Information Seeking Behaviour and Work Performance of Local Government Administrators in Niger State

Abstract

This study investigated the information seeking behaviour and work performance of local government administrators in Niger State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was used and the target population was the 275 local government administrators in the 25 local government areas in Niger State, Nigeria. 165 local government administrators from 15 local government areas in the three senatorial districts of Niger State were sampled. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Frequency and percentage distribution, mean and standard deviation and linear regression were used to analyse the data. Results showed that level of work performance of local government administrators was high at (¯x= 2.73, SD = 0.79) on a 4-point Likert scale and the level of information seeking behaviour was high with a grand mean of (¯x= 3.10, SD = 0.984) on a 4-point Likert scale. The challenges militating against work performance included lack of staff training on skills to provide quality service at (¯x= 3.41, SD = 0.854), lack of acknowledgement for work done at (¯x= 3.14, SD = 0.854) among others. Results further showed that work performance of local government administrators in Niger State, Nigeria was not significantly influenced by information seeking behaviour with (R2 = 0.014, B = 0.121, t = 1.459, p > 0.05)r. The study concluded that the high level of work performance of local government administrators in Niger State could be attributed to the high level of their information seeking behaviour. The study recommended that Local governments in Niger State should train and re-train their employees on information literacy skills so as to be able to provide more quality services.