Accessibility and Usability of Internet among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This study aims to investigate the internet accessibility and usability among the graduate students in the Public Sector Universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study adopts a descriptive survey design. The data was collected by administering a structured questionnaire as data collection t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shehzad Ahmad, Muhammad Rafiq
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Punjab, Department of Information Management 2016-06-01
Series:Pakistan Journal of Information Management & Libraries
Subjects:
Online Access:http://111.68.103.26/journals/index.php/pjiml/article/view/966
_version_ 1827261406000447488
author Shehzad Ahmad
Muhammad Rafiq
author_facet Shehzad Ahmad
Muhammad Rafiq
author_sort Shehzad Ahmad
collection DOAJ
description This study aims to investigate the internet accessibility and usability among the graduate students in the Public Sector Universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study adopts a descriptive survey design. The data was collected by administering a structured questionnaire as data collection tool from 1001 graduate students, selected through proportionate sampling technique from the five purposefully selected Public Sector Universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The results revealed that, majority of the students have their own PCs/Lap-tops and accessed internet at homes followed by university libraries and computer labs mostly for: entertainment, academics, communication and keeping themselves up-to-date. However, majority of the students used to spend maximum time on internet for entertainment purposes rather than educational purpose. It was also revealed that they were less satisfied with some of the important academic online resources like: free books, free online databases, free electronic reference material, indexes and abstracts, and thesis and dissertations and that is why these resources received the lowest ranks in effectiveness and a very low rank in the use frequency. The problems which hindered the effective use of internet among students were: inadequate knowledge of online e-resources, slow speed of internet, electricity shortage problems, the negative attitude of society towards the internet usage, and students having less encouragement from parents to use internet due to the availability of immoral sites on the internet. Thus, overcoming these problems will definitely enhance the effective use of the internet. Suggestions and recommendations are proffered based on the findings of this study.
first_indexed 2024-04-10T15:24:40Z
format Article
id doaj.art-5d22350f564d459191879de88abaccc8
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2409-7462
language English
last_indexed 2025-03-22T02:57:52Z
publishDate 2016-06-01
publisher University of the Punjab, Department of Information Management
record_format Article
series Pakistan Journal of Information Management & Libraries
spelling doaj.art-5d22350f564d459191879de88abaccc82024-05-02T03:20:11ZengUniversity of the Punjab, Department of Information ManagementPakistan Journal of Information Management & Libraries2409-74622016-06-01181375110.47657/pjim&l.v18i1.966484Accessibility and Usability of Internet among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PakistanShehzad Ahmad0Muhammad Rafiq1Edwardes College PeshawarUniversity of the Punjab, LahoreThis study aims to investigate the internet accessibility and usability among the graduate students in the Public Sector Universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study adopts a descriptive survey design. The data was collected by administering a structured questionnaire as data collection tool from 1001 graduate students, selected through proportionate sampling technique from the five purposefully selected Public Sector Universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The results revealed that, majority of the students have their own PCs/Lap-tops and accessed internet at homes followed by university libraries and computer labs mostly for: entertainment, academics, communication and keeping themselves up-to-date. However, majority of the students used to spend maximum time on internet for entertainment purposes rather than educational purpose. It was also revealed that they were less satisfied with some of the important academic online resources like: free books, free online databases, free electronic reference material, indexes and abstracts, and thesis and dissertations and that is why these resources received the lowest ranks in effectiveness and a very low rank in the use frequency. The problems which hindered the effective use of internet among students were: inadequate knowledge of online e-resources, slow speed of internet, electricity shortage problems, the negative attitude of society towards the internet usage, and students having less encouragement from parents to use internet due to the availability of immoral sites on the internet. Thus, overcoming these problems will definitely enhance the effective use of the internet. Suggestions and recommendations are proffered based on the findings of this study.http://111.68.103.26/journals/index.php/pjiml/article/view/966internet accessibilityinternet useuniversity studentsbarriers in the use of internet.
spellingShingle Shehzad Ahmad
Muhammad Rafiq
Accessibility and Usability of Internet among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Pakistan Journal of Information Management & Libraries
internet accessibility
internet use
university students
barriers in the use of internet.
title Accessibility and Usability of Internet among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
title_full Accessibility and Usability of Internet among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
title_fullStr Accessibility and Usability of Internet among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
title_full_unstemmed Accessibility and Usability of Internet among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
title_short Accessibility and Usability of Internet among University Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
title_sort accessibility and usability of internet among university students in khyber pakhtunkhwa pakistan
topic internet accessibility
internet use
university students
barriers in the use of internet.
url http://111.68.103.26/journals/index.php/pjiml/article/view/966
work_keys_str_mv AT shehzadahmad accessibilityandusabilityofinternetamonguniversitystudentsinkhyberpakhtunkhwapakistan
AT muhammadrafiq accessibilityandusabilityofinternetamonguniversitystudentsinkhyberpakhtunkhwapakistan