Usage pattern of e-resources among management students in Nagpur, Maharashtra (India)

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the usage pattern of electronic resources (e-resources) among management graduates. The respondents were asked about the types of e-resources they used, who their influencers were, their preferred place for surfing, the frequency of use, purpose for which they used e-resources, its benefits and the problems they faced while using e-resources. The findings of the study will help in enhancing the usage of e-resources among students who opt for management courses. Design/methodology/approach This descriptive research was conducted in Nagpur, Maharashtra (India). Data collected from 150 management students through purposive sampling were analyzed through descriptive statistics, and the responses were presented in tabular form. Findings The investigation reveals that students are well aware of e-resources and consider them to be very useful for their academic performance. Interestingly, students are found to be using non-paid resources more than paid ones because of a lack of search skills. Discipline-wise investigation reveals that students from the disciplines of information technology, economics and finance use e-resources more frequently than those studying subjects like marketing, operations and human resource management. Faculty and training have emerged as strong influencers that have persuaded students to use e-resources. Research limitations/implications The present study is limited to students studying management courses in Nagpur, Maharashtra (India). Originality/value This research will help institutions, librarians and publishers in gaining insight on the utilization patterns of e-resources. The uniqueness of this study lies in the fact that it has analyzed and presented the responses of management students belonging to different disciplines in management studies such as, marketing, finance, human resource management operations, economics and information technology regarding their usage patterns of e-resources.

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