Abstract

Context: The rapid growth and development, as well as the increasing popularity of electronic information sources, have altered the pattern of informationseeking behaviour among users, particularly among students. Information skills encompass the “ability to search, evaluate, and use information effectively,” which are essential for every student for their academic success in the digital era (ALA, 2000; Wilson, 2021). Open educational resources (OER) have become a major platform for students to access the content related to the syllabus developed by subject experts. Based on the review, a gap is identified in students’ engagement with these OER. Aims: The study aimed to examine the information skills and adoption of OER among the university students of Karnataka, and also focused on informationseeking behaviour, use of search strategies, and adoption of OER among students. Settings and Design: The study was conducted among the university students pursuing postgraduation in the academic year 2024-25 at Tumkur University, Gulbarga University, and Raichur University. A survey design was applied to collect the data from students. Methods and Materials: A structured questionnaire was distributed randomly among the university students across arts/social science, Science, commerce, and management disciplines. It’s a pilot study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21 for data tabulation. Descriptive statistics (frequency distribution and percentages) were used for the data presentation in the form of tables. Results and Conclusions: The majority of the respondents are in the age group of 21-25 years (83%). More of them preferred both print and electronic information sources; the library remained the most preferred access point for the information resources. Related search strategies a basic-level skills exhibited by the respondents. Phrase searching (25%) and keyword searching (22.7%) are the most common techniques applied in retrieving information. While assessing the relevance, more students (36.3%) relied on titles and a few on abstracts (14.7%), 31.3% preferred dictionaries to find the meaning of the word, and 23.7% of them preferred encyclopedias for finding background information. A moderate level of awareness and low usage were found among students on OER. NDLI (37%) and NCERT (32.3%) were found to be widely preferred platforms. To conclude, it’s observed that students rely on both print and electronic resources; therefore, a hybrid information-seeking model is exhibited by the respondents. Based on the above study results, the study emphasized the dire need for information literacy instruction programs and initiatives to promote OER adoption, suggesting that libraries adopt a pedagogical approach to ensure equitable access to learning resources.

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