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INIS USER NEEDS SURVEY: RESULTS OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NUCLEAR AND ALLIED SCIENCES, GHANA

INIS USER NEEDS SURVEY: RESULTS OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NUCLEAR AND ALLIED SCIENCES, GHANA. By ELIZABETH A. AGYEMAN SENIOR LIBRARIAN/INIS LIAISON OFFICER GHANA ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION Email: e.agyeman@gaecgh.org. BACKGROUND. In 1963, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) was established

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INIS USER NEEDS SURVEY: RESULTS OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NUCLEAR AND ALLIED SCIENCES, GHANA

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  1. INIS USER NEEDS SURVEY: RESULTS OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NUCLEAR AND ALLIED SCIENCES, GHANA By ELIZABETH A. AGYEMAN SENIOR LIBRARIAN/INIS LIAISON OFFICER GHANA ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION Email: e.agyeman@gaecgh.org

  2. BACKGROUND In 1963, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) was established Functions of GAEC include development, promotion and use of peaceful application of nuclear & biotechnological techniques for development of Ghana Mission of GAEC include Development of the human resource base in nuclear science, biotechnology and related fields

  3. Background (Cont’d) School of Nuclear & Allied Sciences, Ghana • In 2006, post Graduate School of Nuclear & Allied Sciences established by GAEC in collaboration with Univ. of Ghana, with IAEA support • Aim – Enhance human resources base for peaceful use of nuclear energy in Ghana and Africa • Academic Programs - 2 - year MPhil & 3-year PhD • 5 Departments - Nuclear Engineering; Medical Physics; Nuclear Science and Applications; Nuclear Agriculture & Radiation Processing, Nuclear Safety & Security

  4. Need for the Study Response to INIS Technical Note 194 Feedback - National INIS Training Course 2007; & annual INIS awareness creation seminars, since 2006 as part of students orientation program Part of ongoing study to identify information requirements to design appropriate services to meet learning, teaching & research needs

  5. Research Questions What kind of information resources do respondents first consult when they need information for their course/research work? Which INIS subject areas are of interest to respondents? What is the level of awareness and level of use of the INIS Database? How did respondents get to know about INIS? Which version of the INIS Database do respondents prefer? What problems do respondents encounter when accessing the INIS Database? What type of document do respondents consider most useful to their course/research work? Which other free online information sources do respondents use?

  6. Methodology Survey using a single self-administered semi-structured questionnaire Population – M.Phil and PhD students of the Graduate School of Nuclear & Allied Sciences, Ghana Response rate – 76% (53 out of 70 questionnaires returned) Characteristics of respondents – Over 80% male, over 71% >31 years; 94% M.Phil students. Data analysis – SPSS

  7. Fig.1: Information Resources First Considered When Respondents Need Information for Academic Work

  8. Fig. 2: INIS Subject areas of Respondents

  9. Fig.3: Level of Awareness of INIS Database

  10. Fig.4: How Respondents Got to Know about INIS

  11. Fig.5: Level of Use of the INIS Database

  12. Fig.6: Problems Encountered When Accessing the INIS Database Lack of access to full-text journal articles cited in INIS bibliographical references Inadequate knowledge and training about INIS search strategies Unstable and slow Internet Service

  13. Fig. 7: Preferred Version of INIS Database

  14. Fig.8: Preferred Document Type

  15. Fig.9: Other Free Online Full-Test Resources Used by Respondents

  16. Conclusions • Awareness of the INIS Database is very high (96%) • Usage of the INIS Database is rather low (49%) – • lack of full-text journal articles cited in INIS, inadequate knowledge about searching INIS, and unreliable Internet service • The Internet is a major source of information to the respondents • Respondents consider scholarly journals, textbooks and theses more important to their course and research work than reports and conference papers

  17. Recommendations • INIS SECRETARIAT • Speed up process of arranging with publishers to provide links to full-text journal articles • Consider optional inclusion of Table of Contents and List of Tables and Figures of unavailable theses to ensure visibility • Develop common survey instrument for adaptation to facilitate user studies

  18. Recommendations (Ctd.) • National INIS CENTRES • Promotional activities should focus on practical sessions to develop searching skills to improve usage of INIS Database • Provide reliable and fast Internet service to facilitate access to the INIS Database • Free Online access to full-text journals initiatives should be exploited by other Developing Member States to enhance the usefulness of the INIS Database • Publish INIS studies in Journals to create awareness

  19. Thank You

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