Abstract
This study examined the influence of personal characteristics such as age, gender, level of study, years of experience using the internet, internet self-efficacy, as well as motivation factors, which are perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, perceived innovativeness in IT, and perceived usefulness on internet use among 404 purposively selected postgraduate students' in three selected universities in South-Western Nigeria: University of Ibadan, Ibadan; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; and Bowen University, Iwo. The result showed that some personal characteristics which are age, years of experience using the internet, and internet self-efficacy have significant relationships with internet use among postgraduate students in the selected universities. Furthermore, personal innovativeness in IT of postgraduate students significantly influenced their internet use in the selected universities. The result revealed there was a significant influence of both personal characteristic and motivation factors on Internet use in the selected universities.
TopIntroduction
The Internet is the worldwide network of interconnected computer networks using a standardised set of communication protocols called transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), which together carry various forms of information (Fuchs, 2008). As an expansive information infrastructure, the influence of the Internet is not limited to computer communications alone. It also assists the increasing use of online applications to accomplish information acquisition, dissemination and retrieval; as well as electronic commerce, education, entertainment and community operations (Leiner, Cerf, Clark, Kahn, Kleinrock, Cynch, Postel, Robert and Wolff, 2010).
The Internet provides access to the most diversified source of information hosted by individuals and various organisations worldwide on a vast network of servers. Through the Internet, services such as e-mail; the World Wide Web (WWW); mailing lists; Instant messaging; video conferencing; newsgroups; and social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook and MySpace are accessed by users. Alade and Ogunsola (2008); Thanuskodi (2013) assert that the Internet, a powerful means of information dissemination, has become a major part of the research and academic activities. Hayat (2016) observed that the Internet has also become an academic resource for the majority of higher education students all over the world. It is a functional tool that has greatly changed the way students interact with others and share information about their studies. Many students use the Internet to accomplish a wide range of academic tasks: prepare course assignments, make study notes, tutor themselves with specialised multimedia, and process data for research. Most students exchange emails with lecturers, peers, and remote experts. They keep themselves up to date in their fields of study on the Internet, access newsgroups, bulletin boards, listservs, and websites from various organisations. Most students access library catalogues, bibliographic databases, and other academic resources in text, graphics, and imagery on the World Wide Web (Luambano and Nawe, 2004). They also use the Internet for entertainment, purchasing and dating (Aba, Beetseh, Ogban and Umogbai, 2015; Scannell, 2019).
Though the capabilities and functionalities of the Internet in learning, teaching and research continue to evolve in educational institutions (Ogunsola and Alade, 2016), the effective use of the Internet among students of the higher institution is seen as a complex, multifaceted process that involves not just technology but other factors. These factors have been categorised in IT literature as institutional, and systems factors (Buabeng-Andoh, 2012; Ogunsola and Adekola, 2019); and demographics and motivation factors (Rizwan, Kumail and Masood, 2016; and Ojo, Arasanmi, Raman and Tan, 2019). However, research on factors relating to Internet use is generally sparse and the few previous studies conducted on demographics and motivation factors influencing the Internet use were conducted in the United States and Asian countries more than a decade ago; there is a need to conduct a similar study in a developing country like Nigeria. This research seeks to investigate how postgraduate students’ personal characteristics and their perceived motivational appetite affect their Internet use in three selected universities in South-Western Nigeria, which are: a federal university - the University of Ibadan (UI); a state university - Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso (LAUTECH) and a private university -Bowen University (BOWEN), Iwo.
With the continued rapid growth of the Internet and its application in higher institutions, it is imperative to investigate the personal characteristics and motivational factors associated with its usage among postgraduate students in Nigeria. Internet use needs further research because Internet technology advances rapidly and users’ personal characteristics and motivations change accordingly. In this study, personal characteristics refer to demographics and cognitive styles that can influence individuals’ perception of the use of IT. These include age, gender, years of experience using internet and internet self-efficacy also known as the level of confidence. Angello (2010) posited that personal characteristics are important determinants of acceptance and usage of IT.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Postgraduate Student: This refers to anyone who is studying a postgraduate course, including a master’s degree course, an M.Phil. and a PhD that requires an undergraduate degree as part of the entry requirements.
Motivation Factors: In this study, this refers to perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, personal innovativeness in IT and perceived usefulness.
Internet: This is defined as a global system of connections between computers that allows almost instant access to and dissemination of information. Also, a worldwide computer network that can be accessed via a computer, mobile telephone, PDA, games machine, digital TV, among others.
Nigeria: Nigeria is a country found in Western Africa, the modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century and took its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914.
Perceived ease of use: This relates to the extent to which a postgraduate student believes that making use of particular technology would be effortless and hassle-free.
Perceived Enjoyment: This is the extent to which using the computer is perceived to be enjoyable in its own right, apart from any performance consequences that may be anticipated by postgraduate students.
Intrinsic Motivation: This can be defined as behaviours that postgraduate students exhibit for their own sake without expecting any reward.
Internet use: This can be related to regular use of the Internet for academic and other purposes.
Internet Self-Efficacy: This refers to the judgment about students’ capability or level of confidence to use the Internet for academic purposes.
Perceived usefulness: This is defined as the level of belief a postgraduate student has that the system will improve his or her job performance.
Personal Characteristics: In this study, personal characteristics refer to gender, age, years of experience using the Internet and Internet self-efficacy of the postgraduate students.
Extrinsic Motivation: This is the performance of an activity by postgraduate students because it is perceived to be instrumental in achieving valued outcomes that are distinct from the activity itself.
Personal Innovativeness in IT: This is defined as the willingness of a postgraduate student to try out any new information technology.