Gender Differences in Awareness and Use of ChatGPT Among Undergraduate E-Library Users at Hensard University, Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined gender differences in awareness and use of ChatGPT among undergraduate e-library users at HENSARD University, Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted. Of a population of 350 undergraduates, 78 students encountered in the e library were selected through availability-based purposive sampling; 75 valid questionnaires were analyzed (96.2% response rate), comprising 33 males (44.0%) and 42 females (56.0%). Data were collected with a structured questionnaire and analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean scores, an independent-samples t-test, and Pearson product–moment correlation. Based on the displayed group summary statistics, awareness scores did not differ significantly by gender, t(73) = -1.28, p = .204, mean difference = -0.15, 95% CI [-0.38, 0.08], Cohen’s d = -0.30. Use scores also did not differ significantly, t(73) = -0.38, p = .706, mean difference = -0.05, 95% CI [-0.31, 0.21], Cohen’s d = -0.09. Awareness was strongly and positively correlated with use, r = .72, p < .001. Students reported high to very high levels of awareness and use, with the five-item use scale producing a grand mean of 4.21 on a five-point scale. The main reported purpose was assignment completion (77.3%). Students also reported very positive perceptions of ChatGPT’s ease of use and usefulness. The principal limitations are the small, single-institution sample, availability-based purposive sampling, self-reported data, and the cross-sectional design, which limits generalizability and does not permit causal conclusions.