ADOPTION OF INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORIES AND ACADEMIC SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR WEB VISIBILITY BY LIS ACADEMICS IN NIGERIA
Abstract
This study examines the adoption patterns, motivating factors, and barriers associated with the use of IRs and ASNs among LIS academics. A quantitative survey approach was employed to collect data from 311 respondents using a 4-point Likert scale. The findings reveal strong adoption rates across all measured indicators with means ranging from 3.15 to 3.52. Participants demonstrated high engagement in depositing publications in institutional repositories (M = 3.52) and recognised significant improvements in web visibility through these platforms (M = 3.44). The study identified pragmatic motivations as primary drivers, with making research discoverable (M = 3.52) and compliance with institutional mandates (M = 3.48) scoring highest, while altruistic motivators, such as global knowledge sharing, were notably rejected (M = 2.03). Infrastructure challenges emerged as the most significant barriers to adoption, with poor internet connectivity scoring highest (M = 3.65), followed by time constraints and heavy workloads (M = 3.58). Interestingly, technological barriers such as complex user interfaces (M = 2.44) and resistance to change from traditional practices (M = 2.41) were not considered major obstacles, suggesting that adequate infrastructure and institutional support provide high user acceptance of these platforms. The research concludes that successful IR and ASN adoption depends primarily on addressing infrastructure limitations and providing strong institutional support rather than focusing on user interface improvements or change management initiatives
Keywords:
Institutional repositories, academic social networks, research visibility, digital infrastructure, academic libraries, scholarly communication, technology adoption.Downloads
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Copyright (c) 2025 David Oguche, Rose Eze , Aishat Joyce Egbunu (Ph.D)
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