Demographic and technological influences on students’ search self-efficacy and skills

This study examined the influence of demographic characteristics and technological skills on students’ perceived search self-efficacy and their actual search performance. A printed questionnaire was used to collect data on students’ demographic backgrounds and technological skills, search self-efficacy, and search performance on a set of task-based questions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic data and technological skills, self-efficacy levels, and task performance scores, while inferential statistics were conducted to compare the self-efficacy and task performance scores across the groups. Additionally, Pearson's correlation was used to examine the relationships between various aspects of search self-efficacy and total task scores. The findings revealed that while students exhibited moderate search self-efficacy, they performed poorly on task-based questions. Significant differences in self-efficacy and task performance were observed based on demographic backgrounds and technological skill levels. Pearson's correlation identified weak but significant positive relationships between search self-efficacy and task scores, and strong positive correlations among the self-efficacy measures.