Promoting university research output in Ghana through open access institutional repository

Abstract

The article focuses on awareness of institutional repository (IR), and visibility of research output through IR to enhance the visibility of university research output in higher education institutions in Ghana. One hundred and fifteen librarians were selected using a quantitative methodology. Data were collected using a questionnaire, and the results were generated using descriptive statistics. The study found out that universities in Ghana mostly relied on the “mediated-archiving” model during uploads of research output than self-archiving approach. Strategies to promote IR for its intended benefits include mandating academics and students to deposit intellectual content, linking publication metrics to academic promotions and aggressively enhancing awareness of the IR. Our paper concludes that information specialists need to be creative in sensitising researchers and the academic community regarding the visibility of their research output by using IR.