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Media Resources Availability and Utilisation for Effective Publication Output by Agricultural Researchers in Southwestern Nigeria

World Scientific
Journal of Information & Knowledge Management
Authors:
Taiwo Ogunjobi at Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria
Taiwo Ogunjobi
Fadekemi Oyewusi at University of Ibadan
Fadekemi Oyewusi
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Abstract

The study examines media resource utilisation and effective publication output by agricultural researchers in Southwestern Nigeria. The respondents consisted of agricultural researchers in agricultural research institutes in Southwest Nigeria. The descriptive survey of correlational type was used. Four hundred and sixty two copies of the questionnaire were distributed using total enumeration technique, 334 were returned representing 72.3 return rate. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistic of frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation while Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regressions were used to test the hypothesis. The result of the finding showed that the internet (Mean=3.78), Email (Mean=3.75), and laptops (Mean=3.32) were the frequently used media resources. Agricultural databases were scantly used. The result also revealed that Email and the internet were the most available media resources while AGORA, LanTEEAL and FAO publications were the most available agricultural databases. Also, some researchers (0.6%) and others (62.3%) had below four local publications while on international publications, 3% researchers had above 16 international publications and 50.6% researchers had below 6 international publications. The study further revealed that there was a positive and significant relationship between media resources utilisation and publication output of researchers (r=0.273, N=334, P<0.05). A significant relationship also exists between media resource availability and publication output and a joint relationship existed among media resource availability, media resource utilisation and publication output. The study identified poor funding, irregular electricity and inadequate electronic media resources as constraint to electronic media usage in Nigeria. Finally, the study recommends constant electricity, more funding for purchase of media and training for researchers.
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Media Resources Availability and Utilisation for
E®ective Publication Output by Agricultural
Researchers in Southwestern Nigeria
T. E. Ogunjobi
Library Information and Documentation Department
Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria
ogunjobitaiwo41@gmail.com
F. O. Oyewusi
Centre for Educational Media Resources Studies
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
fdkwusi@yahoo.com
Published 3 May 2016
Abstract. The study examines media resource utilisation and e®ective publication output by agricul-
tural researchers in Southwestern Nigeria. The respondents consisted of agricultural researchers in agri-
cultural research institutes in Southwest Nigeria. The descriptive survey of correlational type was used.
Four hundred and sixty two copies of the questionnaire were distributed using total enumeration tech-
nique, 334 were returned representing 72.3% return rate. The data collected were analysed using de-
scriptive statistic of frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation while Pearson product
moment correlation and multiple regressions were used to test the hypothesis. The result of the ¯nding
showed that the internet (Mean ¼3:78), Email (Mean ¼3:75), and laptops (Mean ¼3:32) were the
frequently used media resources. Agricultural databases were scantly used. The result also revealed that
Email and the internet were the most available media resources while AGORA, LanTEEAL and FAO
publications were the most available agricultural databases. Also, some researchers (0.6%) and others
(62.3%) had below four local publications while on international publications, 3% researchers had above
16 international publications and 50.6% researchers had below 6 international publications. The study
further revealed that there was a positive and signi¯cant relationship between media resources utilisation
and publication output of researchers (r¼0:273, N¼334, P<0:05). A signi¯cant relationship also
exists between media resource availability and publication output and a joint relationship existed among
media resource availability, media resource utilisation and publication output. The study identi¯ed poor
funding, irregular electricity and inadequate electronic media resources as constraint to electronic media
usage in Nigeria. Finally, the study recommends constant electricity, more funding for purchase of media
and training for researchers.
Keywords: Media resources availability; media resources utilisation; publication output; agricultural
researchers; Southwestern; Nigeria.
1. Introduction
Agriculture is man's oldest profession, the basis of civilisation and the engine of
economic growth. It is the source of food, a major employer particularly in devel-
oping countries, and source of raw materials for industries (Abubakar,2010). The
Journal of Information & Knowledge Management
Vol. 15, No. 2 (2016) 1650016 (20 pages)
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cWorld Scienti¯c Publishing Co.
DOI: 10.1142/S0219649216500167
May 13, 2016 6:45:24pm WSPC/188-JIKM 1650016 ISSN: 0219-6492
FA1
1650016-1
... Digital resources such as TEEAL (The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library) and AGORA (Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture) programmes were developed to bridge the digital divide between agricultural researchers in developed and developing worlds. Both programmes launched in 1999 and 2003 respectively, provide access to hundreds of thousands of digital information sources both offline and online and are made available to researchers in sub-Saharan Africa especially Nigeria (Ogunjobi and Oyewusi, 2014;Obasuyi, 2016). ...
... The success and contributions of the agricultural research institutions can be attributed to the efforts of the scientists who research into various areas of agriculture (Ogunjobi and Oyewusi, 2014). To carry out research in the NARS, qualified personnel are required. ...
... ITOCA's activities in delivering information literacy courses for academic, research and information professionals over a period of 15 years in Nigeria has been widely reported in the literature Ogunjobi and Oyewusi, 2014;Chimwaza and Chimalizeni, 2011). ...
INFLUENCE OF ATTITUDE, DEMOGRAPHICS, MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS AND PERSONALITY TRAITS ON DIGITAL RESOURCES KNOWLEDGE SHARING BEHAVIOUR AMONG AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHERS IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA
Thesis
  • Dec 2017
Digital resources knowledge sharing is pertinent to agricultural research institutions’ productivity. A deep understanding of the digital resources Knowledge Sharing Behaviour (KSB) among researchers is valuable for improving the use of digital resources, which are critical and vital, for cutting edge research in agriculture. Investments in the acquisition of digital resources - Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) and The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL) and provision of requisite knowledge for their use have not yielded the desired benefits. This is because the key factors that propel voluntary knowledge sharing among researchers are often not inputted into the selection process of the researchers to be trained. Previous studies centred on general KSB of employees in corporate and academic settings, but the digital resources KSB among researchers in agricultural institutions remain under researched. This study, therefore, investigated the frequency of knowledge sharing, aspects of knowledge shared and the influence of attitude, demographics, Motivational Factors (MFs) and Personality Traits (PTs) on digital resources KSB among agricultural researchers in Southwestern Nigeria. The study adopted survey design. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) provided the theoretical framework. Purposive sampling was used to select 14 agricultural research institutions involved in the TEEAL leadership project in Southwestern Nigeria. A total enumeration of 421 agricultural researchers who had participated in digital resources training-of-trainers workshop organised by Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA) was carried out. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to collect data about attitude (α=0.91), MFs (α=0.89), PTs (α=0.89) and KSB (α=0.82). Nine research questions were answered, and seven null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression analysis. Agricultural researchers (85.2%) shared digital resources knowledge with colleagues. Knowledge of available digital resources (x̅=3.60) was the most shared whereas, copyright and licensing (x̅=2.89) was the least shared. Researchers who shared digital resources knowledge mostly were: male (52.8%), assistant lecturer/lecturer II cadre (35.6%), with 1-6 years of work experience (46.4%) and 30-39 years old (36.1%). Attitudinal disposition of the researchers toward digital resources knowledge sharing was positive (56.0%) and knowledge self-efficacy (KSE) was high (X =7.00). Agreeableness (x̅=42.56) was the most prevalent personality trait. Digital resources KSB of the researchers was significantly related to attitude (r=0.32), years of work experience (F=4.21), MF (R2=0.09, F3,367 =12.87) and PTs (R2=0.06, F5,365=4.69). The relative contributions of PTs to KSB were: conscientiousness (β=0.12), agreeableness (β=0.08), openness (β=0.08), extraversion (β=0.03) and neuroticism (β=-0.05). Motivational factors: enjoyment in helping others (β=0.16), KSE (β=0.07) and expected rewards (β=-0.08) also contributed to the decision to share digital resources knowledge. Attitude, MFs and PTs (R²=0.13, F3,367=18.38) have joint influence on digital resources KSB with relative contributions of β=0.43, β=-0.02 and β=0.05 respectively. Positive attitude, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, high knowledge self-efficacy and enjoyment in helping others exert potent influence on digital resources knowledge sharing behaviour of agricultural researchers in Southwestern Nigeria. Agricultural institutions and their partners should endeavour to consider these factors in the recruitment criteria of researchers that would be trained to proactively share digital resources knowledge for improved research productivity and innovation.
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