Information Seeking Behavior Of The Clergy
A Study Of Parish Pastors In Redeemed Christian Church Of God In Agbarho, Delta State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2024.vol9.3.383Abstract
This study examines the information-seeking behavior of the clergy using parish pastors in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Agbarho community in Delta State as a case study. The study seeks to identify the information needs, the sources of information, the purpose of the use of information, and the challenges to information seeking among RCCG parish pastors in Agbarho. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The total population for the study comprises 44 parish pastors of the RCCG in two Zones of RCCG Delta Province 4 in Agbarho Community. The entire population was used as a sample using the total enumeration sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The data collected for this study were analyzed using simple percentage/frequency counts. The study found that RCCG pastors in Agbarho need and use the information for several issues such as sermon preparation, personal and church growth, church administration, evangelism, conflict resolution, meetings/programs, and personal/members’ welfare among others. They get the information they need from formal sources such as the Bible, books including all RCCG publications such as Open Heavens and Sunday school manuals, magazines (RCCG Bulletins), etc. Also, RCCG pastors in Agbarho community, Delta State, Nigeria also gets information from informal sources such as senior pastors, colleagues, friends in the ministry, church members, and family among others. In their effort to seek information, RCCG pastors in Agbarho community, Delta State, Nigeria faces some challenges such as limited financial resources, lack of access to ICT facilities, language barriers, information overload, time factor, and poor awareness of information sources. The study recommends that the RCCG authorities in conjunction with other churches and community leaders should establish and equip a library in every community where they are present as a way of advancing their Christian Social Responsibilities (CSR) as this will allow their pastors to have access to free and timely information among others.
Downloads
References
Ali, A., & Jan, S. (2020). Information seeking behaviour in digital environment: A study of Post Graduate Students at University of Kashmir. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 4537. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/4537
Case, D. O. (2006). Looking for information: a survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behaviour, (2nd ed). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.
Dankasa, J. (2015). Information seeking behavior of clergy: The research, the results, and the future. Journal of Religious & Theological Information, 14(1-2), 13-29.
Earls, A. (2022). U.S. Pastors identify their greatest needs https://research.lifeway.com/2022/01/11/u-s-pastors-identify-theirgreatestneeds/?sfw=pass1683805908
Harper, D. (2010). Online etymology dictionary. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pastor
Hayden, K. A. (2011). Information-seeking models. http://people.ucalgary.ca/-ahayden/seeking.html
Hussain, F., & Hussain, M. (2021). Information needs and sources of clergy: A systematic literature review. https://journal.aladwajournal.com/index.php/aladwa/article/view/430
Matsveru, D. (2013). Information needs and information-seeking behavior of Namibian pastors (Masters). University of Namibia. https://repository.unam.na/handle/11070/363
Perley, C. M., Gentry, C. A., Fleming, A. S., & Sein, K. M. (2007). Conducting user-centered information needs assessment: The Via Christi Libraries’ experience. Journal of the Medical Library Associations, 95(2), 173-181.
Phabha, C., Connaway, L., & Olszewski, L. (2007). What is enough? Satisfying information needs. Journal of Documentation, 63(1), 74-89.
Sultana, A., & Ayesha, T. S. (2016). Information-seeking behaviour of academics of Maulana Azad National Urdu University in the Digital Environment. In S. &. Dhanavandan. Transition in librarianship, 245-252.
Tubachi, P. S. (2018). Information seeking behavior: An overview. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Padmavati_Tubachi/publication/330521546_INFORMATION_SEEKING_BEHAVIOR_AN_OVERVIEW/links/5ca0f069299bf111695472f4/INFORMATION-SEEKING-BEHAVIOR-AN-OVERVIEW
Vocabulary.Com. (2023). Other forms: Clergies. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/clergy
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 International Journal of Librarianship
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and the initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
