Determinants of the quality of research outputs by librarians in selected university libraries in south east Nigeria

Josephine C Igbokwe,Fidelia Ngozi Enem,Oyemike Victor Benson

doi:10.4314/iijikm.v10i1.1

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the determinants of the quality of research outputs by librarians in university libraries from the south east of Nigeria. The survey design was adopted for the study. The population comprises librarians from 6 universities in south east. Total enumeration technique was used to cover all librarians for the study. The questionnaire was used for data collection. A total of one hundred and nine (109) copies of questionnaires were distributed to librarians in the selected library with a return rate of 69.7%. The study used descriptive statistics in analyzing data generated for the study. The result revealed that the librarians’ research skills, editors’ level of editorial competency and mentor mentee relationships of librarians are all determining factor in relation to the quality of research outputs by librarians. There is a dire need for library associations and heads of university libraries to organize seminars / workshops on research methods, this would help librarians to acquire the necessary skills required for quality research output. Also, editors in library and information science journals should come under one umbrella to enable them share their editorial experiences with other editors. The study has provided empirical evidence in research skills, editors’ competency / areas of specialization and mentor-mentee relationship as determining factor for quality of research outputs by librarians.Keywords: Research Quality, Librarians’, University Libraries, South-East, Editors’ Competency, Mentor-Mentee Relationship

Highlights

Librarians are accorded the status of academic staff in academic community
The finding indicates that inability to adopt appropriate research methods leads to poor quality of research while possessing the right research skills leads to producing quality research
The findings proved that librarians research skills influences the quality of their research outputs because the inability to adopt appropriate research methods by librarians may lead to poor quality of research where as the possession of the right research skills will lead to producing quality research

Summary

Introduction

Librarians are accorded the status of academic staff in academic community. This confers on them the responsibility of carrying out research and publishing same in reputable and peer reviewed journals. The progression of librarians in university libraries from one cadre level to another places a demand on them to have number of papers published in both local and international journals, combine with papers presented at both local and international conferences. It is worthy to point out that it is not just the number of papers published or presented that guarantees promotion but the quality. These papers are usually subjected to appraisal to ascertain the quality of such paper

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion