Perception and attitude of postgraduate students on institutional repositories: case of St. Paul's University in Limuru Kenya

Abstract

Increased research output in academic institutions has lead to generation of lots of research content, thus bringing about issues on shortage and preservation of the research content, this has led to establishment of institutional repositories by institutions of higher learning. The aim of this study will be to establish the perception and attitude of postgraduate students of St Paul's University Limuru Campus towards use of IRs. The study will be guided by the following objectives: to assess use of IRs by postgraduate students, establish users' perception and attitude on access ofthe content in the IR, to evaluate the perception and attitudes of users on usability of the IRs and to determine the challenges facing use of IRs at St Paul's University. The target population will be 80 .respondents who comprise masters students from different courses offered, PhD students and library staff. The study will use interviews and observation to collect data. The researcher will interview the Iibrarian and library staff in charge of the repository. Data collected will be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitative data will be presented in summary, prose and by precise discussion while quantitative data will be presented using percentages, pie charts and bar-graphs. The study will evaluate the general perception of the postgraduate students and measures put in place to ensure that the IRs are constantly updated and accessible to users. Relevant conclusions and recommendations will be drawn according to the data collected and analyzed.