The Use of ICT Applications in Research by Postgraduate Students in Ghana

Abstract

ICT has influenced the conduct of research with the emergence of advanced technologies that have enabled researchers to work with larger datasets and to improve the outcome of their research. Despite these benefits, it was revealed that some postgraduate students were not computer literate hence their inability to use the ICT applications in their research activities. This problem has led to huge financial losses to the universities since they have invested in ICT facilities, yet little use is being made. The study sought to examine the use of ICT in research by postgraduate students in public universities. The survey design was adopted for the study. The Stratified and Convenience sampling techniques were adopted to select 346 respondents out of 4907 postgraduate students from the University of Ghana and University of Cape Coast. The questionnaire was the sole instrument used for data collection. The responses were analyzed using SPSS. The finding of the study revealed that most students frequently accessed ICT facilities such as e-resources, communication and collaboration applications, citation and compiling bibliography applications, data analysis applications and sharing and/or publishing in their conduct of research. Thus, it is recommended that the ICT facilities should be marketed to students and promoted extensively through social networks; the universities’ administration should also ensure that there are adequate ICT facilities for each research process or activity.