): Homophily-heterophily consciousness and Staff quality as Correlates of Effective Reference Services in University Libraries of North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated if homophily-heterophily consciousness and staff quality, could correlate with effective reference services. The study made use of three objectives, three research questions and four hypotheses. It adopted the descriptive design of the correlation type which seeks to establish the relationship that exists between two or more variables. A total of 1,500 undergraduate students were selected from nine universities in North Central Nigeria using proportionate sampling technique. The research instrument was a questionnaire with three subscales which were used for data collection. They were Effective Reference Services Questionnaire (ERSQ), Homophily-Heterophily Questionnaire (HMHTQ), Staff Quality Questionnaire (SQQ). A total of 1,500 copies of the questionnaire were distributed, retrieved and found usable for analysis. A total of 1,500 copies of the questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics, while Pearson product moment correlation was used to determine the relationship between the variables, and multiple regression was used to predict or determine the effect of the independent variables to the dependent variable. All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. . The findings were that effective reference services in university libraries were not effective. The correlation coefficients between homophily-heterophily and effective reference services delivery to undergraduate students is r= 0.981 and since P < 0.05, it implies that there is significant relationship between homophily-heterophily and effective reference services delivery. The correlation coefficients between staff quality and effective reference services is r= 0.792, P= < 0.05, it implies that there is significant relationship between staff quality and effective reference services. . The significance of composite contribution of the two independent variables to the dependent variable was tested at P < 0.05 using the F- ratio at the degree of freedom(df=4/1495). The analysis of variance for the regression yielded an Fratio of 1930845.959 significant at 0.05 level of significance. Using the standardised regression coefficient to determine the relative contribution of the independent variable to the dependent variable, staff quality (B=10.820, t =64.373, P< 0.05) is the most potent contributor to the prediction, followed by homophily-heterophily (B= 0.006, t = 3.20, P < 0.05). The study concluded that all the two independent variables had significant relative contribution to the dependent variable, and then recommended that the university authorities should ensure that all the reference staff should have all the qualities of the independent variables for effective reference services delivery, as they are potent factors to consider when recruiting staff in libraries, and other service organisation.