Impact of Internet Use on Agricultural Research Outputs in Nigerian Universities of Agriculture

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the utilization of Internet facilities and its impact on the research outputs of agricultural scientist at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria during the 2001/2002 academic session. To elicit the necessary information, 210 copies of questionnaire were administered to all academic and research staff of university. Out of the 210 copies administered, 147 copies were completed and were found useful for the study. This constitutes 70 per cent response. The results from the analysis of the responses showed that about half (54 per cent) of the agricultural researchers at the university use the yahoo search engine and that they spend an average one hour pay day browsing the Internet. The study also revealed that respondents use the Internet to find research materials such as journals and conference proceedings, followed by sending and receiving of electronic mails (e‐mail) The study concludes that the use of the Internet for academic research by Agricultural Scientist has improved their research output. The study recommends the training of scientist in information searching and retrieval skills.