Guidelines for the Library to effectively support eResearch Activities at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

[摘要] eResearch, a term used in the international academic community since the early 2000sfacilitates scholarly collaborative and interactive research by providing access to shareddata, institutional repositories, research tools and services through the internet. eResearchinitiatives are globally allowing researchers to collaborate using ICT.This paper will report on a study which sought to establish eResearch activities in ObafemiAwolowo University, Nigeria, identify the challenges faced by researchers in carrying outeResearch in their various work environments and propose a guideline for effective librarysupport of such projects.16 participants were interviewed for this empirical study. Theseparticipants were drawn from 6 Departments cutting across four of the 13 UniversityFaculties. The researcher used purposive and snowballing sample techniques. Interviewswere transcribed and responses of all the respondents analysed based on the researchquestions. Eight collaborative eResearch projects were identified during the course of thisstudy. The participants indicated that these projects took place within the UniversityCommunity but across country boundaries. It is worth noting that the researchers thatparticipated in this study engage in quality collaborations both within Africa and also beyond.Most of the researchers gained their skills and practices through personal development whileon the job, therefore, there is a need to advocate the inclusion of eResearch methodology inpostgraduate programmes.It is of concern that the researchers have not been able to appreciate the roles that thelibrary can play in supporting their online research activities. To change this view, the librarymust proactively survey the various online research projects going on in the University andprovide the necessary support. Thus, this paper will share some of the insights gained andrecommend a number of initiatives a library could put in place to embed within eResearchprojects – all in the interest of more effective research.

[发布机构] University of Pretoria