COGNITIVE INNOVATIVE INFORMATION LITERACY COMPETENCIES REQUIRED OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SPECIALISTS FOR EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE OF SMES IN ENUGU STATE

This study investigated the cognitive innovative information literacy competencies required of information processing specialists for effective performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Enugu State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, and the population comprised 1,800 information processing specialists in registered SMEs in Enugu State. A sample size of 180 respondents was selected using stratified proportionate random sampling based on gender and years of work experience. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Cognitive Innovative Information Literacy Competencies Required of Information Processing Specialists for Effective Performance Questionnaire (CIILCRIPSEPQ), which contained 16 items in two clusters on information retrieval and information management competencies. The instrument was face-validated by three experts in the field of education, and reliability coefficients of 0.76 and 0.79 (overall 0.78) were obtained using Cronbachs alpha. Out of 180 copies administered, 171 (95%) were returned and analyzed using mean, standard deviation, independent samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA at a 0.05 level of significance.