TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of Reference Management Software among Students
T2 - Experiences from Ghana’s Technical Universities
AU - Buadi, Donus W.
AU - Ocloo, Patience Emefa Dzandza
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© (2023), (Regional Inform. Center for Sci. and Technol.). All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The study sought to assess the use of reference management software among final year students at technical universities in Ghana. Further, it sought to determine the role of training and support in using Reference Management Software in the two technical universities selected for the study. The explanatory sequential design was used for this study. Data was collected purposively from Accra Technical University, and convenience sampling was used for Takoradi Technical University. 210 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to final-year Bachelor of Technology students from both universities. Interviews were conducted with six information literacy instructors in both institutions. From the findings, Mendeley was the most used Reference Management Software among students of the two universities; Accra Technical University students were more aware of Reference Management Software than Takoradi Technical University students; Accra Technical University students used Reference Management Software more and were more confident in its usage than Takoradi Technical University students; but had challenges that were more fundamental than Takoradi Technical University such as inadequate basic infrastructure for training and support. From the results, training, and support rendered to students in Accra Technical University had a bearing on their awareness and usage of Reference Management Software. Thus, it was recommended that training time be extended to make enough room for practical sessions for students to grasp Reference Management Software.
AB - The study sought to assess the use of reference management software among final year students at technical universities in Ghana. Further, it sought to determine the role of training and support in using Reference Management Software in the two technical universities selected for the study. The explanatory sequential design was used for this study. Data was collected purposively from Accra Technical University, and convenience sampling was used for Takoradi Technical University. 210 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to final-year Bachelor of Technology students from both universities. Interviews were conducted with six information literacy instructors in both institutions. From the findings, Mendeley was the most used Reference Management Software among students of the two universities; Accra Technical University students were more aware of Reference Management Software than Takoradi Technical University students; Accra Technical University students used Reference Management Software more and were more confident in its usage than Takoradi Technical University students; but had challenges that were more fundamental than Takoradi Technical University such as inadequate basic infrastructure for training and support. From the results, training, and support rendered to students in Accra Technical University had a bearing on their awareness and usage of Reference Management Software. Thus, it was recommended that training time be extended to make enough room for practical sessions for students to grasp Reference Management Software.
KW - Academic Libraries
KW - Ghana
KW - Library Services
KW - Reference Management Software
KW - Technical Universities
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199292794&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.22034/ijism.2024.2008451.1198
DO - 10.22034/ijism.2024.2008451.1198
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85199292794
SN - 2008-8302
VL - 22
SP - 177
EP - 196
JO - International Journal of Information Science and Management
JF - International Journal of Information Science and Management
IS - 3
ER -