VIII. Academic Studies Congress | Andizhan, Uzbekistan

AN ANALYSIS OF SEARCH ENGINES’ AND THEIR IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AT UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FAISALABAD.

Not scheduled

20m

Description

Research skills are crucial for writing technical research documents such as dissertations and theses, as well as for enhancing research efficiency and creative thinking after completing postgraduate studies. Accessing information sources plays an important role in research, highlighting the significance of utilizing tools such as search engines on research competencies. Thus, the current study has been designed to identify the problems, experience and training needs requirements regarding the use of various search engines in educational setting. The present study was conducted at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) which was purposively selected due to the high number of postgraduate students. All postgraduate students from the 2023-24 sessions at university of Agriculture Faisalabad were selected as population of the study. A list of all the respondents was collected from Director Graduate Studies (DGS) at University of Agriculture of Faisalabad. According to DGS, the total number of postgraduate students enrolled at UAF was 7981. Data were collected using a simple random sampling technique. The sample size was determined using online software with a confidence level of 95% and a confidence interval of 9%, resulting in a sample size of 117. A reliable, validated and pre-tested questionnaire was developed for data collection. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. Results were presented as percentages, means, standard deviation, weighted score and statistical tests (where applicable).More than half (72.6%) of respondents used Google scholar for searching and Majority (53%) of respondents spend three to four hours on internet to find something. It is concluded that search engines becoming more and more popular. It was more convenient for research student to gather data rather than books. Now, students are more relying on search engine. Since the research area and the limited sample size, the result cannot give enough on the practices of search engine in learning of overall condition. So, it is recommended such type of studies should be carried out in large scale so that overall scenario of university comes into focus and generalization have wider application.