Internet facilities: use and non-use by Nigerian university scientists

Abstract

The Internet culture is creating a new scientific communication system with new facilities that are competing with, and might replace, the present printed information sources. The use and non-use of these facilities by Nigerian academic scientists were investigated, using data collected from a survey of academic staff of selected disciplines in 10 universities. It was found that the scientists are still heavily dependent on printed information sources, especially journals, indexes and abstracts. The study reveals that 64.4% of them have a computer at their disposal, while 50.4% have access to, and are using, the Internet. Besides e-mail, very little use is made of other Internet facilities. Non-use of the Internet is attributable to problems of accessibility, ease of use and cost. Most of the non-users are aware of the information and communication potential of the Internet in their disciplines, and believe that the Internet will become indispensable in their research in the future.

Paper Versus Electronic Medical Records: The Effects of Access on Physicians' Decisions to Use Complex Information Technologies*

“…Physical therapists, in the interest of time efficiencies, tended to use the most accessible information sources. Lack of physical access to a computer terminal and the Internet were major accessibility concerns for teachers, information science scholars, librarians, and other academics (Gilmore & Hattie, 2001; Zhang, 2001; Ehikhamenor, 2003).…”

When do scientists “adopt” the Internet? Dimensions of connectivity in developing areas

“…Although our re-conceptualization of Internet adoption treats access and use as two separate but correlated dimensions, our results are consistent with Ehikhamenor's view that scientists in the developing world have limited access and use due to a variety of technical, institutional, cultural, economic, and political reasons. 27 A second important feature is the substantial discrepancy between scientists' view of themselves as Internet users and the extent to which they actually have the opportunity to use the Internet. This was indicated by what we have labeled "ready access".…”

“…In our study locations, Ehikhamenor's research on Internet use among scientists in Nigerian universities is the only empirical survey of which we are aware that examines the diffusion of ICTs in developing world scientific communities. 26,27 Scientometrics 63 (2005) this gap is partly bridged by the coping mechanism of shared computer and Internet use. But even this is misleading owing to frequent technical problems.…”

“…14,24,25 Of the few studies that have investigated the relationship between the Internet and scientific productivity, [26][27][28][29][30] few have been conducted in the developing world and virtually none have included comparisons among developing countries. In scientific communities, disparities in utilization of ICTs are presumed to lead to inequalities in access to international databases and information, 29 scholarly communication, 31 collaboration and scientific publication productivity.…”

“…In scientific communities, disparities in utilization of ICTs are presumed to lead to inequalities in access to international databases and information, 29 scholarly communication, 31 collaboration and scientific publication productivity. 27,32,33 With the exception of Ehikhamenor, 27 studies of scientific productivity have examined individual and demographic characteristics of scientists, 34-36 but do not address the question of Internet adoption directly.…”