to be
information literate, but have basic a literacy on how to manipulate
technologies to be able to excel in the 21st century. Other barriers
identified by Farokhzadian, et al. (2015), are: Lack of knowledge, skill or
experience with the resources or respective technology; complexity of
electronic information resources and organizational procedures and policies;
lack of value for research in practice; and difficulty in accessing or
understanding research materials. Information access varies form one medical
doctor to another, according to their needs. Thus, information seeking is a
kind of communication behaviour, which may be influenced by many factors:
persons, working environment, or zeal to resolve an abnormality (Bhattacharjee,
Sinha and Bhattacharjee, 2014).
The library is pivotal and a
focal point in the information seeking process of medical doctors. As libraries
involve in interlibrary loans and resource sharing with electronic media, it is
expected that the medical doctors who use these libraries will also change
their behaviour towards information seeking. As libraries subscribe to online
databases and have networked information resources that can be accessed via the
Internet, library users, and indeed medical doctors, will prefer the online
access rather than the physical access (Bhattacharjee, et al., 2014) as the
online access makes them able to have remote access to needed information.
Various studies abound on information needs and information seeking behaviour
that have helped to understand how various groups seek and use information.
Notable among these are: survey of information needs and preferred sources of
information of teachers (Aiyebelehin, 2012), information needs of rural
dwellers (Stephen and Dauda, 2012), information needs of rural women on family
planning (Omoike, 2012), information needs and seeking behaviour of the Tamil
Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University faculty members (Thanuskodi, 2012),
information needs and information seeking behaviour of library users
(Bhattacharjee, Sinha and Bhattacharjee, 2014), study of information seeking
behaviour and library use pattern of researchers (Pareek and Rana, 2013),
information seeking behaviour of mathematicians: scientists and students (Sapa,
Krakoswska and Janiak 2014) information seeking behaviour of agricultural
scientists with particular reference to their information seeking strategies
(Singh and Satija, 2007), information seeking behaviour of the adolescents with
reference to sexual information (Fauzi and Kadir, 2015), information seeking
and retrieval skills of nurses (Farokhazadian, Khajouei and Abhmadian, 2015,
and information needs and information seeking behaviour of undergraduates
(Ajiboye and Tella, 2007: Tella, 2009: Olalekan, Igbinovia and Solanke, 2015).
This research will however be necessary as medical doctors hold a vital
position in the society.
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
Information is new knowledge which
leads to a change in action of people exposed to it (Olalekan et al. 2015). The
concept of information seeking behaviour of medical doctors is of great
importance to researchers and other stakeholders as medical doctors have a
vital role to play in the general well-being of the society. There is no gain
saying that a society that is not well cannot talk about good governance,
growth or development. But how can the society be well if medical doctors do
not seek the right information, using the right channels or access tools as
well as the right sources? How can the society be well if medical doctors do
not know the appropriate search strategies to use in accessing and retrieving
timely information?
However, little or no literature
abounds on the information needs and information seeking behaviour of medical
doctors in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, the search strategies they
employ, the channels or access tools they use, and the information sources they
resort to. This research work will try to fill this gap in knowledge by
investigating the information needs of medical doctors in Irrua Specialist
Teaching Hospital, the information sources they use, their search strategies as
well as the access tools or channels they use. Furthermore, the study will
examine with the keen passion to suggesting recommendations that will better the
lots of medical doctors, their patients and the general public and are in line
with global best practices.
1.3 Objectives
of the Study
The overall objective of this
research is to study the Information seeking Behaviour of Medical Doctors in
Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital.
And the specific
Objective are:
i.
To determine the information needs of medical doctors
in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital
ii.
To identify the access tools medical doctors use in
seeking information
iii.
To identify the information sources medical doctors
use:
iv.
To identify the medical doctor’s preferences of
information sources
v.
To identify the search strategies medical doctors use
for information searching
vi.
To find out the preferences of search strategies
medical doctors use for information searching.
1.4 Research
Questions
In order to achieve the stated
objectives, the following research questions were developed to guide the study.
i.
What are the information needs of medical doctors?
ii.
What access tools do medical doctors use for information
searching?
iii.
What information sources do medical doctors use?
iv.
Which information sources do medical doctors prefer
using?
v.
What search strategies do medical doctors use?
vi.
Which search strategies do medical doctors prefer
using?
1.5 Significance
of the Study
Information seeking behaviour is
influenced by one’s information literacy, needs for information, the channels
one can use to access available information and the sources as well as the
search strategies one employs. This research is very important, as series of
deadly viral infections seem to trouble Nigeria in the 21st century.
The Ebola and Lassa viruses are significant examples. In times like this, it is
important to know how medical doctors seek information, the tools, search
strategies and source they use, and also proffer better solutions to solving
these perennial problems.
Also, the concept of information
needs and information seeking has been a major issue of study in the 21st
century, especially in the developing countries. Despite the important role
played by information needs and information seeking, no single study has been
conducted in the context of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital on the medical
doctors’ information needs and information seeking behaviour since the establishment
of the hospital in 1991, and it’s functioning in 1993.
This research work will be of
importance to the medical doctors, their patients, the Ministries of Health
when making laws, and the general public, as we, at one point or another of our
lives, will need the services of medical doctors.
1.6 Scope
of the study
This research work is limited to
medical doctors in Irrua Specialist teaching Hospital, Irrua, it is to examine
their information seeking behaviour.
1.7 Limitation
of the study
In the course of carrying out the
research, the researcher was faced with some limitations. These limitations are
enumerated below.
i.
The researcher was faced with the constraint of
gathering background information from the Institution of the medical doctors.
ii.
Getting the respondents to fill and return the
questionnaire was difficult.
iii.
The time frame was short for a more thorough research
work.
1.8 Operational
definition of terms
- Information: Facts, ideas, symbols signs, pictures, and processed data which when received and understood can improve the knowledge state of the receiver and help in decision making.
- Information Need: This is a gap in the knowledge state of an individual that need to be filled
- Information Seeking: This is the process of finding answers to the information needs of an individuals.
- Information Seeking Behaviour: This is the way people search for and utilizes information to meet their needs
- Information Channels or Access Tools: These are equipment information seekers use to get information to meet their needs.
- Information Sources: This is the place, person or thing where an individual gets information
- Search Strategy: This is the tactics or skills employed by information seekers, in order to get the desired information
- Medical Doctors: A person that is qualified to practice medicine specialized in diagnosis and medical treatment.
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