Data Management and Communication Skills as Correlates of Postgraduate Students’use of Electronic Information Resources in South East Nigeria

The increasing reliance on Electronic Information Resources (EIRs) in university libraries has made digital skills essential for effective research, yet many postgraduate students in South East Nigeria struggle to maximize these resources. The study adopted a correlational design to examine how postgraduate students’ digital skills relate to their use of electronic information resources in South East Nigerian universities. The population included 172 postgraduate Library and Information Science students from five universities, with a census sampling approach used. Data were collected via the questionnaire, validated by experts and tested for reliability. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, simple and multiple regression in SPSS 24, with significance set at p ≤ 0.05. The study examined the relationship between postgraduate students’ skills acquisition and their use of electronic information resources (EIRs) in South East Nigerian university libraries. Data management skills showed a weak positive correlation of 0.26 with EIRs (N=172). Linear regression indicated no significant relationship (R²=0.069; t=7.528; df=170; p=0.069), meaning only 6.9% of EIR use variation is explained by data management skills. Conversely, communication skills exhibited a strong positive correlation of 0.85 with EIRs (N=172). Regression results revealed a significant relationship (R²=0.729; t=22.930; df=170; p=0.001), indicating that 72.9% of EIR use variation is explained by communication skills). The study conclude that communication skills are critical for effective use of EIRs, while data management skills alone are insufficient, highlighting the need for targeted training in communication and digital literacy.