Utilisation of virtual information resources and academic productivity among university lecturers in South-South, Nigeria

The study investigated the utilization of virtual information resources and academic productivity among university lecturers in South-South Nigeria. The research design adopted in this study was correlation research design. The population consists of 13,603 lecturers in the Federal, State and Private universities in South-South, Nigeria. The sample size of 373 lecturers was used for the study. This was derived by using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sample size determination table. The instrument used was a questionnaire titled “Utilisation of Virtual Information Resources and Lecturers Academic Productivity Questionnaire (UVIRLAPQ)”. All the 373 copies of the questionnaire administered were returned and found useful. The Split-half method was used to establish the reliability of the instrument as follows: overall reliability coefficient score of 0.92; extent of lecturers’ utilization of virtual information resources = 0.94 and level of Lecturers’ academic productivity 0.94. The data obtained were analyzed using frequency, statistical mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while ANOVA and t-test were used to hypothesis with a criterion mean of 2.50. The findings of study revealed that the utilization of virtual information resources of lecturers in South-South Nigeria is high and the level of academic productivity of lecturers is high among university lecturers in South-South, Nigeria. Utilization of virtual information resources has a significant relationship on the academic productivity of university lecturers in South-South Nigeria. Utilization of virtual information resources has significant impact on the academic productivity of university lecturers. This study was able to bring to light the relationship between utilization of virtual information resources and of academic productivity of lecturers in South-South, Nigeria. The implication is that the utilization of virtual information resources has transformed the teaching, research, and community service scenery, offering numerous benefits and challenges. By understanding these implications, lecturers can harness the potentials of virtual resources to enhance their academic productivity worldwide. Based on the findings, it was recommended that more room should be created to further improve on the of academic productivity of lecturers. Also, lecturers are to be encouraged to attend workshops, seminars, conferences and lectures to acquire skills to utilize virtual resources in academic productivity.