INFLUENCE OF USE OF ACADEMIC SOCIAL MEDIA ON RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE EDUCATORS IN UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of use of academic social media (ASM) on research activities of library and information science (LIS) educators in universities in Nigeria. Seven objectives, seven research questions, and six hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study was 348 LIS educators in 37 federal, state, and private universities in Nigeria. The study adopted a multi-stage sampling procedure to select 258 LIS educators in 28 LIS schools in universities in Nigeria. The instrument for data collection was an online questionnaire. The instrument was validated by three lecturers from the Department of LIS and two lecturers from the Department of Science Education, Federal University of Technology Minna. The instrument was pre-tested using Cronbach Alpha. The instrument had the following correlation Section 1=0.708, Section 2=0.917, Section 3=0.885, Section 4=0.823, Section 5=0.924, Section six=0.978 and Section7=0.642, 0.742 and 0.611. One hundred and ninety copies of the questionnaire were returned and correctly filled. The data were analysed by the use of descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The findings revealed that Google scholar (76%) was the most utilised ASM platform and Research gate which respondents utilised weekly (42%) was the most frequently used platform. It was discovered that reviewing research literature (mean=4.08) was the major research information gathering activity undertaken by respondents on ASM platforms. ASM was found to be used for connecting with people who had similar research interests (mean=3.58). Uploading abstracts of articles (mean=3.27) was the most utilised method in disseminating research findings using ASM. The findings revealed further that citation count was a major method utilised in measuring research impact (mean=3.46). On the factors influencing ASM use, the findings revealed that respondents had a positive performance expectancy on the use of ASM in tracking scholarly impact (mean=4.31) and sharing and promoting research findings (mean=4.31). ASM use was mostly influenced by recommendations from colleagues (mean=3.91). Equally, respondents had electronic devices to utilise ASM (mean=4.18) but did not receive adequate training in its use (mean=1.98). The hypotheses testing revealed that there is a significant difference in the frequency of use of ASM by LIS educators in universities in Nigeria; there is a significant correlation between performance expectancy and the types of ASM used by respondents; there is a significant correlation between social influence and the use of ASM in research collaborative activities; there is a significant correlation between facilitating conditions and the use of ASM in disseminating research findings; facilitating conditions has a significant influence on the frequency of measuring research impact by the use of ASM and there is a significant relationship between social influence and the use of ASM in research information-gathering activities. The study concluded that the frequency of use of ASM was low which may be a result of the work overload of LIS educators in universities in Nigeria. The study recommended that LIS educators should ensure that they patronize various ASM to have access to the various services they offer in enhancing their research activities