Social Networking Sites and Research Productivity of Library and Information Science Postgraduate Students in Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: This study examined social networking sites and research productivity among library and information science (LIS) postgraduate students in Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa State.

Objectives: The objectives were to identify the sites mostly used for research productivity, determine the extent of their utilisation, examine the extent of research productivity, examine the sites’ impact on research productivity, and identify the challenges respondents faced.

Methods: A descriptive survey design was adopted, and data were collected with a closed-ended questionnaire from a population of thirty-six LIS postgraduate students in the 2025/2026 session, using total enumeration; thirty-five questionnaires were returned and analysed. Data were analysed using mean and standard deviation, and two hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level using Pearson product-moment correlation.

Results: The sites mostly used were Semantic Scholar, Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Wikis. Utilisation, research productivity, and the sites’ impact on research productivity were all found to be high. The main challenges reported were bandwidth problems, privacy concerns, lack of ICT skills, technophobia, and inadequate internet facilities. Both hypotheses were rejected: the impact of social networking sites (r = 0.535, p = 0.001) and their utilisation (r = 0.882, p = 0.000) were each significantly related to research productivity.

Conclusion: The study recommends that university management and library staff sustain training and publicity on academic social networking sites, and that the institution strengthen the ICT infrastructure underpinning their effective use.