Information Seeking Behavior of Faculty Members of the Agriculture Universities in Gujarat

Abstract

The present study investigates the information seeking behavior of the post graduate faculty members of the four Agricultural Universities named Anand Agriculture University (Anand), Junagadh Agrigulture Univeristy, (Junagadh), Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agriculture University (Dantiwada), Navsari Agriculture University (Navsari) in Gujarat. Data was collected through structured questionnaires. The study investigates the information seeking behavior of the faculty members and attempts to identify the resources used regularly to meet their informational needs, purpose of information seeking, use of information technology for seeking the information, problems faced by faculty members while seeking information. The research concludes that the internet is the best source for updating the knowledge and for information seeking. The study found that their purpose of information seeking was to keep up with latest development in the field and evolving innovative ideas/ techniques. Textbooks are the important resources for teaching and research papers & e-journals are important resources for research. It was also founded from study that information scattered at too many sources and too many classes or administrative work was a problem frequently faced by the respondents. According to the study majority of the respondents were affected by changing patterns of new syllabus.