Abstract
This study investigated the awareness, accessibility, and utilisation of electronic
information resources (EIRs) among postgraduate students in universities in the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted.
The study population comprised 19,410 postgraduate students from six universities, from
which a sample of 377 respondents was selected using the Krejcie and Morgan sample size
determination table and proportionate sampling technique. Data were collected using a
structured questionnaire with established validity and high reliability coefficients
(Cronbachs Alpha = 0.83–0.90). Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages,
mean scores, and standard deviations, were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed
that postgraduate students demonstrated high awareness, accessibility, and utilisation of
commonly available electronic information resources, particularly internet services,
electronic journals, and electronic books. Conversely, institutional repositories, Online
Public Access Catalogues (OPACs), electronic research reports, and CD-ROM databases
recorded relatively low levels of awareness, accessibility, and utilisation. The study
concludes that although postgraduate students extensively use web-based electronic
resources for research, institution-managed electronic resources remain underutilised
because of inadequate awareness and accessibility. The study recommends strengthening
information literacy programmes, improving ICT infrastructure and remote access
facilities, enhancing the visibility of institutional repositories and OPACs, providing regular
user education programmes, and increasing investment in subscription-based electronic
resources to improve postgraduate research productivity.
Keywords: Electronic information resources, awareness, accessibility, utilisation,
postgraduate students, research activities, academic libraries, information literacy, ICT
infrastructure, FCT-Abuja.
Publication Date: 2026-07-31