A USER REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS OF INTERNET RESOURCES BY CLIENTS’ AT CYBERCAFES IN IBADAN BY Gbolahan OLASINA Librarian II/Systems Analyst Central Library, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to conduct an Internet usability evaluation to assess the various users’ requirements, their levels of proficiency with Information Retrieval (IR) and use of search engines. It focused on inhibitors to use of the Internet such as frustration-related experiences, particularly from new users. The survey method used was the questionnaire method coupled with personal observation as tool for research. It is recommended in this study that new users be encouraged to use the yahoo and google search engines for IR. The academic world should research more into the use of the Internet in education. 1.1 INTRODUCTION It is not only today’s leading companies and organizations that have come to accept the important role of information. Education is also fast tapping from the Internet technology, to achieve the desired objectives. The emergence of Internet concepts and relevant services obtainable over the Internet, have created awareness for strategic use of information for education and research by individuals, corporate bodies, governmental and non-government organizations (NGOs) Internet services have swept the communications and information world during the past decade, providing instantaneous global information and data exchange. Researchers and scientists who make use of Internet 1 resources/service - the amorphous network that links computers via telecommunications technologies - can correspond with academics 10,000 miles away speedily, cheaply and efficiently. The Internet is estimated to be growing at a rate of 10-15% per month, with numbers rising from about 56 million Internet users world wide in 1995 to about 200 million people in 1999 (Daly, 2000). Also, its American origin notwithstanding, more than 50% of current Internet users are outside the USA and that percentage is rising. Post-1999, less than 20% of all Internet users are expected to be in the USA. At present, citizens and residents of industrialized countries enjoy good access to the Internet. For example, Finland and Iceland are among countries with the most Internet hosts per 1,000 population, respectively, in 1997. At the other end of the scale, the Information Revolution has “hardly” arrived in Africa, the world’s least developed region, where fewer than 15 countries had full Internet access in 1996 (Appiah, 1998) However there are considerable concerns in many quarters in the third world about the maintenance of linguistic and cultural diversity on the Internet. Given its origins in the USA as well as the dominance of the English language as a medium of international communication, 90% of the databases on the Internet at present are English. Consequently, nonEnglish speakers do not have effective access to the contents available on the Internet. 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives of the study are: 1. To identify the problems associated with end-user Internet service. 2. To examine levels of proficiency/user education amongst users. 2 3. To determine factors impeding successful and easy use of the Internet by clientele. 4. To examine the experiences of users in their use of Information Retrieval (IR) systems on the Internet. 5. To make recommendations based on the findings of this study to all stakeholders in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION Approximately three-quarters of undergraduates are opting to use the Internet for their research rather than going to the library, in a new study report conducted by the Pew and Internet & American Life Project, the study was based on more than 2,000 surveys from undergraduate students at 27 universities across the world (Adnan, 2003). According to the study, university students go on the Internet more than the general population. The report also shows that students who use the Web to do academicrelated work use commercial search engines instead of the university or other information sources. Some undergraduates rely on the Internet because of its convenience but even though the Internet gives student instant access to information; it does not necessarily guarantee that all the information they find is reliable and relevant. A lot of people go on the Internet to do research because it is right there, but it may not be the most efficient or prevalent source. The Internet is filled with so much information, that it is up to the users to distinguish whether the information is correct (Sangowusi, 2002). The burden of responsibility lies on the users/student to verify that information. There is also a concern with the number of research paper bibliographies turned in by undergraduates that include URLs. Also, more than 80% of Internet users indicated that email and the Web have become 3 indispensable technologies and 85% of Internet users are using it daily, a good number of which are undergrads (GVU, 1997) Equally, an approximate number of page views at yahoo stands at 38,000,000 per day, with undergraduates making up much of that figure (GVU, 1997) The Internet users/students also use the Internet for non-research based ends such as entertainment, socials, e-commerce (e-marketing, eshopping, etc), and games. There are new horizons for learning; technology in education. The Internet has a collection of articles, recommended readings, and related links on “how computers can be used to stimulate and develop writing skills, collaborate with peers in foreign valuable to the scientific research and do complex kinds of problem solving that would otherwise be impossible. A specialized Internet service is one, which is developed with a particular application in mind. For instance, the LEXIS-NEXIS retrieval system, which provides access to a very large collection of legal and business documents, is a good example of a specialized service on the Internet-based information system (Endeavor Information Systems, Inc., 1990) In such a system, a key problem is how to utilize to the optimum Internet resources available or to retrieve (almost) all documents which might be relevant to the user information need without also retrieving a large number of unrelated documents. Moreover, there is the additional issue of evaluating the relevance of Internet resources to user requirements – Internet evaluation. On Web information retrieval (IR), modern user interfaces implement strategies, which assist the user to form a query. The main objective is to allow him to define more precisely the context associated to his information need. The importance of query contextualization is a consequence of the difficulty normally faced by users during the querying process. Consider, for instance, the problem of quickly finding useful information in the Web. Navigation in hyperspace is not a good solution 4 due to the absence of a logical and semantically well-defined structure (the web has no underlying logical model) (IBM, 1999). At a glance, Internet resources include: Remote login (telnet): Which allows the use of the CPU a designated computer on the Internet. File Transfer (ftp): Where any file on the Internet may be transferred from a remote computer to yours, and vice versa. Electronic Mail (e-mail): Sending messages to any computer on the Internet. The messages are delivered to the addressee, but handled by any number of computers along the way. News (USENET) or network news: News items are exchanged as in e-mails. The only difference being that news has expiry and thus automatically deleted after a designated period. Hypertext (www): A distributed method of referencing information. It integrates many technologies, including multimedia. Hundreds of on-line databases, many covering unique or specialized fields. On-line library catalogues from the LC, the University of California, as well as over 200 other universities around the world. Access to over 2 million different software programmes, often free of charge. There is even a search tool called Archie that helps in finding particular programmes. Bulletin boards and “virtual Communities/libraries”, where people can have discussions about topics of common interest, post questions and get responses from around the globe. Interactive computer games such as chess, multiuser Dungeons, Dragons, etc. Tele-communication Technology Voice-mail Teleconferencing Fax Internet-based library & Information Services Electronic Journals 5 Electronic Publications Net-Surfing Search-engines Web-based Database Services, etc Online electronic Sources of Information Online databases Online databanks Online Literature Searching Downloading/Uploading Output formats, etc Electronic Libraries: Digital Libraries/Virtual Libraries Online Public Access to Catalogues: (OPACs) MARC 3.1 METHODOLOGY A questionnaire was designed in order to test the assumptions of the study and thereby achieve its stated objectives. The questionnaire was administered to clients / patrons at cyber cafes. A pilot project was embarked upon to ensure reliability. This was made to obtain on-the-spot information that the questionnaire may not have covered and for the purpose of authentification. This also ensures that the questionnaire test is administered by the investigator to the sample. The population of interest in this study is the clientele at cyber cafes in Ibadan. In this study, a sample of 5 cyber cafes was selected out of over 500 of them. In order to avoid bias in the selection of cyber cafes, the major ones were selected as sample size. This is necessitated by a 6 growing increase in the use of the Internet by all and sundry in the society e. g students, which has resulted in the establishment of cyber cafes around the university community. An appraisal of what these teeming clients-students use the Internet for is therefore imperative. Below is the list of cyber café, located in Ibadan, included in the survey: 1. Epidata cyber café 2. Skannet cyber café 3. Farnet cyber café 4. Zephy cyber café 5. Internetfax cyber café Ltd. The survey research method used is random sampling of cyber cafés in Ibadan, zeroing on Agbowo /Bodija area of Ibadan, a place that has attracted a high number of cyber cafés due to the presence of the University of Ibadan in the study area. The study is limited to five cyber cafes through random sampling as a result of the fact that there are so many of them. This study has selected fourty (40) Internet users each from the five cybercafes selected by random sampling, making a total of two hundred (200) Internet users/respondents. 4.1 DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS This chapter presents the results of data analysis done on this study. It is a presentation of demographic distribution of the respondents, who are Internet users or clientele at the five cybercafes in Ibadan that were selected by random sampling and had been aforementioned. Research Analysis Table 1: Use of the Internet S/n What users do on the Respondents Percentage Internet 1 Sending&Receiving Email 150 75 2 Browsing on the Internet 25 12.5 7 3 Internet Relay Chat 15 7.5 4 Internet Telephone 6 3 5 Internet fax services 3 1.5 6 Entertainment 0 0 7 Others 1 0.5 Total 200 100.0 Table 1 above reveals what users do on the Internet. It is clear from the table that Emailing is the most common Internet activity with 150 respondents (75%) indicating to be E-mailers. Next to this is browsing the Internet with 25 respondents 12.5% Internet relay chat 15 respondents (7.5%) and others follow. It implies from the table that out of the seven activities users do on the Internet sending and receiving e-mail are the most common. Table 2: Number of Activities user engage in Activities 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 …200 Respondents 8 The diagram earlier shows the number of respondents’ activities users engage in, on the Internet. It is found from the table that an average Internet user engages in seven (7) different types of activities. Table 3: Type of access to the Internet Place Respondents Percentage Home system 5 2.5 Office system 35 17.5 Cyber café 160 80 Total 200 100.0 Table 3 above shows the places where users usually make use of the Internet. The table reveals that majority of user respondents 160 (80%) visit the cyber café to use the Internet 35 respondents (17.5%) make use of it in the office while only 5 respondents (2.5%) have the facility in their homes. The implication of this is that the cost of procuring Internet facilities is not a joke hence majority of users have made a visit to the cyber café where payment is made for the activity. Table 4: Percentage rate of the Internet meeting users’ needs (Percentage) S/no Resources 75-100 50-75 25-50 0-25 Total i E-mail 180 10 8 2 200 ii Browsing on the Internet 150 35 10 5 200 iii Internet relay chat 100 50 30 20 200 iv Internet telephoning 5 10 15 170 200 v Internet fax - - - 200 200 vi Electronic board - - - 200 200 vii Multi media - - - 200 200 ix Uploading/downloading 100 - - 100 200 x Internet conferencing 20 10 5 165 200 xi E- - - - 200 200 9 commerce/banking/shop ping xii Internet (Advertisement) - 5 15 180 200 Table 4 shows the rate at which Internet resources have met the users’ needs. From the table above, E-mails and browsing the Net were the resources rated highest by respondents as meeting their needs. Half of the population indicated that the Internet relay chat and uploading/downloading were able to meet up to 75-100% of their needs. However, Internet fax, Electronic board, multi media, Internet conferencing and E-commerce/banking/shopping were all indicated to be meeting just 0-25% of the respondents’ needs. Table 5: Areas that need improvement on the Internet Internet design Areas More dialog Respondents Percentage boxes 20 10 (HCI) Better navigation maps 20 10 Privacy 102 51 Information validation 10 5 Search engines 78 39 User interfaces - - Classification/indexing 10 5 User studies 8 4 Internet training 102 51 More explicit - - instruction Others-language for 98 49 non-English speakers 10 On table 5 the users that needed improvement indicated only two resources. The first one is in the area of privacy with 102 respondents (57%) The other one, which is ‘information validation’, indicated having 98 respondents with (53%), with ‘others’, the respondents suggested more of non-English language based information/service on the Internet. Table 6: Search engines users are familiar with Search engine Respondents Percentage www.lycos.com - - www.hotbot.com - - www.altavista - - www.excite.com - - www.infoseek.com - - www.webcrawler.com - - www.yahoo.com 150 75% Advanced meta search - - engine Others- goggle, etc 50 25% The table 6 above reveals the search engine users are most familiar with. Users indicated from their responses that www.yahoo.com remains the search engines users used most, often based on the familiarity and experiences in using them. So also www.google.com, is one of the ‘others, please specify’ by the users is as well reported to be common with 50 respondents (25%) of the users that took part in the study. Table 7: Satisfaction based on relevant information retrieved Level of satisfaction Respondents Percentage Very satisfied 122 61 11 Satisfied 75 37.5 Not satisfied 3 1.5 Table 7 above reveals the level of satisfaction of the Internet users with the relevant information retrieved in their search. The table shows that 122 respondents (61%) indicated they were very satisfied. This however constituted the majority. 75 respondents (37.5%) indicated they were satisfied while a handful of them, 3 respondents (1.5%) indicated they were not satisfied. Recommendations and Conclusion The study found it imperative to recommend the following: These recommendations are based on the finding of this research and this research and it is hoped that they would go a long way in making the use of the Internet by varying groups of clients much easier. The analysis of requirements of Internet users and user studies would help not only the clients – students, etc, but also the website developers/designers, creators, software creators, programmers and other information professionals in determining what information and delivery package are required by users. The recommendations are: 1. The study found that E-mailing is the commonest activity users engage in on the Internet. Meanwhile, this is not the only resource on the Internet. There are several others begging for attention which most users seemed ignorant of. 2. The findings portend that there should be a provision of access to the Internet for all and sundry with more access points whether in the homes or offices than available at a cheaper rate than it is at present and this may be around the corner with the provision of infrastructure that supports IT. 3. With most of the Internet users comfortable/satisfied using the Internet, it goes to show that it is the medium of the moment. 12 However, there is the need for Internet training for new users and provision of user-friendly packages on the Internet. There may also be the need for user education and online tutors to assist old and new users. 4. System designers are also to note the twin areas needing urgent improvements: need to have local languages on the Internet, with contents in say Yoruba, Ibo languages. As users seem to say, they want to see more of their local culture on the Internet. Software creators, website designers should create systems that are less prone to strangers breaking into personal lives such as by email, etc. Users are also advised to be protective of their online data. 5. Undoubtedly, personal communication (email) and research remain the major purposes that users also in Nigeria like their Western counterparts, search the Internet for. Educators and educational institutions are to observe this trend and invest in the provision of these facilities as tools to enhance education/research. 6. Most users seemed comfortable with the use of the yahoo search engine in their retrieval of information on the Internet. However, a good number also opted for the use of the google search engine, as they seemed comfortable with its use. There is also the need for user education, particularly in the area of Information Retrieval (IR) and use of search engines-use of Boolean operators (AND, OR,+, -, etc), which would help users in their information retrieval. Potential users of the Internet and old users are recommended to stick to the use of yahoo and google search engines as most users seemed to prefer them in respect of the relevance of their retrieved documents/efficiency. 13 REFERENCES Adnan, Afni (2003) Undergrads More Likely to use Web for Research, Daily Titan, California State University – Fullerton (www.dailytitan.fullerton.edu) Appiah, k (1998) International Forum on Information and Documentation Vol. 23, No. 4, Oct/Dec. 1998 – Developing Participation in the Global Information Society pp. 31-32 Daly, J. A. (2000) Studying the impact of the Internet without assuming Technological determinism, Aslib Proceedings, No. 8 (8), Sept. 2000 Endeavour Information Systems, Inc. EIS (1990) “Search Engines and NOTIS Systems.” URL: http://www.endinfosys.com and www.tech Techweb.cmp.com/ia/iadweb/newsnow/Oct215/oct25-4.htm visited On 21/10/2003 GVU’s 8th WWW User Survey (1994-1997), The George Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia. (http://www.why-not.com/company/stats3htm#GVU6)visited 30/10/03 Matarazzo, J. M. & Prusak, L. (1995) The value of corporate libraries: Findings from a survey of senior management, Washington, DC pp 18 Sangowusi, F.O. (2002) “Problems of accessing scholarly publications by Nigerian scientists: a study of the University of Ibadan” Journal of Information Science, 29 (2) p.127-134 14