The use of information and communication technology and libraries for research among college students in Rio de Janeiro: gender and sociocultural differences

Abstract

This paper focuses on aspects of library use, as well as on information and communication technologies (ICT) use in the process of information search for research purposes among college students. Dimensions of library use that were measured include frequency and objective of use, and evaluation of success of use by the students. With respect to the use of information and communication technologies, an effort was made to deal with basic dimensions of ICT fluency as considered by international literature on the subject. These include, among others, the frequency of internet use and the acquaintance of students with search engines. Another emphasis of this paper is to try to identify how the socio-cultural environment of the student can determine his TIC fluency. Among these sociocultural determinants of ICT fluency that were dealt with here are the student gender, the family social origins and the investments made in the acquisition of cultural and technical resources. Cultural and technical resources that are taken into consideration as possible influences in the acquisition of fluency in ICT are the presence of computer at home and early access to it, as well as fluency in English and attendance to specific extra-curricular courses in ICT. The inclusion of gender factor in the study of ICT fluency results from several evidences showing that women’s participation in certain areas of science and technology is still restrict. The maintenance of this situation, in the long run, will impair women’s participation in information society. The empirical study was undertaken during the year of 2004 and applied to the population of students of the third school year of Business Schools of two large Rio de Janeiro private universities; 320 students answered to the questionnaire, which had a response rate of about 77% of the target population.