ABSTRACT
The study was carried out to ascertain the awareness and utilization of open-access institutional repositories (OAIRs) for research by academic staff of universities in South-east Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted in carrying out the study. Six research questions were answered, while six hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of this study consisted of 1,100 academic staff of faculties of education in all federal and state universities in south east Nigeria. The sample for the study was 220 academic staff representing 20% of the population. The instruments for data collection were structured questionnaire and interview schedule. The instruments were content and face-validated by experts. The reliability of the instrument was realized using Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability technique which yielded reliability coefficient of 0.80. Out of the 220 copies of the questionnaire administered, 180 copies were completely filled and returned representing 81.8% rate of return. Data collected for this study were analyzed using frequency, percentages, charts and mean for answering the research questions, while the hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data collected and analysed, the study found that the level of awareness of OAIRs among academic staff in universities in South-east Nigeria is considerably low and that the channels through which the academic staff becomes aware of OAIRs ranges from self-exploration o the internet, discussions with colleagues, attendance to conferences, participating in workshops/seminars to through the libraries/librarians. In addition, the study identified ten purposes of utilizing OAIRs for research which includes greater access to literature for research works, permanent archiving of research output, research publications, increase in the impact of research works, general knowledge update among others. The study also revealed that the extent to which OAIRs are being utilized for research by academic staff in universities in South-east Nigeria is considerably low. The study also identified thirteen factors affecting the utilization of OAIRs for research to include but not limited to low level of awareness of OAIRs, poor ICT infrastructure, lack of advocacy and sensitization to adopt OAIRs, inadequate funding, lack of ICT skills and high cost of internet subscription charge. Twelve strategies for improving the utilization of OAIRs for research by the academic staff in universities in South-east Nigeria were also discovered to include creation of awareness, adequate funding for building and upgrading ICT infrastructure by the institution, training and retraining of academic staff, provision of advocacy and sensitization of the academic staff to adopt OAIRs, provision of adequate ICT infrastructure among others. Findings on the hypotheses tested revealed that there were no significant differences in the mean ratings of the responses of academic staff in Federal and State universities on the six hypotheses tested in the study. Based on the findings, the study therefore reccomended that: there should be increased awareness creation on the benefits and significance of OAIRs for research purposes in Nigerian tertiary institutions through provision of adequate facilities and capacity building to train and retain academic staff of universities.
TABLE OF CONTNETS
Title page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of contents vi
List of Tables x
List of figures xii
Abstract xiii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem 6
1.3 Purpose
of the Study 7
1.4 Research
Questions 7
1.5 Hypotheses 8
1.6 Significance
of the Study 9
1.7 Scope
of the Study 10
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW
OF RELATED LITERATURE AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Conceptual
Framework 12
2.1.1 Concept
of open-access 12
2.1.2 Concept
of institutional repositories 15
2.1.3 Concept
of open-access institutional repositories 16
2.1.4 Concept
of academic staff 18
2.1.5 Concept
of awareness 20
2.1.6
Levels of awareness of open-access
institutional repositories 21
2.1.7
Channels of awareness of open-access
institutional repositories 23
2.1.8 Concept
of utilization 24
2.1.9 Purpose
of utilizing open-access institutional repositories for research 26
2.1.10 Extent of utilization of open-access institutional repositories 29
2.1.11 Factors
affecting utilization of open-access institutional repositories for
research 31
2.1.12 Strategies
to improving the utilization of open-access institutional
repositories for research 32
2.2 Theoretical
Framework 35
2.2.1 Diffusion
of innovations theory 34
2.2.2 Social
exchange theory 37
2.2.3 Drive–reduction theory 37
2.3 Review
of Empirical Studies 38
2.4 Summary
of Literature Review 53
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Design
of the Study 56
3.2 Area
of the Study 56
3.3 Population
of the Study 57
3.4 Sample
and Sampling Techniques 58
3.5 Instruments
for Data Collection 59
3.6 Validation
of Instrument 60
3.7 Reliability
of the Instrument 60
3.8 Method
of Data Collection 61
3.9 Method of Data Analysis 61
CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
4.1 Result
Presentation 63
4.2 Major
Findings of the Study 86
4.3 Discussion of Findings 88
4.3.1 Level of
awareness of OAIRs 88
4.3.2 Channels
of awareness of OAIRs 89
4.3.3 Purposes
of utilizing OAIRs for research 90
4.3.4 Extent
of utilization of OAIRs for research 90
4.3.5 Factors
affecting the utilization of OAIRS for research 93
4.3.6 Strategies
for improving the utilization of OAIRs for research 94
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION,
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 96
5.2 Conclusion
97
5.3 Implications
of the Findings 98
5.4 Limitations of the Study 99
5.5 Recommendations 99
5.6 Suggestions
for Future Study 100
REFERENCES 102
APPENDICES
LIST OF TABLES
4.1: Frequency and percentage distribution of
the respondents by gender 63
4.2: Frequency and percentage distribution of
the respondents by age bracket 64
4.3: Frequency and percentage distribution of
the respondents by qualification 66
4.4: Frequency and percentage distribution of
the respondents by academic
rank 67
4.5: Frequency and percentage distribution of
the respondents by working
experience 68
4.6: Mean ratings of academic staff on their level
of awareness of OAIRs in
Universities in South-East Nigeria 69
4.7: Pearson product moment correlation
analysis of the significant
relationship between awareness and
utilization of OAIRs for research
by academic staff of Universities in
South-east Nigeria 71
4.8: Mean Ratings of academic staff on
different channels through which
they become Aware of OAIRs in
universities in South-East Nigeria 72
4.9: Result of t-test statistics of the mean
ratings of the responses of
academic staff of federal and state
Universities on the level of
awareness of OAIRs 73
4.10: Mean ratings of academic staff on purposes
of utilizing OAIRs
for research in universities in
South-East Nigeria 75
4.11: Result of t-test statistics of the mean ratings
of the responses of
academic staff of federal and state
universities on purpose of
OAIRs utilization 76
4.12: Mean ratings of academic staff on their
extent of Utilization of OAIRs
for research in universities in
South-East Nigeria 78
4.13: Result of t-test statistics of the mean
ratings of the responses of
academic staff of federal and state
universities on extent of utilization
OAIRs 80
4.14: Mean ratings of academic staff on factors
affecting the utilization of
OAIRs for research in universities
in South-east Nigeria 81
4.15: Result of t-test statistics of the mean
ratings of the responses of
academic staff of federal and State
Universities on factors affecting the
utilization of OAIRs 82
4.16: Mean ratings of academic staff on strategies
for improving the
utilization of OAIRS for research in
universities in South-east Nigeria
84
4.17: Result of t-test statistics of the mean
ratings of the responses of
academic staff of federal and state
universities on strategies for
enhancing the utilization of OAIRs
for Research 85
LIST OF FIGURES
4.1: Pie chart of gender
distribution of the respondents 64
4.2: Bar chart of age distribution
of the respondents 65
4.3: Pie chart of academic
qualification distribution of the
respondents 66
4.4: Bar chart of academic ranks
distribution of the respondents 67
4.5: Bar chart of work experience
distribution of the respondents 68
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The arrival of Information Communication Technologies
(ICTs) brought great revolution in almost every sphere of human endeavour of
which scholarly communication is not an exception. It considerably transformed
the entire scholarly communication environment by providing renowned means of
carrying out research, disseminating and preserving research outputs in digital
form thereby bringing increased access to varied information, with greater
speed and connectivity, intense collaboration, diversity in documentation
formats and multiplicity of dissemination platforms (Phelps, 1998).
Men from time immemorial have assiduously sought ways
of communicating to each other as it helps them to inform, motivate, establish
authority and control and also allows for emotive expression which is vital for
creating a sense of social cohesion (Suber, 2003). According to Fernandez,
(2006), just as mankind has evolved over the centuries, our means of
communication have followed suit. What began as primitive cave paintings and
sign languages has metamorphosed into an endless variety of ways to express
oneself to other humans. The academic staff are not left out as they dominate
the world of scholarly communication today.
The academic staff, according to Echezona and Ogwu
(2010) are selected set of men and women who are highly talented either by
nature or nurture to dedicate their lives to the teaching and learning. They
are the life blood of every academic institution as they play a major role in
actualization of the institution’s mission, vision and set goals (JNTUH, 2005).
Akrami (2006) quoted in Echezona and Ogwu, (2010) stated that the academic
staff are assigned with basic roles and responsibilities in the universities
which include:
v To
promote inquiry and advance the sum of human knowledge,
v To
provide general instructions and guidance to students for further readings
v To
live and interact with colleagues and others in the academic community
v To
make direct contribution towards providing solutions to various practical
national problems and
v To
develop experts for various branches of the public services.
Summarily,
these men are required to encourage the advancement and pursuit of learning in
all its branches through study, teaching, community services and researches. Research, in general, has to do with any enquiry into
the unknown. It is the search for solutions to problems or answers to
questions. Hey (2014) sees research as any gathering of data, information and
facts for the advancement of knowledge. Pickton and Cliff (2007) also stated
that research is a process or steps used to collect and analyse information to
increase our understanding of a topic or issue. Going by this, many activities
of the individual can be described as research in a sense. Hey (2014) captured research
to generally consist of three steps: Pose a question, collect data to answer
the question and present an answer to the question.
As
people who carry out research, the academic staff need to publish and preserve
their research reports. Peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings have
traditionally been the media the academic staff use to publish their research
work (Lyman & Chodorow, 2008). These traditional methods of publishing have
been observed to be limited in some ways which range from high cost of journal
subscription, high cost of management, limited readership to limited visibility,
which at the end of the day affect effective scholarly communication (Reid,
2008).
Developments in ICT brought great changes in academic
publishing and communication in general. ICT unlocked a new outlook known as
open-access (OA) initiative to publishing, which promises to be tremendously beneficial
to researchers, particularly to those who have severe financial constraint and
are unable to purchase scholarly literature (Bjork, 2004).
OA by definition, is a method of publishing that seeks
to provide free access to the scientific and scholarly research works online
with the help of world wide web (www) with no payment; enabling users to study,
download when necessary, copy or print, search or even link to full versions of
articles online without financial, legal or technical barriers (Budapest
Open-Access Initiative, 2002). It is revealed in the work of Suber (2006) that
the open-access initiative gave birth to open-access journals (OAJs) and
open-access institutional repositories (OAIRs).
In the simplest terms, Lynch (2008) described
institutional repository (IR) as an electronic records of the technical and intellectual
outputs of an institution, which have been stored in a searchable digital
format, to be retrieved for later use internally, nationally or
internationally. Open-access institutional repositories therefore operate by
centralizing and preserving the knowledge of an academic institution such as a
university and making them available online to interested users without any
legal, technical and financial barriers (Harnad, 2008). There are many reasons
for doing this; one of which is that it accelerates research as it serves as a
major tool for showcasing academic works thereby enriching education, ensuring
quality preservation of research outputs and enhancing greater visibility of
researchers and the institution as a whole. This is captured in the work of Harnad,
(2003) and Lercher, (2008) who stated that OAIRs benefit researchers,
institutions, nations and society as a whole as it manages cost and provides
access to intellectual output in different fields online thereby bringing
greater visibility, usage and impact for the researcher’s works.
OAIRs unbundle the principal functions of scholarly
communication, thus presenting the potentials previously hidden by the
traditional print method of publishing. According to Connel (2011), OAIRs not
only facilitate research and data management, but also help in monitoring of
achievement through learning outcome. It
has also greatly assisted in carrying out a high-quality study and easy distribution
of information and opened up many potentials for doing resource sharing at
local and global levels. The benefits of OAIRs to the academic staff is limitless as it has reduced to the barest
minimum the stress and strain they pass through in their bid to disseminate and
preserve their research works (Cullen & Brenda, 2010).
Assessing the level of awareness and utilization of
OAIRs by the academic staff is paramount in order to ascertain their stake
especially at this digitized era. Schnidt
(2002),
defines awareness as an individual realization of impacts that is, the
connection between an action or event and the impact. It was gotten from
literature that one could become aware through different means, which ranges
from friends, colleagues, formal education, training, conferences and workshops
among others (Creaser, 2010). PCE Systems (2012) equally states that awareness
has the tendency of influencing utilization greatly, noting that as one’s awareness
grows; it allows one to draw better and quicker connections to the impacts of
the event thereby enforcing maximum utilization.
The term, utilization is defined by Alemayehu
(2010), as the act of using something for a particular
purpose. Therefore, for this study utilization could be seen as the extent the
academic staff make use of OAIRs in carrying out their research activities.
The idea of OAIRs has grown, taken shape and
strengthened to become recognized as the critical tool for information
management and dissemination in the twenty-first century. Duranceau (2008)
stated that though it promises new ways to promote scholarly communication,
research has it that academic staff’s reaction to it has been mixed. Some have
embraced the platform with unbridled enthusiasm while others have held it at
arm's length with a healthy skepticism because of anticipated barriers. According
to Johnson (2008), there are both perpetual and practical barriers to OAIRs
utilization. Perpetual barriers can include concerns about intellectual
property rights, specifically copyright, worries about quality control and peer
review and the amount of time it will take in accessing information.
Van and Lynch (2005) in support of the above statement
also identified that confusion and uncertainty about intellectual property
issues; scholarly credit and how the material in OAIRs would be used; the
perception of OAIRs content being of low quality among others could be adduced
for lack of academic staff enthusiasm in utilizing OAIRs. Ware (2004) argues
that cultural rather than technological factors limit the utilization of OAIRs.
He suggests that ingrained behaviors, inertia, indifference and resistance to
change hamper the utilization of OAIRs. From the foregoing, this work,
therefore, seeks to determine the level of academic staff awareness and
utilization of OAIRs for research by academic staff of universities in
South-east Nigeria in recognition of its great impact in information
dissemination, management and the actualization of the academic mission,
vision, values and set goals.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
OAIRs are important research resource for all cadres
of academic institutions. They are becoming the tools for promoting academic
research work by centralizing, preserving and disseminating knowledge generated
by the academic institutions. Crow (2002) posits that OAIR is now regarded by
many institutions as a new and important platform in academic environment as it
increases access to information of all kinds, with greater speed and
connectivity, intense collaboration and provision of varieties of publications
thereby increasing the visibility and impact of research output, improving the
internal communication within the university and serving as a tangible
indicator of a university’s quality preservation and dissemination of research
output. On the other hand, lack of awareness and utilization of OAIRs makes an
institution and a researcher less visible and viable, as they tend to
experience limitations in information availability and access, dissemination,
collaboration and in quality preservation of their research outputs.
Personal observations as well as interaction with the
academic staff of most Southeastern Nigeria universities have revealed that
they don’t make equitable use of OAIRs for research as majority of them still
make use of alternative to OAIRs, such as their personal web pages and
traditional print publications, which tends to make them less competitive and
putting their academic mission in a bad light. It was based on this background
that the researcher deemed it fit to carry out a study on the awareness and
utilization of open-access institutional repositories for research by academic
staff of universities in South-east, Nigeria.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study was to ascertain the
awareness and utilization of OAIRs for research by academic staff of
universities in South-east Nigeria. Specifically, the study:
1. examined
the level of awareness of OAIRs for research by academic staff of universities
in South-east Nigeria.
2. identified
the different channels through which the academic staff became aware of OAIRs
in universities in South-east Nigeria.
3. ascertained
the purposes of utilizing OAIRs for research by academic staff of universities
in South-east Nigeria.
4. determined
the extent of utilization of OAIRs for
research by academic staff of universities in South-east Nigeria.
5. found
out the factors affecting the utilization of OAIRs for research by academic
staff of universities in South-east Nigeria.
6. identified
strategies for improving the utilization of OAIRs for research by academic
staff of universities in South-east Nigeria.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions were answered in this
study:
1. To
what level are the academic staff aware of OAIRs in universities in South-east
Nigeria?
2. What
are the different channels through which the academic staff become aware of
OAIRs in universities in South-east Nigeria?
3. What
are the purposes of utilizing OAIRs for research by academic staff in
universities in South-east Nigeria?
4. To
what extent are OAIRs utilized for research by academic staff in universities
in South-east Nigeria?
5. What
are the factors affecting the utilization of OAIRs for research by the academic
staff in universities in South-east Nigeria?
6. What
are the strategies for improving the utilization of OAIRs for research by the
academic staff in universities in South-east Nigeria?
1.5 HYPOTHESES
The following null hypotheses were formulated and
tested at 0.05 level of significance.
Ho1: There is no
significant difference between the mean ratings of academic staff in federal
and state universities on the level to which the academic staff are aware of
OAIRs in universities in South-east Nigeria.
Ho2: There is no
significant difference between the mean ratings of academic staff in federal
and state universities on the different channels through which the academic
staff become aware of OAIRs in universities in South-east Nigeria.
Ho3: There is no
significant difference between the mean ratings of academic staff in federal
and state universities on the purposes of utilizing OAIRs for research by
academic staff in universities in South-east Nigeria.
Ho4: There
is no significant difference between the mean ratings of academic staff in
federal and state universities on the extent to which OAIRs are been utilized
for research by academic staff in universities in South-east Nigeria.
Ho5: There is no
significant difference between the mean ratings of academic staff in federal
and state universities on the factors affecting the utilization of OAIRs for
research by the academic staff in universities in South-east Nigeria.
Ho6: There is no
significant difference between the mean ratings of academic staff in federal
and state universities on the strategies for improving the utilization of OAIRs
for research by the academic staff in universities in South-east Nigeria.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The result of the study may be of great benefits to
the following groups of people: academic staff, university management, library
administrators, library staff, and Library and Information Science as a
profession as well as other researchers. It is anticipated that the study would
bring to light the benefits of OAIRs to the academic staff and may also change
their negative perceptions towards the platform and equally enhance their
maximum utilization of OAIRs for research and for other information needs.
It is anticipated that an understanding of academic
staff usage of OAIRs would aid university library administrators in developing
repository submission policies and processes that suit the academic staff and
in so doing, encourage their collaboration in the ongoing development of
repository collections.
Similarly this work would help the library staff in
general because the application of the findings of this research in their
library operations may not only accommodate an increased workload but also
achieve greater efficiency, increase the range of services offered and more
especially introduce new services and functions into their libraries.
The findings of this research would be found useful in
repackaging programmes for enhancing the awareness of OAIRs among academic
staff, which may improve their utilization for research and in turn lead to
effectiveness and efficiency in their academic career.
The findings of the study would equally bring to
limelight the factors that discourage the academic staff from using the OAIR of
the university, which is essential for any institution or organization
undergoing the course of establishing institutional repository to be aware of
in order to be on a better footing for effective implementation.
Similarly, the finding of this work would aid the
university management (and the institution at large) to embrace this new
platform thereby giving impact to their scholarly output, making them more
visible and viable to the world.
The work would no doubt add to the existing literature
in the area of library and information science profession thereby giving other
researchers the opportunity to benefit maximally from the work. Finally the
finding of this study may give more insight to further research work in
open-access institutional repositories.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This work dealt specifically with open-access
institutional repositories. The work was delimited to awareness and utilization
of OAIRs for research by the academic staff in universities in South-east
Nigeria with respect to their level of awareness of OAIRs, different channel
through which they become aware of the OAIRs, their purpose of utilizing OAIRs
for research, their extent of utilization
of OAIRs for research, factors affecting their utilization of OAIRs for
research and strategies for improving their utilization of OAIRs for research
in universities in South-east Nigeria, using Federal and State Universities in
South-East Nigeria as the population. The
universities include: University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Federal University, Ndufu-
Alike, Ikwo; NnamdikiAzikiwe University, Awka; Michael Okpara University of
Agriculture, Umudike; Abia State University, Uturu; Anambra State University,
Uli; Enugu State University of Technology, Enugu; Ebonyi State University,
Abakiliki; and Imo State University, Owerri. The
study comprises all the academic staff in the Faculty of Education in all the
federal and state universities.
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