Awareness and Use of Institutional Repository by Academic Staff in Nigerian Universities: A Survey of Universities in Oyo and Osun States

Abstract

Institutional repositories offer numerous advantages to academic staff as it provides access to
local contents capable of enhancing their research and also offer the opportunity to make
research works available to the global community. However, available evidence suggests a low
level of institutional repository use among academic staff in Nigerian universities. This study
examines the role of multidimensional awareness on the use of institutional repositories. The
study adopts a survey research method. The study population is made up of academic staff from
Universities in Oyo and Osun state. A multistage sampling procedure is adopted to select 235
lecturers. The research instrument is a structured questionnaire adapted from the Endsley’s
Situational Awareness Theory (SAT). Data collected was analysed using both descriptive and
inferential statistics. The results showed that while there is a high level of perception among
the respondents, majority of the respondents’ demonstrated low level comprehension and
projection two elements critical to the understanding of the true essence of institutional
repositories. In addition, the test of hypothesis revealed that awareness has a significant
influence on the use of institutional repositories among the respondents. The study concluded
that, without raising full awareness about the mission and functions of institutional repositories,
Nigerian tertiary institution and their staff will continue to miss out on the benefits of using
institutional repositories. It was therefore recommended that institutional repository awareness
programs should be practical oriented.