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