Academic Repository as Means for Successful Students Research Work

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Information managers may leverage the ever-evolving Internet platform and technical breakthroughs in the field of information management to come up with new methods to acquire, store, manage, and disseminate information (Davies, 1989). To this purpose, university libraries are always on the lookout for innovative technologies to enhance their user services. Digital repositories are a new platform that libraries are incorporating into their portals to provide extra digital materials and services. This will need extra funding and resources to complete the design and deployment of institutional repositories. Institutional repositories, often known as digital libraries, are used to deliver services that help users complete tasks by engaging with systems and observing their interactions. Users, offered material, and the system on which they are done are all important components in the scenario of such services.

Digital information resources are the most recent advancements in the field of information for academic institutions and resource centers. Bhattacharya, U. (2007) defines digital information resources as information-bearing material in digital form, which includes local and distant databases, CDs and DVDs, and electronic publications such as e-journals, e-books, and Web resources. Many academic institutions throughout the globe have used e-resources as critical infrastructure for better service delivery to their consumers. Digital libraries or repositories, is defined as “a collection of record in an arranged electronic form, available on the Internet or on CD-ROM so that they are readily available for use by academic researchers.

Digital repositories are establishing their presence in many academic and research organizations in the same way that libraries have become trademarks of a university. In universities and research institutes, it seems to be a “must have.” In a study of 1152 information professionals, 70 percent said they had built and implemented digital repositories, while 22 said they planned to do so. Since a result, it is a fact that the number of digital repositories can only grow, as many people believe that repositories are becoming more important. Digital repositories will undoubtedly become more common at African universities since they are linked to webometric rankings, which serve to raise the exposure of African institutions’ research.

DSpace (2), an open access proprietary software that is not only useful for archiving and disseminating research-related documents but also offers excellent utility features such as reuse and metadata storage that are in line with requirements for modern repository usage, is used by “UNILAG,” the University of Lagos  repository. Several approaches have been used to address this problem, with traditional studies focusing on assessing the value of information technology to the organization and the determinants of that value with the goal of helping firms “better deploy and manage their IT resources and enhance overall effectiveness.” The technique proposed by Davies (1989), to analyze the factors of IT adoption use by individual users, is of importance to this research. Delone and Mclean (1992) were forerunners in this thought, focusing on the use of utilization as a proxy metric for information system performance.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Academic institutions that provide information materials and services online to reach their growing user base wherever they are have embraced digital information resources. The services include social media such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as e-resources and digital libraries (Davies, 1989). Digital resources and digital repositories in the library realm face several obstacles. They include technological, legal, organizational, and use issues. Understanding the obstacles that users have while interacting with or utilizing digital libraries is one of the most difficult tasks.

In recent years, these concerns have emerged as key study topics. Use research is necessary to discover and assess whether different user groups are on board and able to use goods and services on an institution’s digital platform, and if usage is optimal among the communities for whom it is designed. Usage research probes current roadblocks and sheds light on the link between effectiveness, efficiency, and happiness on key user characteristics. The findings of this research will provide a solid foundation for determining the best strategy for improving access to content in a repository and overall contribution to the organization’s goals in its drive for maximum online exposure.

1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this research is to analyze academic repository as a means for successful students research work. The specific objectives are;

1.             To examine the challenges students face in using UNILAG repository.
2.             To evaluate the effect of academic repository on academic performance of the students of Lagos state University.

    iii.            To investigate the reason why students use repository for their research works.

1.             To recommend ways repositories can be improved in other for the success of a research work.

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions have been prepared for the study

1.             What are the challenges students face in using UNILAG repository?
2.             What are the effect of academic repository on academic performance of the students of Lagos state University?

    iii.            What are the reason why students use repository for their research works?

1.             What are the ways repositories can be improved in other for the success of a research work?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Research in usage of information systems are increasing over the years. This study follows this path in the desire to give insight into the usage of the digital repository by students of academic institutions and how it affects academic performance. After the results have been analyzed, conclusions will be made. These conclusions will be significant to the, Library Management, the University management and the university community at large on several issues;

1. It will inform the library management on the extent to which the digital resources on the libraries digital platforms is being utilized in the university by the various user groups.
2. The existing barriers to accessing these resources by the different user groups.
3. The study results would offer useful insight and recommendations to creators and managers of future Academic repositories being set up in the country at large and to the new area of knowledge in Nigeria.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study will examine the challenges students face in using UNILAG repository. The study will also evaluate the effect of academic repository on academic performance of the students of Lagos state University. The study will further investigate the reason why students use repository for their research works.  Lastly, the study will recommend ways repositories can be improved in other for the success of a research work. Hence this work will be delimited to UNILAG.

1.7       LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

 The researcher encountered various challenges during the research process. They included insufficient funds for stationery, transport and buying other important materials to facilitate the carrying of the study. Also shortage of time because the researcher  still has to attend lecture while still carrying out the research

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Repository: This is a place where or receptacle in which things are or may be stored.

Academic Repository: This is a specifically designed digital repository used by universities to store their documents.

Research work: creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows;

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

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