Use of Online Resources by Undergraduates: A Case Study

Abstract

The study investigated the use of online resources by undergraduates at the Faculty of Built Environment and Spatial Sciences (FBESS) at the Southern Campus of Kothalawala Defense University (KDU). Since it is a newly started university, the reading materials in the library are inadequate to cater to the users' needs. However, the Southern Campus library has provision to access online resources, specially the two scholarly journals databases, IEEE and Emerald, through the main library. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 120 undergraduates of FBESS on the use of these resources. All undergraduates accepted that they use the WWW for accessing information and 95% of the respondents use open source resources for the purpose. However, findings revealed that less than 21% of undergraduates use scholarly databases. Slow Internet speed and lack of training on the use of resources were difficulties faced by them. It is recommended that universities should focus on providing necessary infrastructure and proper awareness and training programmes be conducted. In addition to postgraduate students, undergraduates also must be motivated to use scholarly online resources.