Awareness Of Open Access Scholarly Publication Among Lecturers In University Of Benin, Benin City In Edo State, Nigeria
Keywords:
institutional repository, publishing, scholarly communication, Open accessAbstract
This study investigated the awareness of Open Access Scholarly Publication among
Lecturers in the University of Benin in Edo State, Nigeria. Six research questions
were raised. The descriptive research design was employed for the study. The
population for the study consists of the lecturers of the University of Benin in
Edo State. A sample of 70 lectures were randomly selected in the University of
Benin Main Library. The structured questionnaire entitled Open Access and
Scholarly Publishing Questionnaire (OASPQ) was the instrument used for data
collection. Frequency count and simple percentage were used to analyze the data.
The study found that the lecturers of the University of Benin were aware of open
access scholarly publication and that the main channel through which they became
aware was through their colleagues. Increased impact and free online access are
some of the advantages of open access to the respondents. However, unstable
power supply and unavailability of internet facilities were some of the constraints
encountered. Provision of constant power supply and the establishment of
institutional repositories were some of the strategies suggested to enhance Open
Access for scholarly publications. It therefore recommends that constant power
supply and establishment of institutional repositories should be provided by the
University management so as to enhance open access of scholarly publishing to
the development of scholarship among its lecturers.
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