Examining the Similarities and Differences among Postgraduate Students and Research Scholars' use of E-Resources in Agricultural Universities

Abstract

Present users access information exponentially on the web, and to be relevant today libraries must become digital. A survey of 218 postgraduate students (PG) and the research scholars (RS) was conducted and analyzed using percentage, chi-square (χ2) test and rank to score conversion, wherever necessary. The study found that PG students and the research scholars (RS) show a favourable and positive attitude towards e-resources. Most of the PG students and research scholars preferred e-journals followed by databases. The study identifies similarity in the usage of e-resources among PG students and research scholars access e-resources for research work. Majority of PG students access e-resources for the project work while research scholars access them for writing publications. E-books are more popular among the PG students than the research scholars of PAU and HPAU; e-journals are popular among the research scholars. Larger population was satisfied and reveal good interest with the library facilities available to them, but the university library at PAU needs to understand the preferences, interests, and needs of the users. This study would benefit the researchers by exploring the impact of usage of electronic information resources on academic performance.