CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

This chapter presents the findings of the research questions and hypotheses outlined in

chapter one through data analysis. Two hundred and fifty (250) questionnaires were distributed

to undergraduate students of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. The data collected were analysed

using mean, frequency count and percentage. While all the questionnaires were retrieved, only

two hundred and twelve (212) were deemed suitable for the study.

Table 1: Percentage Distribution of Respondent by Gender:

Gender Frequency Percentage (%)

Male 109 51.4%
Female 103 48.6%
Total 212 100%

This table shows the gender distribution of the sample population studied. Of the 212

participants, 109 were male (44.1%) and 103 were female (55.9%). The total number of

participants in the study was 212, which represents 100% of the sample. The table shows that the

gender distribution of the participants was relatively balanced, with a slightly higher proportion

of females in the sample.

Table 2: Percentage Distribution of Respondents by Faculty

Faculty Frequency Percentage (%)

Education 45 21.2
Engineering 40 18.9
Law 37 17.5
Social Science 46 21.7
Agriculture 44 20.8
Total 212 100%
 This table shows the distribution of participants by faculty. The highest number of

participants belonged to the faculty of education with 45 participants (21.2%), followed by social

sciences with 46 participants (21.7%) and agriculture with 44 participants (20.8%). The lowest

number of participants was found in the Faculty of Engineering with 40 participants (18.9%) and

the Faculty of Law with 37 participants (17.5%). The table shows that the sample population was

relatively evenly distributed across the faculties, with no one faculty dominating the study.

Table 3: Percentage Distribution of Respondents by Age range

Age range Frequency Percentage (%)

15 – 25 years 69 32.5
26 – 35 years 84 39.6
36 years and above 59 27.8
Total 212 100%

This table shows the age distribution of the participants in the study, divided into three

age groups: 15-25 years, 26-35 years and 36 years and over. Out of a total of 212 participants,

the largest number of participants (84 or 39.6%) were in the 26-35 age group, followed by 69

participants (32.5%) in the 15-25 age group, and 59 participants (27.8%) in the 36+ age group.

The table shows that the majority of participants were in the 26-35 age group, with the remaining

participants spread across the other two age groups.

Research Question 1

What are the computer and internet skills of undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin?

Table 4: Undergraduates’ computer and internet skills

S/No Computer and Internet skills Yes No

(%) (%)
1 I have basic computer operating skills 137 75
 (64.4%) (35.4%)
I have basic web browsing skills to navigate
2 different websites and search for information on 118 94
the internet. (55.7%) (44.3%)
I can use search engines such as Google or 121 91
3
Bing to find specific information or websites. (57.1%) (42.9%)
I am familiar with email and instant messaging
4 tools such as Gmail, Outlook or Skype to 129 83
communicate with others. (60.8%) (39.2%)
Identify and avoid online scams and phishing 89 123
5
attacks (42%) (58%)
I understand how to use cloud-based services
6 such as OneDrive or Google Drive to share files 119 93
online. (56.1%) (43.9%)

Table 4 shows the responses of the participants regarding their computer and internet

skills. The table consists of six statements related to computer and internet skills, with 'yes' and

'no' options for each statement. The data in the table show that the majority of participants have

basic computer skills (137 participants or 64.4% answered 'yes' to statement 1). In addition, more

than half of the participants indicated that they had basic skills in browsing the web (statement

2), using search engines (statement 3) and being familiar with email and instant messaging tools

(statement 4). However, responses to statement 5, which assesses the ability to identify and avoid

online scams and phishing attacks, were almost evenly split between 'yes' (89 participants or

42%) and 'no' (123 participants or 58%). Regarding statement 6, which assesses knowledge of

cloud-based services, slightly more than half of the participants said they knew how to use such

services (119 participants or 56.1%). Overall, the table shows that the participants in the study

have varying levels of computer and Internet skills, with some skills being more common than

others.

Research Question 2
What types of internet access do undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin use to connect

to the internet?

Table 5: Undergraduates’ mode of accessing the internet

S/No Mode of accessing the internet Yes No

(%) (%)
I access the internet through my personal 121 91
1
Modem (57.1%) (42.9%)
I use the school local area network (LAN) to 105 107
2
access the internet (49.5%) (50.5%)
I access the internet through a commercial 119 93
3
Cyber-Cafe (56.1%) (43.9%)
I access the internet through my mobile phone 158 54
4
(74.5%) (25.5%)

Table 5 shows the responses of the participants regarding the way they access the

Internet. The data in the table show that the most common mode of accessing the Internet among

the participants is through their mobile phone (158 participants or 74.5% answered 'yes' to

statement 4). The next most common mode is through personal modems (121 participants or

57.1% answered 'yes' to statement 1), followed by accessing the Internet through a commercial

cybercafé (119 participants or 56.1% answered 'yes' to statement 3). In contrast, accessing the

Internet through the school's local area network (LAN) is the least common way of accessing the

Internet among the participants, with 105 participants (49.5%) answering 'yes' to statement 2.

The table shows that participants have different preferences for accessing the Internet, with

mobile phones being the most popular mode of access.

Research Question 3

How frequently and for what duration do undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin use
the internet?

Table 6: Frequency and duration of internet usage by undergraduates

S/N Frequency and duration of internet use Very Often Rarely Seldom
Often
 1. How frequency do you access the internet on a 76 65 57 14
daily basis (35.8%) (30.7%) (26.9%) (6.6%)
2. How frequent do you access the internet on a 85 71 30 26
weekly basis (40.1%) (33.5%) (14.2%) (12.3%)
3. How often do you use the internet for academic 65 54 76 17
purposes (30.7%) (25.5%) (35.8%) (8%)
4. How often to do you use the internet for social 98 65 29 20
media (46.2%) (30.7%) (13.7%) (9.4%)

This table shows the responses of students to questions about the frequency and duration

of their internet use. The first statement asks how often participants access the Internet on a daily

basis. The data shows that the majority of participants access the internet 'very often' or 'often' on

a daily basis, with a total of 141 participants (66.5%) responding with one of these options. The

second statement asks how often participants access the Internet on a weekly basis. The data

shows that 156 participants (73.6%) access the Internet 'very often' or 'often' on a weekly basis.

The third statement asks how often participants use the internet for academic purposes. The data

shows that a total of 119 participants (56.1%) use the internet 'very often' or 'often' for academic

purposes. Finally, the fourth statement asks how often participants use the internet for social

media. The data shows that 163 participants (76.9%) use the internet 'very often' or 'often' for

social media. Overall, the data shows that the majority of students use the internet frequently for

both academic and social purposes, with social media being the most common use of the internet

among participants.

.
Research Question 4

What online activities do undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin engage in through the

internet?

Table 7: Online activities undergraduates uses internet for

S/N Item N Min Max Mean Std.

Deviation
 1 I use the internet service for 212 1 4 2.45 .844
academic work
2 I use the internet service majorly for 212 1 4 2.93 .921
emails and instant messaging
3 I use the internet for information 212 1 4 2.61 .916
search
4 I use the internet for music and 212 1 4 2.87 .925
movie download
5 I use the internet service for software 212 1 4 2.25 .916
download
Grand Mean **
Exp
ressi
on is
faul
ty
**

Table 7 presents the results of a survey conducted among undergraduate students at the

University of Ilorin, Nigeria, to determine their online activities. The responses to each item

were measured on a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 indicating a low frequency of engagement in the

activity and 4 indicating a high frequency of engagement. The table shows that students engage

in different online activities. The item with the highest mean score is 'I use the Internet service

mainly for emails and instant messaging' (mean = 2.93), followed by 'I use the Internet to

download music and films' (mean = 2.87) and 'I use the Internet to search for information' (mean

= 2.61). The item with the lowest mean score is 'I use the Internet service to download software'

(mean = 2.25). The grand mean of all items is 2.62, indicating that students are moderately

engaged in online activities. Overall, the table suggests that students use the Internet for both

academic and non-academic purposes.

Research Question 5
What challenges do undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin encounter in using the

internet, and how do these challenges affect their academic and administrative activities?

Table 8: Online activities undergraduates’ uses internet for

S/N Item N Min Max Mean Std.

Deviation
1 The cost of browsing is too high for 212 1 4 3.06 .844
me
2 I usually experience slow internet 212 1 4 2.76 .921
speed
3 Erratic power supply is major 212 1 4 2.95 .916
challenge
4 I finds it difficult to retrieve 212 1 4 2.48 .925
information easily from the internet
5 I have inadequate browsing skills 2.52
6 There is inadequate internet access in 212 1 4 2.28 .916
my school
Grand Mean **
Exp
ressi
on is
faul
ty
**

Table 8 presents the results of a survey conducted to investigate the challenges faced by

undergraduate students of the University of Ilorin in using the internet and how these challenges

affect their academic and administrative activities. The table shows that the highest mean score

was obtained for the statement 'The cost of surfing is too high for me' (mean = 3.06), indicating

that this was the most significant challenge faced by students. The second highest mean score

was for the statement 'Erratic power supply is a major challenge' (mean = 2.95), followed by 'I

usually experience slow Internet speed' (mean = 2.76). The mean scores for 'I find it difficult to

get information easily from the Internet' and 'I have inadequate browsing skills' were 2.48 and

2.52 respectively. Finally, the lowest mean score was obtained for the statement 'There is
insufficient access to the Internet in my school' (mean = 2.28). The grand mean for all items was

2.68, indicating that the challenges faced by students in using the Internet were moderate. The

standard deviations ranged from 0.844 to 0.925, indicating that there was a relatively low level of

variability in the responses for each item.

Research Hypothesis One

HO1: There is no significant difference between male and female undergraduate student’s

usage of internet.

To determine whether there is a significant difference between male and female

undergraduate students’ usage of internet, data was analyzed using t-test statistics, the result

obtained is presented in table 9

Table 9: Influence of gender on Undergraduates’ usage of internet

Variable N X SD df T Sig Remarks

Male 109 19.65 3.42 210

0.721 0.545 Accepted

Female 103 19.59 3.67

0.05 alpha level

Table 9, revealed that df =210, t = 0.721, p = 0.545. This means that the hypothesis was

Accepted. This was as a result of t-value of 0.721, resulting in 0.545 p value greater than 0.05

significant alpha level. The null hypothesis is usually that there is no significant difference

between the means of the two groups on the variable being tested. In this case, the p-value is

0.545, which is greater than the usual alpha level of 0.05, indicating that we cannot reject the null

hypothesis. Therefore, there is not enough evidence to suggest that there is a statistically
significant difference between the mean scores of male and female students on the variable being

tested.

Summary of Findings

The findings of this study based on the research questions and hypotheses formulated

were summarized as follows:

1. Students have varying levels of computer and Internet skills, with some skills more

common than others.

2. Students have different preferences for accessing the Internet, with mobile phones being

the most popular mode of access.

3. The majority of students use the Internet frequently for both academic and social

purposes, with social media being the most common use of the Internet among

participants.

4. Students use the internet for both academic and non-academic purposes

5. The cost of surfing the Internet and unreliable electricity supply are the main challenges

that students face when using the Internet.

 CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter focuses mainly on discussion of the findings, conclusion drawn from the

findings and recommendation.

Discussions of the Findings

The study assessed the utilization of internet service among undergraduates in university

of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. Five research questions were raised to assess the computer and internet

skills of undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin, determine the types of internet access

undergraduate students use to connect to the internet, examine how frequently and for what

duration do undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin use the internet, finds out that

online activities undergraduate students engage in through the internet, and Investigate the

challenges undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin encounter in using the internet, and

how do these challenges affect their academic and administrative activities.

Research question one assess the computer and internet skills of undergraduate students

at the University of Ilorin.. The study found that majority of the participants had basic computer

skills, which is consistent with the findings of similar studies conducted in Nigeria and other

countries. For example, a study by Ojo and Popoola (2011) on computer literacy among

university students in Nigeria found that the majority of students had basic computer skills.

Similarly, a study by Rastogi and Rastogi (2018) on internet usage and skills among university

students in India also found that most students had basic computer skills. The finding that more

than half of the participants had basic skills in browsing the web, using search engines, and being

familiar with email and instant messaging tools is also consistent with previous studies. For

example, a study by Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) of internet skills among college students in
the United States found that most students were proficient in using search engines and email.

However, the finding that a significant proportion of participants were unable to identify and

avoid online scams and phishing attacks is a cause for concern. This finding is consistent with

previous studies that have highlighted the need for greater awareness and education on internet

safety and security (e.g., Fakunle & Ogunjobi, 2016; Yau & Lee, 2019). Finding of this study

highlights the need for continued efforts to improve students' computer and internet skills,

especially in the area of online safety and security.

Research question two determine the types of internet access undergraduate students use

to connect to the internet. The results show that the majority of participants access the Internet

via their mobile phones, which is consistent with the trend observed in other studies of Internet

use among students. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 96% of American

undergraduate students own a smartphone, and 58% of them use their mobile device as their

primary means of accessing the Internet. This highlights the growing importance of mobile

technology for accessing the Internet and its potential impact on students' learning behaviour.

The use of personal modems was the second most common way of accessing the Internet among

participants. This may be due to the unreliability of the Internet service provided by the school's

local area network, which was reported as the least common way of accessing the Internet. The

findings are consistent with other studies that have reported similar challenges with campus

network infrastructure, such as slow Internet speeds, limited bandwidth and frequent

disconnections, which can hinder students' access to online resources and affect their academic

performance. The use of commercial cybercafés was also reported as a common way of

accessing the Internet, which may be due to the availability of commercial cybercafés in the

vicinity of the university campus. However, the use of such public facilities may also expose
students to risks such as cyber-attacks, malware and other online threats. There is therefore a

need for educational institutions to provide students with adequate and secure Internet access on

campus and to educate them about safe Internet practices. In conclusion, the findings suggest that

undergraduate students in the University of Ilorin access the Internet through a variety of means,

with mobile phones being the most common mode of access. The findings are consistent with

other studies on Internet use among undergraduate students and highlight the need for

educational institutions to provide reliable and secure Internet access to students on campus

(Sclater, 2008).

Research questions 3 and 4 examined how often students used the internet and what

online activities were carried out via the internet. The results indicate that the majority of the

undergraduate students surveyed in the University of Ilorin use the internet frequently for both

academic and non-academic purposes. The data shows that social media is the most common use

of the internet among the participants. This finding is in line with the current trend in internet

usage, where social media platforms are among the most accessed websites. The survey also

shows that students engage in different online activities, with email and instant messaging being

the most common online activity, followed by downloading music and films and searching for

information. This finding suggests that students use the Internet not only for entertainment but

also for academic purposes such as research. The overall mean score of 2.62 suggests that

students are moderately engaged in online activities. This finding implies that although students

use the Internet frequently, they do not spend an excessive amount of time online, which is an

important consideration for academic success.

Research question 5 investigate the challenges undergraduate students at the University

of Ilorin encounter in using the internet, and how do these challenges affect their academic and
administrative activities. Our findings suggest that the cost of internet access is the most

significant challenge faced by students in accessing and using the internet for academic and non-

academic purposes. This finding is consistent with previous studies that have identified cost as a

significant barrier to internet access and use among students, particularly in developing countries

(Alvarez and Mejias, 2017; Kao et al., 2019; Tella et al., 2007). The second highest mean score

related to power supply is also consistent with previous studies that have identified infrastructure

challenges such as power supply as a significant barrier to internet access and use (Elo and

Vainikainen, 2016; Song et al., 2017). The finding that slow internet speed is a significant

challenge for students is also consistent with previous research (Kao et al., 2019; Okoli and

Pawlowski, 2004). This highlights the importance of reliable and fast internet connections in

facilitating effective use of the internet for academic and non-academic purposes. The relatively

low mean scores for inadequate browsing skills and difficulty finding information easily on the

Internet may suggest that students have basic digital literacy skills, which is consistent with the

notion that today's students are digital natives (Prensky, 2001). However, the low mean score for

inadequate access to the internet at school is somewhat surprising given that previous research

has identified lack of infrastructure and inadequate access to the internet as significant barriers to

internet use among students (Alvarez and Mejias, 2017; Elo and Vainikainen, 2016). This may

suggest that the University of Ilorin has made significant efforts to provide adequate internet

access to students. Overall, the findings highlight the need for policies and interventions to

address the challenges faced by students in accessing and using the internet for academic and

non-academic purposes, particularly in terms of cost and infrastructure. Such efforts could

include the provision of affordable internet access and reliable electricity supply, as well as

measures to improve internet speed and digital literacy.

Conclusions

This study examined the use of Internet services by undergraduate students at the

University of Ilorin, Nigeria. The results showed that the majority of the participants had basic

computer skills, but more needs to be done to educate them about online safety and security.

Mobile phones were found to be the most common way of accessing the internet, followed by

personal modems and commercial cybercafés. Social media was the most common online

activity, followed by email and instant messaging, downloading music and films, and searching

for information. The cost of internet access was identified as the biggest challenge for students,

followed by electricity supply. The findings highlight the need for educational institutions to

provide students with reliable and secure Internet access on campus, to educate students about

online safety and security, and to address cost and infrastructure challenges. These efforts would

help improve students' academic performance and their overall online experience.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made

1. Improve computer and internet literacy training: The study found that while most

participants had basic computer and Internet skills, a significant proportion lacked

knowledge about online safety and security. Therefore, educational institutions should

provide regular training and awareness programmes on safe internet practices to improve

students' skills and knowledge.

2. Provide reliable and secure internet access on campus: The study found that mobile

phones were the most common mode of Internet access among participants, likely due to

the unreliability of the Internet service provided by the school's local area network.

Therefore, educational institutions should invest in providing reliable and secure Internet
 access on campus to enable students to access online resources for their academic and

non-academic activities.

3. Remove cost barriers to Internet access: The study found that the cost of Internet access

is the most significant challenge students face in accessing and using the Internet.

Educational institutions and policy makers should explore options to reduce the cost of

internet access, such as subsidies, public-private partnerships and investment in

infrastructure.

4. Encourage responsible use of the Internet: The study found that while students use the

Internet for both academic and non-academic purposes, they do not spend excessive time

online. However, educational institutions should continue to encourage responsible use of

the internet and discourage excessive use of social media and other non-academic online

activities that may interfere with academic performance.

5. Address infrastructure challenges: The study found that infrastructure challenges, such as

power supply, are also a significant barrier to internet access and use. Educational

institutions and policy makers should invest in infrastructure development to address

these challenges and ensure that students have access to reliable electricity and other

necessary infrastructure to access and use the Internet.

Suggestions for Further Studies

Based on the findings of this study, the following were suggested for further studies

1. Conduct a comparative study on the use of internet services by undergraduate students in

different universities in Nigeria to identify factors that influence internet usage and

adoption.
2. Investigate the impact of internet usage on academic performance of undergraduate

students in the University of Ilorin and other universities in Nigeria.

3. Conduct a longitudinal study to examine the trends in Internet use among undergraduate

students over a period of time to identify patterns of use and changes in behaviour.

4. Investigate the factors that affect the accessibility and availability of the internet among

students, including infrastructure, connectivity and cost.

5. Conduct a qualitative study to gain in-depth insights into how students use internet

services and how this affects their academic, social and personal lives.