Comparative study of ICT use by researchers in selected private universities and research institutes in Ogun and Oyo States Nigeria

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to compare ICT use by researchers in private universities and research institutes and also to determine to what extent to which the use of ICT facilities ha s impacted their research works. The study adopted the descriptive survey  design. Questionnaire was the research instrument used to elicit data from the respondents. One hundred and forty-eight copies (148) of questionnaire were administered to the researchers, (130) copies were retrieved and valid for analysis, giving a response rate of about eighty - eight percent. Retrieved questionnaire were coded and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
The analyses, revealed that the level of ICT use by researchers in universities is higher than that of researchers in research institutes due to the fact that university researchers have access to ICT facilities more than researchers in the research institutes. Some of the major factors affecting researchers’ access to ICT facilities include lack of adequate skills on ICT use, lack of finance, inaccessibility to ICT facilities among others. The study suggested that the level of ICT use by researchers in research institutes could be increased if ICT literacy education is organised for researchers, researchers are provided with adequate funds to carry out their research, electricity is improved upon and ICT savvy librarians are recruited to assist researchers who lack technical information.

Keywords: ICT, Use, Literacy, Researchers, Universities, Nigeria