Investigating information literacy skills perception and practices among medical and non-medical first-year students at a Nigerian university

Background: The study appraisedthe perceived information literacy proficiency of first-year students enrolled in the faculties of Basic Medical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, and pure Sciences at the University of Medical Sciences(UNIMED)in Ondo City, Nigeria. Method:Employing a correlational descriptive survey methodology, 120 students were proportionately selectedfrom the first-year students'population in the three faculties surveyed. The response rate was84%. Data for the study was collected using a questionnaire sectioned into four or five-point Likert scales. For the data analysis, the responses were rated 4, 3, 2,and 1 points or 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1,respectively, depending on the questionnaire section.Results:Based on our rubric, the students reported average-level information literacy skills and high-level internet navigation skills. The ability to utilise information effectively had the highest rating (x̄= 2.9/4.0),while the ability to access information was the lowest(x̄=2.7/4.0). The students also reported Google(x̄= 4.1/5.0), subject textbooks, and peers as the most frequentlyutilisedinformation sources, while academicsources such as journal databases(x̄=2.3/5.0), library catalogues, and librarians were the least used. No statistically significant distinctions were observed in the information literacy capabilities of first-year students from the three faculties or secondary school backgrounds. Conclusion:To promote acquiringinformation literacy skills for academic success and lifelong learning, this study emphasises the necessity for increased awareness and training on the effective usage of scholarly sources among first-year students in Nigerian universities.

Awareness and use of reference managers by resident doctors in Nigeria

Reference manager (RM) also known as reference management software (RMS) are tools used by researchers to organize and manage bibliographic references. They are citation tools that enable researchers to track the scientific papers they have read, sources consulted, cited and used to generate a reference list or bibliography. This study investigated the awareness and pattern of use of RM tools by Resident Doctors (RDs) in Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study and semi-structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. Respondents' age was 35.9 ± 5.0, (53.8%) were males. Most of the respondents (92.9%) had heard of RM, 49.1% had ever used any RM with Mendeley topping the list (49.1%). However, many of the respondents (42.8%) did not use RM due to lack of requisite skills, while only (35.1%) respondents had ever received formal training on use of RM. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that awareness should be regularly created to encourage resident doctors to apply their knowledge of the tools in the management of their references while training should be conducted for those who do not use the tools.