The influence of digital competency and awareness on students’ e-resources usage in selected universities in Tanzania

Abstract

This study assessed the influence of digital competence and awareness on e-resource usage in universities. Specifically, it aimed to determine the types and levels of digital competence possessed by students, evaluate students’ level of awareness regarding digital competencies required for accessing and using e-resources, and examine how students’ digital competences and awareness influence their actual usage of e-resources. This study was guided by the DigComp model 2.2, which provides a well-established framework for assessing digital competence and awareness of the use of resources. A sequential explanatory research design was used. The total study population was 61,324, and the study sample size was 397. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to ensure that the sample represented different student groups across the three universities. Key informants were selected purposively, including library directors, IT technicians, and e-resources management staff.  A questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents, and the return rate was 360. Quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS v20 to obtain frequency and percentages. Binary logistic regression was performed to determine factors influencing the usage of e-resources. While qualitative insights were gathered through interviews with nine key informants.  The findings revealed high awareness of e-resources among students, with a preference for open-access platforms. Digital content creation and problem-solving have been observed to be a noted gap in this study. Effective implementation of information literacy training was found to significantly influence e-resource usage in universities. The study recommends implementing digital literacy training, integrating digital skills training in the university curricula, and improving ICT infrastructures in universities. The study calls for policymakers to embed governance, privacy, and ethics discussions within digital competence and the utilization of e-resources.