Lecturers’ Level of Knowledge and Challenges to the Use of Online Access to Research in Environment (OARE) Database in Federal Universities, in South East Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose – The paper examined lecturers’ level of knowledge and challenges to the use of Online Access to Research in Environment (OARE) database in Federal Universities, in South East Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – The design adopted for the study was the descriptive survey design. This research was done in Federal Universities in South East of Nigeria. The population of the study is 185 comprising all the environmental science lecturers in Federal Universities in South East Nigeria. The data was collected using self-design questionnaire titled “Online Access to Research in Environment Knowledge Test (OAREKT)” and structured questionnaire titled “OARE Use Challenges by Environmental Science Lecturers Questionnaire (OUCESLQ). 185 copies of questionnaire were distributed, while 160 were correctly filled and used for data analysis. The knowledge tests were given to 70 senior lecturers and 90 junior lecturers. Percentages, and arithmetic mean were used to analyze data obtained from the achievement test to answer research question number one for both the junior and senior lecturers; arithmetic mean was used to answer research questions two for the challenges to the use of OARE; while the hypotheses were tested using the Two Independent Samples T-Test for comparing the means. Findings- The lecturers understood the meaning of OARE, the use process of OARE, and the requirements of OARE, hence are knowledgeable. Concerning the ranks, the findings also revealed that the junior environmental science lecturers were more knowledgeable of OARE, as they understood more, the meaning of OARE than their senior counterpart; Internet issues in their universities, power outages, need to filter results from OARE database, and lack of time due to tight academic task limits the lecturers’ use of OARE database. There is also a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of senior and junior lecturers on their level of knowledge of OARE in Federal Universities in South East Nigeria. Originality/value – Research studies centring on lecturers’ level of knowledge and challenges to the use of Online Access to Research in Environment (OARE) database in Nigerian federal universities. The research will test the lecturers’ knowledge on OARE use, seek their challenges, and prove if there is a significant difference between the OARE knowledge of senior lecturers and junior lecturers in environmental science.